Petco
Reviews and Complaints

Daughter purchased Black Moor goldfish. Had white spots, died two days later. Returned fish to store, Caitlin, assc #13, commented to my daughter "you killed your fish". Upon inspecting tanks, one fish was dead, one had worm on its gill and another had white spots. In my opinion this is abuse. Not to mention the conduct and attitude of Caitlin, assc#13. Petco just lost customer.

I receive several emails a day and I never agreed or subscribed to emails.
I made sure I deselected all emails after registering but yet still receive emails.
I unsubscribed again and the message is that it will take 7 business days to complete - pathetic.

I called in to Customer care and complained and yet I still get several emails a day.

Stop spamming me. I will definitely avoid all of yours stores for this.
Clearly you can't sell your products if you have to SPAM people so much.

I purchased some dog food from Petco website. I'm going on a vacation this Friday, so I paid extra money for one day shipping. I was thinking that it would be shipped the next day, as advertised on their website. Since I received nothing I contacted their customer service and was told that my order had not shipped, and would not ship until the following Monday. So I cancelled my ordered and demanded a refund. They did return my money, but they still charged the additional $15 for the shipping. Customer service was absolutely disgusting!

I am not going to hold back anything. I am so fed up with this store and it blows my mind how one company can have its seperate stores in different locations and most if not all manage to be hell holes. I've seen youtube videos as well as videos on fb from peta. I don't take everything I hear seriously but with images and video clips now with my own experience it's hard to not believe.in fact impossible.

I am a proud owner of 3 bearded dragons and a ball python. All of which are my babies as well as my python is my therapy animal. I moved from utah to oregon to start my life with my reptile babies of course. 2 pet stores near me. Others about an hour away or more. One pet store is nice with excellent animal care, animals which are healthy, and the best superworms i've seen. Down side, so expensive and sometimes they do not have what I need in. So petco. They were convenient with convenient priced frozen rodents and bearded dragon food and no thank you on their bugs...
Dead, dried, one half alive. Even as a hungry lizard I wouldn't eat that. And knowing my babies enough, they wouldn't either.
I noticed at one time a tree frog upside down drowning. Semi-twitching. I got an employee and he calmly with a smile said, "they do that." :/ he fixed it and I know it's easy to get caught up in work... But the thing is you're basically baby sitting these tiny creatures till adoption... Keep an eye on them!

Next experience, horrible! ;, (
I bought a baby ball pinstripe python. Beautiful girl. She was tiny! I raised my now 52"ball python from a baby and was excited for the wonderful experience again. I was excited... Till that was replaced with confusion and"what in the actual * is going on here?"
I took an interest in her and they tried to give me false education. I didn't buy it. But then became confused. All aside, I was old this baby girl wasn't eating and yes she was tiny. But she was lively! And she was beautiful. I never could figure out a name before she died. Day before she literally turned to her side vomiting thick pink fluid (the store"reptile specialist") force fed this girl. Was she trying to pass or regurgitate? It happened so fast? : (

I demanded vet care and got in my car and went to meet the manager asap at the store because luckily she promised me she was at the bank and would meet me at the the store and rush to a vet she knew of. My snake barley breathing, I knew she wasn't going to make it ;, (but I pushed on the gas and made it.
Employee told me she was still gone...
Went in the back to that"reptile specialist"again. She told me to"hold on"as she took her time.
What the hell was going on?
I sobbed and tears flew out and I tried to not make a scene as this emotionless employee looked at my dying friend and told me"she wasn't going to make it, I think she was probably just too little for-... Yeah, she was just too little. Yeah. She's gone."
And then to mention the other employee question me about I could be the reason for the death!
I walked out broken. There was the manager.
At the register.
Working the checkout line.
"we will call you and let you know what the vet says!"she calls out.
Are you kidding me?
Do you not remember me tell you over the phone before I rushed out the door that she was dying?
In front of customers that were staring at me I responded,"she didn't make it."
My friend had passed ;, (
"oh, i'm sorry"
The manager showed sympathy. And boy did I just walk right out when she immediately asked if I would like her to call me when they got another in! As a mom to animals, that's hard to take. As an employee, yes customer service to ask... But I could vomit all over the store. Did I mention the second day I had my baby python I saw she had snake mites? Terrified me as my big girl has never had mites nor my 3 dragons. I took immediate precaution and went to the store for help where one manager was helpful but refused his offer of them holding her there for 2-3 weeks! Then re-buying her after mite treatment. Treatment was done at the store and since till up she died never saw another single mite on her, I kept her taken care of. She was special. : (. Anyway. I went there. For thee last time and dreaded every step. The extra 5 bucks is so worth the grub for my girl. Got her the rat and low and behold she didn't even want it. Looked at it closer and needless to say looks like it was dead awhile prior to being frozen. Nail beds are dark and doesn't look right. Wtf petco?
I'm done shopping there and will no longer be a customer. My petworks is great, that's where I recommend. If anything, rescue an animal from petco.
Who is the one in charge of petco itself? I think that it the one I need to contact. :/

