4/12/13 DO NOT ADOPT A PET FROM "SAVE A LIFE PET RESCUE" !
PetSmart allows them to hold their adoptions in front of thier store every weekend. What you should know is what happened to our family. The following is a letter we sent to the orginization...
We have an 8 year old daughter who has been begging us for 5 years for a puppy. She wrote a letter to Santa this past year and that is all she asked for. We didn't want to buy from a store, and our funds were very limited, being that I had been out of work for several months
We started looking online and found your organization "Save a Life" through the "Adoptapet" website.
When we went online, we found a Golden Retriever/Golden Lab mix that we fell in love with. We got to the adoption site 2 hours early to ensure that we could get the puppy we wanted. When you pulled up, it was love at first site for my daughter. We chose "Rascal" a 10 week old male puppy, who was fat and furry and licked her all over! It was an instant match.
Before I signed all the paperwork, I specifically asked if the dogs had been seen by a vet. I was told that the puppies were up to date on their Vaccinations, and that they had just been checked out the day before by a local Veterinarian that had neutered them, and they were deemed "healthy Puppies". I felt as though this must be an honest answer since you were holding these adoptions in front of such a well-known store as Pet Smart, so I went ahead and initialed and signed. Little did I know what was to come...
We took Rascal home and right away noticed he had a cough. We took him to the local vet here in Deland where we live on Monday, February 4th first thing in the morning. Deland Animal Hospital checked him out and said that he had Kennel cough and also had round worms. Rascal was started on antibiotics and roundworm medicine. On Wednesday February 6th, he seemed really tired and his eyes seemed glassy, and he was crying during the night. Unfortunately, on Thursday, February 7th, when we woke up that morning, we found Rascal laying in his own vomit and being very Lethargic. I rushed him directly to the Deland Animal Hospital where I was told not to bring him inside until they came to get me in case it was "Parvo". We were taken to the isolation area, and after being tested were told that it was indeed Parvo and that he had been exposed for at least 10 days prior. We agreed to have the Vet treat him aggressively because well, we loved him and all I could think of was my daughter crying that morning asking if her puppy was going to die!
The Vet told me that I needed to contact your organization and let you know that one of your puppies had Parvo, so that you could contact the other families to warn them. Our Vet said that Parvo was highly contagious and that the other dogs were most likely infected, if they had all been in the same area. I called "Nicki" and let her know that our Puppy had the disease. Her first comment was "Oh really, well just bring him to our vet and we will cover it". I explained that Rascal was lethargic and I didn't have the time to drive him from Deland to Altamonte when he was unresponsive. I told her that I took him straight to the Animal Hospital here in Deland. Her response was very unconcerned, as she stated in that case all the vet bills would be on us! I told her that the reason I was calling was to make sure that she informed the other families. She stated to me that "Parvo" wasn't that contagious and that she had not heard anything from the other families and that it was probably an isolated incident. I asked her again if she would contact all the adoptees and she said she didn't think they needed to do that, but she Might call the other siblings families.
After 5 heart wrenching days of a complete emotional rollercoaster our newest family member "Rascal" lost his battle to Parvo at 4:30am on Tuesday, February 12, 2013. My Heart is breaking right now as I write this, for our little 8 year old daughter, who hardly talked for 2 days after he died. She is still very sad and missing him every day!
After speaking with numerous Vets and other well informed rescue groups, we feel that had the dog been checked out properly that this would not have happened to us! While we know that you state that your organization is a "Non Profit" and that these dogs are "Adopted", After a great bit of research I have been told that by paying $300.00, that we indeed were "Sold" a dog.
We are requesting that you reimburse us for the following:
Adoption Fee - $300.00
Veterinarian Cost - $1400.00 (Please find attached copy of veterinarian Letter and Charges)
THEIR RESPONSE WAS , SO SORRY BUT YOU SIGNED A CONTRACT AND THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO FOR YOU!!!
While PetSmart says that they are in no way affiliated....THEY SURE DO MAKE ALOT OF MONEY EVERY SATURDAY WHEN THE ADOPTIVE FAMILES ARE LET INTO BUY ALL OF THEIR NEW DOGS SUPPLIES!!!
Sherry D. read more