My roommate and I purchased a puppy from Indogneato in the Westminster Mall and noticed it had a runny nose. The salesgirl assured us it was only a mild cold and that all of the puppies have them from their close living arrangements. They sold her under the condition that we took her to their vet. We took her the very next day and were assured her lungs were fine and she only had a mild cold. We were given an antibiotic and sent on our way.
Her conditioned worsened over the next couple days and we attempted to get her another appointment right away but they told us they were booked up. We had no choice but to take her to our vet and they did a thorough inspection. Here was her diagnosis: pneumonia, hepatocutaneous syndrome (liver failure), otitis externa, and conjunctivitis. She was determined to be highly critical and was hospitalized immediately. The pet store manager Dawn was contacted continuously through her 8 day stay and struggle for life in the hospital and each time we were assured the pet store would cover ALL of the charges that were not parasite related. Since all of the charges were not related to parasites, we sent all of the itemized information and doctor's documents as requested. $4,137 later, our puppy was finally discharged and had to be kept on two antibiotics, eye drops, ear drops, and a bronchodilator. Two weeks following that we had not received any check and continuously contacted Dawn at the pet store. She kept evading us and finally cut us a check for only 150% of the charges and refused to pay the rest claiming that she didn't realize how much it would be even though the vet tech that contacted her let her know the total had gone above the amount and she ok'd it.
The other thing we realized after purchasing this puppy is that they knew the dog was sick, their vet checked it out before we took it home and they had our puppy in the same little cage as another very healthy golden retriever which surely must have caught the pneumonia. We feel sorry for the person who purchased that puppy. They breached their contract when the salesperson signed the health contract saying the puppy did not need to be hospitalized. We have sent a demand for payment letter (the second one) and on July 6th if we have not received a response, we will be suing in small claims court and possibly reporting their establishment to the media.
If there are any other victims of this pet store (and I know there are two others at least on this page) please contact me if you would be willing to testify as witnesses to the lack of care and health concerns. We have so much documentation, photographs, expert witnesses and x-rays that we are sure we will win our lawsuit, but we don't want anyone else making the same mistake of purchasing from this pet store. Also, coincidentally all of their breeders are from North Dakota - this happens to be where their corporation Chien et Chat is located. Here is the address in case anyone needs it: Chien et Chat, Inc 2108 S. University Suite 106B Fargo, ND 58103 - Phone number is (701) 892-8367.
If any lawyers, class-actions suits, media would like to contact me I'd be more than willing to have your input or help in putting these people out of business.
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