Today I went into the new Petco in Altoona PA and was shocked to see the condition of the animals there. They had new baby ferrets, these poor babies had no water, no toys, no litter box, no food and no hiding area, only the gray material on the bottom of their cage. There were several other cages of animals with no water. In the mice cages their toys were laying on their sides and to me it seemed there were way to many mice in the cage, which I believe was the reason they were fighting. I looked around for a sales person and the only two I saw was one woman with here head resting on her hands looking into the store from the grooming dept. and one cashier. When I have gone to other pet stores they always have an employee with the live animals to tend to their needs and to assist the customers. A customer should not have to witness this kind of abuse to animals at a pet store.

Just took my dog to the petco grooming located in Owings mills, Maryland. My dog was cut, had patches of fur missing in her coat, and clumps of left over fur in her coat. It was disgraceful. My dog was there over 4 hours! When I got home and realized how bad her grooming was I called and was told to bring her in so the person can see . I arrived and immediately the woman apologized and stated she had a crazy day. I sympathized with her and then showed her what was going on. She pretended as if she didn't see anything for several minutes. Finally, after I demonstrated and pulled balls of fur out of her coat she took my dog and cut her hair quickly. I received my dog a second time and due to her carelessness the worker cut my dog! Furthermore, she still had mats and balls of fur. Also, the groomer covered her with a bandanna to hide the mats in her neck that the groomers failed to groom. I paid over $70 and trusted these people who worked for this company to do the job I paid for and instead I was given something less then the value. I'm so hurt, frustrated, and I feel like I've been taken advantage of. I'm not sure if there needs to be more training or if this is just the standards of this company. What I do know is I will never take my dog here again. Terrible first impression.

I am writing to you to express my deepest concern about an extremely disappointing situation I was involved in at one of your stores with your staff member. On 06 September 2015 I utilized your dog grooming services at the store located in Pearl City, Hawaii. I had a scheduled appointment at 10:00am and checked her in at 9:50am. I met the groomer whose name is Lauren, who would be providing services for my dog. I told her how I wanted her to be groomed and specifically told her “DO NOT SHAVE HER HEAD” and shared a photograph of a desired look and even texted it to her at 10:00 as requested. Three and half hours went by and I never received a phone call saying my dog was ready to be picked up. I stopped by the store at 1:43pm, as it does not usually take this long and was informed they needed another hour. I was initially confused by this, as she was not even being groomed at that time and said alright hesitantly. I came back at 2:50pm and saw her on the table being groomed. At this point, the damage was done. I saw Lauren shaving her ears with clippers and requested to speak with her. She began to deny shaving her, even though I saw her with my own eyes as I was standing there in shock for about 5 minutes below I spoke with her. (see below photograph). Your company has ruined my dog and my faith in your grooming staff. Her haircut was clearly not produced by a professional. She placed all the blame on my dog stating “I had to shave her because she kept moving” and “it was adoption day so it’s been really busy”. Neither of those responses were legitimate for the atrocious job she created. She took no responsibility and her excuses were inadequate. My dog has been to your facilities specifically this one and in Kaneohe many times for grooming and we have never had this problem. It is clear your staff member showed no attention or respect for my pet while she was in your care. I believe your groomer ran out of time and chose on her own accord to go against my wishes and shave her because it would take less time than her performing her actual job duties. This groomer has ruined all of my faith and confidence in your grooming staff and company. They are untrustworthy, ignorant, and appear to not operate using ethical standards of practice. I am not seeking compensation as the damage has been done and I will not be returning. Anyone with minimal knowledge of dog grooming will be able to tell by the attached photographs this was a job half done. Please re-educate your staff on how to provide proper dog grooming services. These are not just pets to us, they are our family members and when we see them being treated poorly it is our duty to speak for them.

*First photograph is my dog the morning before at 9:48 am.
*Second photograph is my dog during at 2:55 pm.
*Third photograph is my dog after at 4:09 pm.

Groomers were not releasing anal glands when groomed. My Dog Freedom end up at the animal hospital, The vet said the anal gland needed surgery, abscess of the anal gland. infected or impacted, and rupture outwards through the skin. This was not released at grooming. Cost 371.30 I have vet papers. This would not cost a penny if this was done . Called Petco they will not do a thing.

