Pocket Puppies

I came here not intending to buy but just to play with the puppies. Out of curiosity I asked how much they were and several other questions and every time I asked a question, they talked around it not giving me any actual information. «Oh prices vary» REALLY DO THEY I HAD NO IDEA. where do you get your puppies? «just some partners» but like WHO. These atrocious people just treat puppies like cash cows. They are in plastic box the whole day with a bright light shining on them. How would you like to sleep with a bright light on you? Once the puppy came into my lap all it did was try to nuzzle into a dark crevice and sleep. Do not support this place. Please.

if loving dogs makes me an animal exteremist then so be it. adopt don’t shop. do your homework and don’t buy from here. these are puppy mill dogs. no respectable, loving, caring breeder is selling there dogs to a pet store. it just does not happen. think about it. if you don’t know what a puppy mill dog is then find out because you will be horrified at the cruelty and abuse that are puppy mills.

My experience at Pocket Puppies inspired me to get a Unilocal account based on the lack of this business’s morality. I promise… I have plenty of local businesses I will positively review soon.
My girlfriend has been in the market for a hypoallergenic dog for quite sometime and finally found the dog she wanted at Pocket Puppies — a teacup Yorkie. When we called them (2:35 PM) to see if that particular dog was available, we were informed that he sold hours before we called… just our luck.
My girlfriend wanted to go to Pocket Puppies anyways and look at what other dogs they had. We ended up going to Pocket Puppies at 6:00 PM and found the Yorkie we originally wanted (but had been sold). We explained to the 3 young ladies working that we were hoping to take that particular Yorkie home, but it sold this morning, unfortunately.
All three of the employees stated that the Yorkie had not been sold and was available — we were ecstatic! It was now approaching 6:30 PM and since it was a Sunday evening, they closed 30 minutes later at 7:00 PM. With only 30 minutes left until close of business, we were told to come back first thing in the morning at 11:00 AM (when they open) to purchase the Yorkie. We decided not to buy the puppy on this day because we had nothing prepared for it so the fact that we could buy him tomorrow made perfect sense.
My girlfriend decided only 10 minutes after leaving Pocket Puppies (now 6:45 PM) that she had to have that Yorkie so we called them back and asked if we could pay in full over the phone and still pick it up in the morning when they open at 11:00 AM. The employee said she would have to call her boss to make sure she could process the payment over the phone but that it shouldn’t be a problem. We were promised a call back before 7:00 PM.
After no call and a bit of worry settling in, my girlfriend went to Pocket Puppies first thing Monday morning and was told by the Manager that the Yorkie we wanted had been sold!!! My girlfriend, already in tears, asked the manager what time the puppy was sold at (thinking it was impossible that it sold in a 15 minute window after we left) and the manager wouldn’t tell her! My girlfriend explained our entire situation and that we were «advised» to come back at 11:00 AM to purchase the dog and that we already bought it a bed, toys, treats, etc. but the manager could not care less and said, «I’m sorry, but we make no guarantees — the dog sold.»
My problem does not lie with the company policy that they make no guarantees — I get it. Where I am upset is how my girlfriend was spoken to and the fact that we were deceived and lied to. My girlfriend and I stayed up (practically all night) buying puppy toys and necessities (yes, our mistake) but still! The fact that manager couldn’t care less and would not provide any further information tells me that they know they were in the wrong but just brushed it under the rug. Is this how they normally treat their potential customers?
My thought is that the dog originally did sell and there was an error in communication and they tried to cover it up which made them look even sillier and less credible as a «business.»
My only hope is that anyone reading this (who is thinking about purchasing a puppy from here) to please reconsider. Not only that, but after learning what they pay for a puppy and resell it for had us floored!!! Find a local breeder or adopt a dog instead!

Horrific customer service. I walked in with enough money to get the dog I wanted but the larger fellow in the blue piss stained shirt was so unwelcoming that I left feeling incredibly uncomfortable. The reviews speak for themselves. This place needs to go.

Horrible customer service. I am so glad my sister didn’t buy a pocket puppy here. These reviews are very sad and this place needs to be shut down. The young girl who wears pajama pants and doesn’t care about her job shows her lack of enthusiasm and will never sell with that attitude of hers. 20 other reviews who are in the 1 star is all true and should be taken seriously. DO NOT bother coming here. I don’t want them to make anymore profits from a bad practice.

