Family Pet Center

Category:	Pet Store
Address:	1401 Greenbrier Pkwy, Chesapeake, VA 23320, USA
Phone:	+1 757-420-3800
Site:	familypetcenterva.com
Rating:	1.5
Working:	10AM–9PM 10AM–9PM 10AM–9PM 10AM–9PM 10AM–9PM 10AM–9PM 12–5:30PM

Location

Photos 45

Reviews 4

Lauren & Preston Webster

In January 2017 we bought a puppy here, and have been disappointed in several ways with Family Pet. (1) She was labeled as a "puggle" (pug/beagle mix). As she has gotten older, her ears have straightened and now stand up, which is a characteristic of neither a pug nor a beagle. It is obvious she has chihuahua, (a breed we did not desire) rather than (or at least in addition to) beagle. (2)The store associate told us she would get to be about 30 pounds, however, the vet says she will top out at 12 pounds. A medium-size dog (which we thought we were getting) would have been a much better fit for our very active family of seven kids. (3)She has a significant under-bite, which the vet says is not typical of pugs, rather a sign of poor breeding. (4)Family Pet informed me she had one loose patella (knee cap), but it would probably resolve with age and strengthening. The vet informed me that she, in fact, has two loose patellas, and they will always be loose. This makes dislocations quite possible. (5)She was afraid of standing on the grass for the first few weeks, and we think it was because her feet were painful from standing on the wire floor in her Family Pet cage for weeks. We love her to pieces, but had we known all of this initially, we likely wouldnt have purchased her. We gave the store two stars simply because she is good tempered and has otherwise been healthy. Update: 4 months later and her age is now 10 months. The chihuahua in her does not have the patience we expected from a puggle. For a family with teenagers and toddlers alike, this is a big deal. Again, had we known she is part chihuahua and therefore not a great fit for small children, we would not have chosen her. We love her and are keeping her for now. However, should she become more impatient, we will find her a new home, breaking the hearts of the entire family. This would be a most unfortunate outcome that could have been avoided, had Family Pet Center listed her breed accurately. She does indeed have poor dental genes. As her adult incisors grew in, the puppy incisors did not fall out, but moved to the side and are very cramped. She requires very regular brushing because so much rawhide and stuffed animal fluff gets trapped between the teeth.

Alissa Kester

This the WORST place I have ever had the chance of going. They dont even deserve one star, but its required so I can warn anyone who reads these reviews! I just received the papers in the mail for the puppy my husband and I bought. We were under the impression that we were buying a regular Australian Shepherd. We receive papers in the mail and it states that he is a mini!!!!! I have never been so livid in my life! I call the pet store and ask for the manager and start to calmly explain to her what is going on. Not to mention when we bought him we were sent home without ANY papers and were told to come back the next day because they couldnt find his papers! So we got sent home with a pre-sale checklist and a receipt from buying him and the little collar hat they cut off of him. The collar doesnt say mini on it, only Australian shepherd. Her excuse for that was "there not enough room in the collar" but as I sit here and stare at it there is a huge gap at the end of the paper inserted into the collar proving there is enough space. We bought this dog for my son to grow up with as we are purchasing farm land and we are now owners a mini Aussie and what good does that do?! We have had him for four months now so we obviously arent going to give him back because hes part of our family and our son would be DEVISTATED. Shes claiming the papers she has there show my husbands signature on them, but the ones we have in our house are only showing the employees signature. Nothing we signed or were sent home with saying MINI anywhere on these papers!! Shes denying any fault on her and her employees end! We spent an outrageous amount just for something that is bred from runts of a true Australian shepherd . There is no such thing as a mini anything!!!!!!! The lady refuses to refund me the outrageous amount of money we spent on him because she has a signature on HER paperwork. Then she claims she wont be in the store to speak to because she has an emergency and is leaving immediately. If I would have read all these horrible reviews on here before walking into the mall that night I would have NEVER purchased a dog from her store to begin with!!! This is so ridiculous!

GiGi Allen

My puppy cookie lived for exactly one year until she passed away. she was labeled as a pekapoo and she was NOT a PEKAPOO!!!!! I loved my dog so much and so did my family. I paid $750 for her due to her age inside the pet store (stated the manager) I took her to the vet and she had worms and a host of many different issues. She NEVER wanted puppy food since someone at the pet store introduced her to table food and she had intestinal issues from that as well and had difficulty passing stool since the moment I received her. Before she passed I brought her a lot of new clothes toys and the girls and I designed a new crate for her for Christmas (she was truly our baby)....needless to say she passed away in her ravens jersey during football season(she loved watching football) beside her new hello kitty chew toy and my daughter had to witness her passing. She noticed the morning that she passed that she did not want to eat or play but she had been playing and eating the night before and as soon as I rushed to put my clothes on to take her to the vet she had passed....it has been devasting to my entire family since she will always be considered a family member. My girls are now afraid to have a new puppy because they are afraid of the passing of another. Shame on this entire store being that they do NOT EVEN KNOW THE BREED of the dogs so how in the world could they know of the health( or for that matter care) When I purchased her she was marked down due to age I was informed that they would not keep her there. So I wanted to rescue her....but at least I know that she was loved before her passing and truly missed!!!! Id give -10 rating if I could. My heart is broken it has been 2 months.

Paul W

Its common for puppies to get sick when close to so many other puppies from around the U.S. in a small space. This store treats their puppies well. They are bathed, they get all their pets up to date on their shots, are groomed properly, are fed properly, and get proper exercise. Puppies sleep 80% of the day so that is why many times they are asleep in their glass rooms. I bought a puggle pup from there and shes great, got her for a great price too. She had a slight cough from day 1, and I was hoping the condition would improve. Sadly her condition worsened after a few days so I took her in to the vet. I was told she needed some medication for a common kennel cough - basically the puppy cold. The store paid 100% of the bill. It was a large bill too, and on my own I would not have paid it myself. The store pulled through and covered it all. I have no regrets buying from Family Pet Center and hope they stay in business! By the way, reading some of the other reviews- I would also charge people $10 if the same people come in every day wanting to see different puppies. If people have no intention on buying a pet, and are here to only play with puppies for their own amusement then they should be charged a fee. I saw my puggle pup and was not charged a fee, likely because they knew I was looking to buy and not looking to just play with a puppy for 20 minutes with no intention on a purchase.