Animal Kingdom — Local services in Tucson

This is how this journey began, I had baby fever and the hubby wanted a dog. We decided, "let's go see the dogs at Animal Kingdom (AK)." So, we proceeded to walk in. It wasn't too busy and then it got busy. There were only 3 associates that appeared to all be busy. We walked around their small display area and laid our eyes on a fawn colored, male French Bulldog that was as cute as can be. He was sleeping, yet it was love at first sight. We proceeded to find a store associate who happened to look in our direction and requested to see the pup, up close and personal. She asked for AZ ID or AZ DL (like when you go on a test drive for a new car) and went back and got the pup. Long story, kind of short- we finally got the attention of one of the associates, Auna, and we let her know we were interested in moving forward with the pup. She told us how much he would be and that he was "on sale" since he had been with them for some time. Between the hubby and I, we were approved with two loans they could bundle together that was just for the price of the dog. Ultimately, this dog is as much as a 2018-2019 car payment or an abdominoplasty (with Dr R. Taki- LOL)...so yeah, we took a moment to "think about it, before we finally accept." We walked around for another five minutes and decided again, YOLO, YOLO, right!? Let's do it. We notified Auna of our decision and accepted the financing options and bam...we were the proud owners of a lovely frenchie. As we proceeded to confirm the financing options, the dog was cleaned up and groomed, and already to go. It was at this point that we were told about the following: 1) A fee that was about $160 that we were charged in addition to the financed portion of the dog; 2) recommended that we purchase a kibble that is exclusively sold at Animal Kingdom as "this is what he's been eating since he's been with us"...mind you, it is adult kibble and he's 3-months-old; however, we were so damn excited for our new addition we didn't even notice until after we bought their largest bag; and finally,3)as we were signing the contracts for the selected financing options, we heard some dreaded words: kennel cough, giardia, and coccidia...UGH. Are you serious!? You're going to wait until we sign binding paperwork to tell us our new dog just finished his cycle of medication for the kennel cough and parasites but "most likely still has it because he's been with the same dog since he got in." This omission is horrible as it appeared to be a regular practice as AK. It was then that I replayed the conversations of the other associates with other customers who selected animals about collecting a stool sample as we were given the same blurb. This is where they get you...this is where the CON comes in. At this point, I concluded that AK was just like any car dealership. Buyer’s remorse hit hard, and this feeling was worsened when we took the pup to their recommended vet and were told, “dry kibble is not appropriate for this breed, as they have trouble digesting food as it is, they [AK] should’ve known better…”. Luckily, we can exchange the food for other overpriced merchandise sold at AK. Moral of the story: if you don’t have the money upfront to make an investment on an animal than either (a) don’t get one or (b) get duped into buying one for 2-3x times markup here. Yes, you get a free initial vet visit at one of their two recommended vets to follow-up on the parasites and kennel cough (as you should) and lifetime 10% off their overpriced merchandise. Ultimately, it wasn’t worth it. We would have waited for a parasite-free pup elsewhere had AK been open and honest about the issues that the pup was on BEFORE signing any binding documents. Awful, business practices. Now, nearly two weeks later, are we happy? Yes. Do we still love our Frenchie? Yes. Is it just like having a...

Is 5.5 stars an option?

I have been visiting this store in Tucson, AZ for well over a decade. First because of the obvious appeal, puppies. But now for so much more.

I purchased my black lab from Amanda at Animal Kingdom back in October 2012. I fell in love with this creature the moment we met. I was hesitant to spend such a large amount of money on "a dog from the pet store" when I could have "just looked in the classifieds for a lab breeder" as many said.

But no. How can you put a cost on a companion? A cost on peace of mind? You can't. I was able to immediately see his vet records, proof of vacinations and vet visits, see his breeders information & where he came from. Lucky enough to see photos of his parents too!

My favorite part of this is, I was able to contact his breeder before I even made the decision to take him home. Ask her about his temperament as a puppy, his parents temperaments & so on. She was and is such a kind woman who retired to breed & raise her labs. You could tell her whole life is dedicated to this job. And everyone who was able to experience my lab as a puppy knew he was raised by hand and with care! To this day I am still in contact with her. I send her pictures of my grown up boy & she sends me pictures of his aging dad. I've asked her to let me know when another puppy comes through from his bloodline and she has! Will eventually be getting a girl from his bloodline!

Amanda was so helpful in this process as well. She and her coworkers made sure I had everything I needed to take this destructive lab puppy home for the first time.

I'm happy to have spent the money on a companion knowing he didn't come from the average backyard breeder or puppy mill. Four years later, I have the best black lab out there & nothing but good things to say of Animal Kingdom.

So basically, highly...

The only reason I give 2 stars is because the girl who helped me get the puppy was great and I got exactly what I wanted size wise. She is a very cute puppy! The bad was the puppy was sick from the beginning. She had Kennel cough and Geardia. This was covered under their warranty but it took over 2 months for me to get reimbursement. Then my puppy developed a condition called Legg-Calve’Perthes Disease. This is hereditary and congenital which is covered by their warranty. It says that on the sale contract that I signed. The poor thing was in pain and limping. I spent almost 4k on vet visits, surgery and treatment. I am reaching the price that I bought her. She is only 10 months and she was a very expensive puppy. I expected her to not have such a severe problem this early. The surgery just took the pain away but she will never walk normally. I contacted the store when I first found this out. The assistant manager Andrew was very nice. He referred me to a lady named Roxy at the main office. She has not been helpful at all. She didn't reply to the first e-mails. Then sent a text but didn't really respond. Weeks later she e-mails me saying she will help and is sorry but she didn't really do anything.I even called the office. I e-mailed again and no response again. I am hitting a month since I contacted them and there has not been any action taken. Per sale contract she is still under warranty. So they are not even following the sales contract. I don't know where they are getting these puppies from. For the price that you pay, this should not be happening. A 10 month old puppy shouldn't have such a serious illness that requires expensive surgery. That is the last time I will buy a puppy...