I just recently got the cutest dog ever from here. He’s even tempered, incredibly people friendly, entertains himself quite well, and potty trained himself in under a day. The downside to all of this is he’s not hypoallergenic. Although I was told he was, but I guess I didn’t really think through the whole hypoallergenic dogs are a myth warning. Love him to death, but now I have to take allergy medicine everyday. Just knocks me straight out. I guess the little guy must be more havenese then pekingnese. For anyone buying a mixed breed dog, I’d make sure both breeds are hypoallergenic as I didn’t realize Pekingnese weren’t. So I’d be wary of what you’re told in terms of dogs being hypoallergenic. They previously had a Australian Shepherd dog as hypoallergenic as well. Which if it was truly a Aussie, it would not be.

The only reason I came here is to help my friend pick out a puppy, and the only reason she got one from here is because they had an exact breed (which can be hard to find) that she wanted. From the minute we walked into the store, the employees were SO unbelievably rude it’s embarrassing. For the life of me, I wish I could remember the girls name who «helped us» but I can’t and it’s probably because I was stunned the entire time. First of all, she looks like she is in High School. She was on her phone probably 85% of the time we were in there, while there was multiple customers. Now my friend came in there with the intention to purchase a dog ($ 1300+ to be exact!) and I am interested in buying one, so I wanted to feel a few out. We were told by this girl that we could only have one out per GROUP, and that this is company policy. First of all, I did not see one sign posted saying anything of the sort (and there were signs all over-​stating other stuff), second of all, we are almost 30 year old ADULTS. I can understand if a bunch of kids came in, but not letting adults who are in the market to BUY is absolutely ridiculous. My friend was interested in one specific dog, but wanted to feel out a couple of the other puppies, as well as I wanted to see a few. When I asked to take out a 4^th dog (including the one my friend was about to drop $ 1300 on, she said «You can’t take out anymore, you’ve already taken 3 out and that is our limit.» SAY WHAT? Is this girl serious? I’ve never seen people so uninterested in what they do in my entire life. THIS IS A JOB! YOU GET PAID TO SIT AROUND WITH DOGS ALL DAY and be FRIENDLY to people. Don’t you know anything about customer service? Probably not, because you’re like 15 years old. The guy working was a little bit better, but he still seemed miserable there. Anyways, I used to go to this store in Ft. Myers called «Mini’s Puppies» and it’s the same owner as the one in Chicago… Mini’s is now closed (due to this being a puppy mill u-​haul) but they were super secretive about this at the time. They transfer puppies back and forth when they don’t sell and makes sure his employees do not tell customers this. The owner is a sketchball and all of these puppies come from mills. They couldn’t even give my friend information on the parents (because they have no freaking clue!). They did however give her info on the «breeder» who is out in AR. We looked her up when we got home, because we knew she wasn’t a «breeder» and there are MULTIPLE articles about the puppy mill she runs, she’s been charged a few times. Honestly, this place is a complete joke. Yes the puppies are cute, but they will be shut down soon (google pocket puppies and you’ll see articles), but the way these puppies are treated is completely in-​humane. She has a friend who works next door to the shop and he sees an unmarked van come through the alley dropping off puppies weekly. :/​
What I learned about this place:
PUPPY MILL DOGS
HORRIBLE, RUDE EMPLOYEES
OVERPRICED
SKETCH BUSINESS PRACTICE
Please, save yourself and stay away from these people. Do not give your $$ to them.

Not much to say about this place, I hate writing down bad reviews but I went to see the puppies as I had been recommended, but on reaching the place was not what I expected, customer services worst and worker will not seeing anything of enthusiasm, only to sell and earn money, in addition to this extremely ridiculous prices. better decide to adopt a dog and it was the best decision I ever made in my life …

I was in the market for another yorkie as I have one already. I get the «adopt, don’t shop» but I wanted to go see some puppies and at least get some information before making a decision. I walked in and the place was very crowded. There seemed to be 3 employees and about 7 children with an adult just watching the puppies. I was confused walking in. We weren’t greeted. There was a girl standing there wearing what looked like pajamas and she finally told us after an awkward 2 minutes or so «let me know if you have any questions». So we started pointing and asking what breed, how much? She had NO information. She told us that they just got most of the puppies this morning and instead of saying something like «you know, I don’t have the information yet on these puppies but I should have it later today and can call you with it if you’d like. Would you like to meet some of them?» No. It was more like question…“I don’t know yet”, then again, question «as I said we just got them in. I don’t know.» When will you know? Why do you have the personality of a snail? I mean these people are trying to get others to pay almost $ 2K (one of the yorkies was over $ 1,900) I was shocked with how little assistance and personality they provided.
I was also disturbed with how the puppies were being handled. It looked as if there might have been some sort of vet tech there checking them out, both he and the helper were man handling these tiny pips. Not holding them to their chest, but instead holding them in thin air. It broke my heart and pissed me off. I don’t judge people for buying but PLEASE do not give this place your money. Employees are awful and do not seem to care about dogs one bit.

