Petland Joplin — Attraction in Joplin

I would like to take the time to talk about Miranda. A couple days ago, I went into Petland in hopes to look for an emotional support animal for school because I have some mental health issues that make it hard for me to handle stress and anxiety. I am a freshman at OCC and am not from Joplin- so this year has been very hard and scary for me( especially being that I am alone here) - my family lives in Iowa. So, needless to say- I was and am an emotional wreck lately. When I walked in to Petland- I didn’t know what to expect- I was feeling sad and honestly very lost. But As soon as I stepped foot in that door, Miranda approached me with compassion and care. She gently tapped me on the shoulder and asked what I was looking for. I said “ I’m not quite sure- but I am wanting to find an emotional support animal for me while in College here in Joplin.” Then she told me that I could let her know if I needed anything at all. But what’s so amazing, is that she truly meant it. From then on, I spent a good 30 minutes looking around at all the puppies in the store. I instantly fell in love with a golden retriever and because I was such a mess coming in, I just couldn’t keep it together. I saw that puppy and I though to myself “ maybe this little guy could be my friend” . And as I crouched down to look through the glass at this beautiful dog, I just began to cry. And keep in mind, I am wearing makeup so I’m starting to look a little crazy😬. After a while of trying not to cry- I just gave up. I had had a really hard day and really hard couple of weeks , and all I wanted was to feel loved- and to know that everything was going to be okay. Miranda approached me again, as I was looking at this puppy. She said “ hey- are you okay?” And I remember looking in her eyes and not saying a word, but she knew fair well that I wasn’t okay. She immediately gave me a hug ( which in it if itself was something I needed) and asked me if I wanted to have some “puppy snuggles to make me feel better” and I said “ yeah”. She asked me if I wanted to spend time with a small dog or a big one, and I said “big”. It was this moment that really took me by surprise... Miranda stopped everything in that moment even thought the store was packed and so so busy. She then put me in a room with a golden retriever that wasn’t the same one, but that I instantly fell in love with all over again. This dog was what I needed. As I sat in the closed off space, this puppy just loved on me. It snuggled with me and made me feel loved and safe. Still a sobbing, crying mess, I’m trying so hard not to let it all out. Miranda had told me that I could have as long as I wanted with this puppy- and she wasn’t kidding. I stayed with this puppy until the store closed. And when it was time to leave, she gave me a big hug and we cried together. She told me that I was welcome to come back anytime and snuggle puppies! She told me to tell the people who work at the cashier that “Miranda says I can play with puppies!”. Multiple times, Miranda would come check on me and ask me how I was doing. Most of those times I would look up at her with tears running down my face and she already knew that I was sad. But what mattered to me was that she cared. She cared enough to reach out to me- a complete stranger, and make sure I was okay. She took the time to show me kindness and to make my day just a little bit better( well a lot) than it was when I walked in that door. Miranda, you were what I needed that day. God put you in my path, knowing that I was in a rough place. You will never know how much this means to me- a broken, lost, and stressed college student, who feels alone and far from home. Miranda is more than amazing. She is kind, she is selfless and she is compassionate. I don’t know what I would’ve done had she not cared about me the way she did that day. Thank you Miranda for everything! I will definitely be...

It's a cute store with a friendly staff (although not very well informed) and nice variety of pets. However, their puppy purchasing program is a scam. Don't do it! Astronomical purchase price! They charge thousands of dollars for a puppy! They are clearly not trying to find good homes for puppies but rather making huge a profit. So you'd better have a mansion and drive a BMW or you're not going to be able to afford a puppy from Petland. While I agree that a person who invests in their pet is much more likely to care for that pet, Petland charges more for a unproven, undocumented, untested puppy than what you can purchase a grand champion purebred show dog! Yes, that's true! A show dog breeder has tested their dogs for hips & joints, opthomolgist tested eyes, cardiologist tested heart and DNA tested for health issues so they're sure not to double down on genetic issues with breeding and have documented proof as well as full pedigree. Petland has none of this. And, they sell American Pet registry registered pets instead of AKC. What does that mean? That means the puppy you are buying isn't necessarily a purebred. APR will register anything including mixed bred and have no breeding standards so backyard breeders and puppy mills are accepted! They will tell you that if or when your pet passes away, they will give you a new puppy so it's 2 pets for the price of one that seems like a good deal right? Let's examine that shall we? First, they'll tell you your getting your puppy at a sale price. Of course you are getting a puppy at the SALE price of $3800 which FAR exceeds the price of a show puppy from fully tested show parents that are AKC registered with strict breeding standards and purebred but the puppy is "normally" $5800! So, if puppy passes you can choose a new puppy but you'll pay the additional non-sale price. They don't tell you that you'll void your warranty on puppy if you don't take it to a vet within 3 days! Of course you aren't in charge of when your vet has an opening. You'd better make sure you answer unrecognized calls because the company that warranties the puppy will call about that and if your vet can't get your puppy an appointment in time, the company will send the appointment you can make over to claims to decide if it's OK or not. And this was nowhere in the paperwork I was given nor was it discussed at any time. If your new puppy exhibits signs of aggression or other issues on days 3, you are SOL. They only give you 48 hours to return the puppy. I can return a car within 30 day but don't even have a week to determine a negative aspect in new puppy. You also must but a variety of items from Petland every 3 months or they void...

We told our son he could have pet rats for his birthday. So we purchased all the supplies and got everything ready. When my husband took him to the store to buy them, he was told they were $20 each for pet rats! I've had dozens of pet rats in my life and I worked as a pet store manager for several years. I've never seen a rat priced for higher than $5 except for the dumbo ear variety that was in stores a few years ago. Even those were only $12, if I'm recalling correctly. When my husband messaged to tell me the price (because we had only budgeted $10 for the two rats) I told him to ask about feeder rats. Despite the sales clerk telling him the pet rats were of higher quality, I know from experience that a rat is a rat is a rat is a rat. Yes, they come in several colors. Some colors are considered "fancy." But last year when we bought our daughter a pair of feeder rats at this same store (because they said they no longer sold rats as pets), they had all colors in the same cage...and we paid less than $10 for the two. When my husband asked if he could just buy two feeder rats, the clerk said it was against their policy to sell them as pets because they wouldn't come with a warranty, which is replacement upon death within two weeks of purchase (highly unlikely, as I've never experienced this with a rodent). When my husband asked if he could decline a warranty, the clerk still said no. Ultimately, he still decided to buy the rats because he felt it was important to follow through with the gift, but the rats were in the back room, where our son was not allowed to go. He was told the cage could not be brought out and he was not given the opportunity to choose which two rats he wanted. The clerk chose for him. As I said above, I managed a pet store for years and I've had dozens of pet rats. I've never experienced this type of policy and I have a strong feeling that all the rats, whether feeder or pet, are in the same cage...because they're exactly the same kind of rat. Also, price - gouging is not ok. That said,on the icing on the cake was when I went to subtract the purchase in our checkbook last night and discovered they had actually charged him $24.99 for each rat! My husband was so baffled in the moment that he didn't notice they had gouged him even further!

Petland, I understand that you are a locally owned business and not a "big box store" as you've stated in many of your responses here, but this kind of business is not going to win you any new customers and it's going to alienate the customers you currently have. If you're willing to be reasonable by offering me a refund to the appropriate cost of two rats,I willing to revise...