The Body Shop

In April of 2007, I purchased two German Shepherd puppies from Animal Kingdom (Puppies-N-Love) from the Arrowhead Mall in Glendale, AZ. Both of my puppies had respiratory infections while in the store. The female, Ki, had two. We took the boy, Apache, home the day we bought them. From the time we brought him home, he had terrible diarrhea. I was required by the contract one has to sign to purchase a puppy to take him to a vet within 5 business days of purchase. The thing that made me think that something wasn't right was the store gave me a list of vets to choose from. In order for them to pay for the vet visit and to activate the 4 year health warranty, I had to take him to one of "their" vets. The vet I chose stated that his diarrhea was "probably just nerves." He also did a fecal test and stated he found nothing. He prescribed an "all-purpose" antibiotic, which I found ironic considering the vet told me nothing was wrong with him. I finished the antibiotic but the diarrhea continued...it actually got worse. Once Ki was finished with her treatment for her respiratory infection 10 days later, I took her home. The case was the same with her, more diarrhea. I took her to the same vet clinic but a different vet saw Ki. Again, the fecal test was conducted but they stated everything looked normal. Ki began to lose weight and actually looked like an anorexic puppy. She would only eat two or three bites of food at a time and would not attempt to eat again for 10-12 hours. The diarrhea continued in them both and I returned to the same vet to have their shots given. While there, I once again told the vet (the 3rd different vet I had seen at the same clinic) about the continued diarrhea and the concern I had over the loss of weight seen in Ki. The vet stated she did not see anything wrong and stated that "it was probably just nerves of a new environment." Oh, by the way, the name of this clinic is AMEC Small Animal Hospital, on Glendale Ave in Phoenix. My roommate and I decided enough was enough. We took both of the pups to Arrow Animal Hospital in Glendale, AZ. The vet immediately stated his concern over the sick appearance of Ki (you could count all of her ribs while she was standing). They conducted another fecal exam and the vet stated that he didn't find anything at first but decided to keep looking because it was obvious that something was wrong with them. He did find giardia (a contagious parasite that is common in puppy mills.) The vet stated that since the symptoms have been present since I bought them and they had not been exposed to any other dogs or animals since bringing them home, they had to have had it prior to me purchasing them. He prescribed two strong antibiotics in order to control and get rid of the parasites. Two days after beginning the antibiotic treatments, I noticed rice-like organisms in their feces. Since I have a biology degree, I did know what that probably was. The feces were taken to our new vet who agreed that they did indeed have worms, as well. Treatment for the worms was then given, too. All of this took place within 20 days of having Apache home and 10 days of having Ki home. I went to Animal Kingdom (Puppies-N-Love) and spoke to a manager, Joyce. She was very nice and did a great job of appearing to want to help me. The total vet bills incurred as a result of "their" vet not diagnosing the problem was close to $250.00. Joyce agreed that it was their responsibility since the puppies had been sick since bringing them home. Approximately 10 days later, I received a check in the mail from CPI (the corporate name for the store) in the amount of $60.00 with a letter stating the following:



"Dear Customer; Enclosed is your medical reimbursement of costs related to your puppy's health. Regretfully, the amount refunded may be less than your original bill due to expenses that are not covered under your health plan.