The man that worked the store could really care less if you where there or not. The store was set up to be «high end» but you ended up feeling sorry for the way the dogs where «Displayed». Personally I find it inhuman. Go straight to the source. I don’t wanna give these people any percentage. This is a store that doesn’t take the dogs that aren’t perfect.

Love my dog more than anything. He was purchased here for way too much money. As a volunteer at animal shelters & totally against pet shops, I am ashamed I purchased the little guy here 7 years ago. He is a great dog and I fell in love which is why I took him home however, He is sick, there is no such thing as a teacup breed! They are almost always sick! Don’t support this company. $ 25,000 in vet bills– no joke! Liver shunt, kidney stones, weak joints among so many other emergency surgeries

Please adopt a shelter dog instead of supporting puppy mills. There are plenty of puppies and apartment-​friendly dogs at Animal Control being euthanized every day.
The owner seems to enjoy posting libelous statements about Chicago’s various animal rescues on their Facebook page in order to drum up more business. This shop is a cancer to Clark Street and I wish it would go out of business.

I live near this store and it sickens me every time I walk by. This store sells countless breeds of dogs born from known puppy mill breeders across the US. It is one things to purchase an animal from a legitimate breeder who’s sole purpose is to perfect the breed, but these animals are new breeds with no other purpose than to be money making objects. I love dogs but seeing the animals in this store makes me terribly sad.
I would not recommend purchasing your next dog from here. If you’re looking for a loving pet there are hundreds of them waiting to be rescued in the Chicago area. Or, if you want a specific breed, go to a verified breeder who breeds just ONE breed and check out the place on your own before you pay them a dime.

This place broke my heart. A few years ago we purchased a «teacup» Yorkie from Lane B. and the horrible staff. After paying through the teeth, we took Olive home and loved her to the moon and back. A year later, she began getting more and more sick. We took her to every specialist and eventually the best animal hospital in the burbs. Nothing could save her. They told us her body was basically shutting down and this was from bad breeding practices for making «teacup» dogs.
We had to put her down. To this day, I think of her and feel so hurt/​angry/​mad for her and what we all went through with our little dog.
The whole reason why the pet store ban is stopped is from the lawsuit from the owner Lane. Disgusting.
I pray this place gets shut down.
Please — do not suppor this evil operation.

I could get into the politics here. It’s REALLY easy. Considering the owner Lane, whined and moaned at the alderman’s meeting about how puppy mill bans would force him out of business (which was met with a «If you don’t want to change your way of doing business, I will not lose a wink of sleep knowing that we’ve put a bad business out of business in this city,» by Ald. Mendoza), or ALL of the bad press my fellow Unilocalers have mentioned, or the fact that this store ENCOURAGED people to buy puppies as a VALENTINE’S DAY GIFT… where was I going? Whoopsie daisy. Right. The store and employees themselves.
So I went in here a couple of times since the ban to check them out. See if they started to make any changes. See the conditions of the animals. Maybe the owner had an epiphany? Maybe he saw the light? Maybe he was given a bunch of referrals to reputable breeders so he could compete and thrive in a changing world that recognizes animal welfare? Well…
I asked to see a couple of pups. First of all, all of the dogs were terrified of the store manager Alex. TERRIFIED. They ran away from him when he would come in to check on how we were doing and when he went to grab another puppy from their cages. So if you adopt from here, beware, if the store manager continues to be employed here, you might need to work with your new «pocket puppy» so they aren’t so terrified of men.
Second of all, one of the dogs had a distended belly. This was NOT adorable puppy fat. This was an illness. I came back the next day with a vet tech friend of mine to get her two cents. We acted interested in the puppy and they were happy to let me have a second peek. While she couldn’t exactly do a comprehensive exam, she suspected the puppy was ill. When we asked about it, all the employees could say was the company line: All of our dogs are seen by a vet and guaranteed to not have congenital blah blah blah.
While I’m all for rescuing (my pups are all rescues), I know that some people just KNOW certain breeds — how to care for them, how to train them, how to address the medical/​social/​activity needs of that breed. While I’m against puppy mills, I’m NOT against breeders who treat their animals CORRECTLY. Pocket Puppies not only buys their dogs from puppy mills, but is ACTIVELY lobbying AGAINST puppy mill bans.
This is NOT a store that should be able to keep their doors open. This is a store that is trying to survive based off of the unfair and inhumane treatment of animals. This is a store trying to make excuses instead of adapting their business to a changing environment. This is a store you should NOT buy your pets from. Period.

