After months of research we decided we were ready for a piglet. We found one on their website that we absolutely loved and we sent full payment via Paypal. For two days - nothing. Then I get an email stating that the pig had been sold the week prior (even though the website explicitly states that the website is updated immediately, and all "available piglets" ARE available). This was incredibly disappointing. I asked for a refund and Savannah responded that she had new piglets ready to ship in two weeks, so we opted to see photos of them. She sent a blurry photo of a group of piglets and promised better photos a week later, when they would be weaned. Three weeks later, still no photos, and Savannah doesn't respond to messages for days. I'm eventually told that the babies aren't ready to be weaned yet, and that there is no estimate on when they will be. No further photos are provided, and Savannah continues to ignore messages inquiring about them. We ask for a refund if they're not ready by a certain date, and she does sent it on that date. A partial refund. When we ask her why, she says that $200 is a nonrefundable deposit. This isn't anything we agreed to (we sent a FULL payment for a pig that wasn't even available, and then transferred that payment to a pig that we never received photos of, and that wasn't ready to go home anywhere NEAR the time she had said) and it was nothing she had mentioned in any of our correspondence. When I explained this and requested a complete refund, she again, ignored me. Luckily, Paypal disagrees, and I received my money back via their claims department.
I understand that mother nature cannot be controlled (Savannah actually offered to pull one of the babies early but that it would "void the health guarantee"....how horrifying!) but when you tell someone you'll send them photos or check in on a certain date, it is the least you can do to shoot them a note. Taking someone's money and ignoring them is an absurd way to do business.
This was a disappointing experience start to finish - why work with someone like that when you're looking to add a member to your family? Following this experience, I spoke with several other breeders before committing to one, and every one of them displayed more courtesy, concern for their animals, and general customer service skills than this person. Do yourself a favor, and visit the mini pig breeders association website (http://www.minipigbreeders.com/) or Juliana pigs registry (http://www.julianapig.com/BreederDirectory.html) for lists of breeders that have met a series of standards, located all over the US. Texas Tiny Pigs is not listed on either site, which is not surprising given her business practices. We now have an absolutely healthy, happy, adorable baby Juliana pig, and our breeder was pleasant, helpful and honest every step of the way! Please beware - this is a dishonest breeder with a track record of poor business practices - just look at the other reviews and check her rating/reviews on Better Business Bureau. I wish I had from the start! read more