Elizabeth B.
PUPPY MILL BREEDERS
I purchased a puppy from PuppySpot for an exorbitant amount of money, which I chose to do based on the company's guarantee of work with reputable breeders - never puppy mill breeders, and its promise of exceptional veterinarian care for all puppies, including a final full exam 1-3 days prior to coming home. I received my puppy on March 11th and ended up going to my own vet the very next day, which has set off a series of visits in the last six weeks for a variety of issues. The second I met my 5 1/2 month old, 4 lb puppy, it was clear she was underweight. All you had to do was pick her up and feel her bones sticking out. She was also itching non-stop and exhibited extreme fear with people, especially men. When I visited the vet on day two of her being home, he confirmed that she was underweight, had a skin irritation and, as eventually determined after blood tests, had a Giardia infection. She also had to be muzzled at the vet due to her aggression and biting. All of these issues, as well as others that we are only now finding out about, would have been detected on sight alone, let alone testing, if, in fact, the breeder had his/her eye on the puppy and the PuppySpot vet did his/her job correctly. To this day, six weeks later, my puppy is still fearful of people and aggressive towards me. A computer teacher came to the house today and my puppy ran under a table and was shaking. My licensed trainer said it is clear this puppy was not socialized at all with people and that she had little to no affection. Socialization of puppies is also a guarantee that PuppySpot promotes but clearly does not implement with its breeders. After a while of running to and from the vet I started to dig into things. The breeder from which PuppySpot got my puppy was cited in 2017 for having malnourished animals. This breeder had also experienced a great deal of complaints over the years and eventually changed its name, but continues to operate under the same company umbrella. I also found out PuppySpot used to have a different name as well; they operated for many years under a different name, dealt with a lot of complaints, and then changed their name, but still operate as the same company. I have tried and tried and tried to get information on how exactly my puppy was raised and where. It is clear that she was kept in a cage and just had her food and water changed daily, if that!, without any regard as to whether she ate it or not or how she was. But, I wanted to know for sure. I also wanted to be reimbursed for the nearly $2,000 that I have paid in medical bills for issues that my puppy came to me with. I have been yanked around from one call center rep to the next, and then from one department to the next. I finally had the ear of the associate general counsel who said she would assist me with getting the answers and the reimbursements, and yet, even though she promised to provide me with everything over two weeks ago, I have no information or reimbursement. At this point, I am grateful for the opportunity to have saved my puppy and I hope to heal her with the proper care and love. But, at the end of the day, it is clear to me that PuppySpot is interested only in transactions with no care whatsoever for animals and no oversight whatsoever with breeders. Their only interest is in making a buck on sales on puppies from puppy mill breeders who are more than happy to provide many, many uncared for puppies that go home with terrible health issues. All you have to do is read the many reviews on the Better Business Bureau and all over the internet to see how many PuppySpot customers are home with or who have lost sick puppies, all due to the fact that PuppySpot made promises that they did not keep and they did not require their "vendors" to keep, with the end result leading to sick, helpless animals. PuppySpot, along with its cadre of breeders, should be cited with violations and shuttered for good. Shame on them for their total disregard for the lives of the animals they based their livelihoods on. Shame on them!
Response from PuppySpotAug 10, 2021
Ms Berger and our team have had a number of conversations about her experience with PuppySpot and have arrived at resolution that has satisfied all parties. We wish her the best.




