Rachel F.
Great puppy, terrible policies!
My husband and I were nervous about the PuppySpot process but were eager to get the puppy/breed we wanted under a spontaneous timeline that made sense for our family. We've adopted several puppies/kittens directly from breeders, so committing to a puppy sight unseen (other than pics) and not having the opportunity to discuss our puppy's developing temperament was not ideal, especially given that this puppy would be the second dog in our home. When we inquired about the potential to connect directly with the breeder to ask specific questions, we were told that direct contact was not within their practice because of a history of previous potential buyers making personal arrangements directly with breeders and leaving PuppySpot out of the deal once that contact was made. We were also told that our puppy's temperament is best predicted by her parents' temperaments, which were shared in a brief summary provided by the breeder for our puppy and her litter mates. While this is an understandable theory, diligent dog owners know that every puppy carries parental traits but also have unique individual characteristics and personalities. While our puppy has a wonderful temperament and has developed into a perfect family member in our home, we are not shocked to learn that she is not in fact the same dog as her parents' summary described. The worst part of our experience, however, relates to the logistical nightmare of receiving our puppy. We were offered several options to receive our puppy and paid extra fees to have our puppy delivered from the breeder's door to ours. Our puppy was scheduled to take a puppy plane and have a driver deliver her to us. One week prior to our anticipated delivery date, everything went haywire. While my husband and I were on a puppymoon ;) outside of the country, we received a call from PuppySpot letting us know that having our puppy delivered was no longer an option. It was explained to us that the delivery method we chose was implemented because of COVID-19 but now being phased out. We were told that we would be refunded some money and that they would facilitate arrangements between myself and the breeder. New arrangements would entail us driving directly to the breeder (6 hours away - not terribly far, but very inconvenient given our initial expectations) or designating a mutually agreed upon meeting point somewhere between both parties. That facilitation occurred quickly throughout our puppymoon (tied to our phones while on vacation for two days). We were given a date and a meeting point (which decreased our driving time to 4 hours/1-way); however, we were not given a contact name or phone number of our breeder or meeting person - we were told that information would be shared with us 24-48 hours prior to the scheduled meeting. After not receiving that information two days prior, my husband and I became very skeptical about what was going on and were worried that we were being scammed as information was limited and plans kept changing. We were unsure if there would actually be a puppy waiting for us at the end of that 4-hour drive and my husband had safety concerns for me as he would be unable to make the drive. It took many unnecessary tears and several calls and requests to talk to management to obtain contact information in order to feel assured that we were not being scammed. I spent an extensive amount of time speaking with a manager about the unpleasant, unfortunate, and unnecessary experience. My main gripes are that PuppySpot should have found a way to honor travel arrangements that were already confirmed and paid for despite changes to their practice. Furthermore, PuppySpot's primary interest was clearly not losing a sale, which came very unfairly at the expense of the buyers' peace of mind. PuppySpot would not be in business if wasn't for buyers and their lack of effort to be forthcoming with information and accommodate buyers' emotional and financial trust and investments were unacceptable. I am only giving the business two stars because we are in love with our dog and everything ultimately worked out; however, we will never use the service again nor would we recommend the service to other buyers or breeders. It feels slimey and was truly a disappointing experience. Adopting a puppy should be exciting, fun, and stress-free! I hope PuppySpot has since changed their practices, but it's a little too late for us even so.