I've never seen such an arrogant unprofessional guy in all my years of visiting Petco. I frequently visit The Petco on 92nd street to buy my dogs and cats treats or get my dogs groomed, etc. Most recently a new worker had entered the store and I've been noticing his foul immature behavior not only amongst his staff, but amongst his customers. When I tried to confront him about it once, he freaked out on me calling me all sorts of names and cursing me out. When I asked to speak to a manager he goes and tell me that he is the general manager in the store and that there was quote on quote "nothing I can do about it so f*k off b*h". I completely lost it, but like a gentlemen I left the store. I found out his name is Douglas and let me tell you that I do have friends in high places in Petco. If Tom does not step up and talk to him like he should, I will be paying corporate a visit and let them take matters into their own hands. I'm tired of seeing foul play like this all the time. Douglas is very disgusting, lazy, and does not deserve to be general manager of the store.

I purchased a French Bulldog via Pinterest site which took me to Montybulldogs.com. I wired the money Western Union. The day of the flight from MD to GA, I was told by the Petco shippers that a new law went into affect 2 days ago and that now I had to pay insurance on my pet to be shipped of $1050. I would get the $1000 back as cash when he was delivered to my door. When I asked the breeder he told me he was leaving the hospital, where his wife was, and going to speak with the delivery people in person. He assured me all was on the up and up but a gut feeling told me this didn't sound right. I googled and couldnt find any information about a new law and then I called another pet transporting company and they told me no such law was on the books, and that it was a scam. When I reached back out to the breeder, telling him "we had been duped" no reply came forth. I did a reverse of both his number and the shipping numbers and both came back as land lines. Breeder and I were texting so I know he has a cell, but the shipping company shows it's located near Los Angeles and the breeder lives in Maryland. I am devastated that I wont be receiving my puppy. I'm out some money but at least not $1000. I asked the breeder if I could come and retrieve my puppy and I haven't heard any word back. :(

I was warned not to buy Saltwater Fish from Petco because of their terrible reputation. I found out the hard way, over the past several months I have lost around $150.00 worth of fish. Most recently I lost an Koran Angel that was diseased when I bought him, they would not take him back. All the others did not last more than a few days, Customer service is a joke, you get people who can barely speak English in the Philippines. No wonder they have no guarantee on Saltwater Fish, I was in their store today watching fish scratch themselves on rocks with torn fins. They share the water with other diseased and dying fish using the same sump. Folks in my local Saltwater Fish club call them DEATHCO, now I know why. I am DONE with this Rip-Off.

On Sept, . 9, I wrote a check to my neighborhood Petco that subsequently bounced (one of my automatic utilitiy payments was submitted twice, making several checks I wrote that week bounce). These checks were written against a checking account that I had planned on closing at the end of September, due to my divorce. To make a long and ridiculous story short...Petco sent my check to a collections agency after only two weeks. As soon as I received the first letter from the collection agency in the mail, I purchased a money order to cover both the bounced check and the fee they charged me, and mailed it the agency. Since that time (2 weeks ago), their collection agency, TRS, has tried to redeposit my original check twice to the account I was trying to close.

My complaint is in two parts: 1) That Petco would send a bounced check to a collection agency after only two weeks, and didn't even try to contact me first; and 2) The collection agency they choose to use, TRS, is incredibly aggressive, and has cost me a lot of money in the process, even after I sent a money order to them. I opened up a new checking account a couple weeks ago and was finally able to close the old one yesterday, after paying another $60 in fees that had accrued due to TRS. After dealing with this mess for the past month, I won't be shopping at Petco in the future.

I took my dog Lexi in to have just a bath and a brushing. After having her at the groomers for 4 hours they called for me to come get my dog. I went straight over and could hear my dog barking continuously. My dog is normally very quiet so I asked them to go check on her. They said they would but that I needed to go pay first. I went to go pay and the whole time I could hear my dog continue to bark, yelp and cry. When I returned to the grooming room both the girls working were gone. I waiting for a few minutes and then finally a girl came out and said my dog would be right up. After a few more minutes of waiting she said that she would go in the back and check to see what was going on. 5 minutes later my dog came out bolting for the door. I took her home and once I got there I saw that my dog had a gash next to her eye. Perhaps 2 cm away from hitting her eyeball. Why clippers of any kind were anywhere near my dog is beyond me! I went to speak to Petco and before I could finish explaining my story I was informed that Petco is not liable for any injuries sustained during grooming. All I wanted was my money back - since that is what it states on their website. "Head to tail guarantee or it's free!" Again I was turned down. I will be taking my dog to the vet tomorrow to look at the eye- possibly have one or two stitched put in. Thanks Petco for the souvenir!