First let me say there is NO SUCH THING as tee cup breed anything .
STOP what thing are dogs. Try going to a KFC and look up speak up or Queenie. Thank you let you know there is no such thing falling for this hope to spend thousands of more dollars on drugs that have been to work and made it all do to it. Please folks do the research before you buy a dog it’s something you’re going to have to invest your entire life remember there a part of your family

If I could give this a zero, I would. I’m 12 years old and I insisted I write this instead of my mom. 1^st of all, we walked in and the workers acted so rude. We asked them how we know what kind of dogs they are and they said,“Ummmm…The breeders tell us.” (With a slight eye roll). Well of course we didn’t care if they knew, WE wanted to know the dog breeds. So she told us in the sassiest, rudest voice possible, all 25 dogs.
So we picked one out to hold and play with and I asked,“Can I hold it mommy?” Then, again she rudely stated that kids were to irresponsible to hold them so we could only pet them. That was the 1 of the many reasons we didn’t buy one of their dogs. Why would we buy a puppy if we didn’t know if it was good around kids? Then she took it out of the cage and completely yelled at my mom to SIT DOWN! How rude.
So, as expected, we fell in love with the puppy. So I got my moms phone out to take a picture and «for the dog’s safety» we couldn’t take a picture. That’s really dumb because my dad wasn’t there so I wanted to ask him if he thought it was cute. So we put the puppy back and decided to look at another. It was cute but we were all still attached to the first one we looked at. So we asked if we could look at it and played with it a little then put it back.
My brother said «awwweee look at that
one» so my mom asked if we could see that tone but we had already reached our limit of how many dogs we could look at. When you see a mom and 3 kids looking for a 2000 dollar dog you should let them look at every single one. We walked right out of that place and went to enjoy some pastries from the bakery across the street. The workers completely took the fun out of looking at puppies. I thought that was impossible. Well, they’re the ones losing out because I searched places to get puppies and there were many other places. Don’t go there and if you do decide to, show them this review.

Stay away from this place! This place has nothing but rude and snobby people working there.
I came in here in search for a new teacup morkie and this place was the first one that came up when I did my online search for «teacup morkies chicago». Now I should know better than ignore the Unilocal reviews but I frankly didn’t feel like driving to the suburbs.
So I stopped in here and was basically was ignored for at least 3 minutes and 3 minutes can be a long ass time! I mean you see me clearly standing there! I need you to ask me «hi, how can I help you». That’s what you are there for! You are there to help ME and not to just stare at me.
So once dude was finished busy staring he asked me if I had a question. Duhhh I have tons of questions! How much and when can I take my puppy home?! He was dismissive to my questions but sweetheart if I’m paying $ 1400 for a puppy I need you to answer my simple questions without you acting like something is stuck in your backside!
The puppies at this placed looked very scared and not healthy at all. Teacup doesn’t equal malnourished. I had to wait for over 45 minutes to even hold the puppy I wanted to buy. I was rudely ordered to sit before I could even hold the pup. It just turned me off completely so I decided to leave and take my business elsewhere.
No thank you

We strolled into Pocket Puppies yesterday in order to find my friend someone that would love her unconditionally. LOL. This was not the right place. These puppies are really pocket size and extremely adorable. With that said I am not an animal person, so take this review with a grain of salt. I couldn’t imagine paying $ 950.00 and up for a puppy. When it gets to that cost I think it’s just time to have a real baby. LOL. It was nice to get to hold the tiny fur balls, but it was sad watching them in there tiny cages. They were itching to get out and for anyone to hold them. I do wonder at that price how many of them are really sold.
Now onto the accessories. I couldn’t imagine spending more on a dog than I do myself. The accessories although cute were expensive and over the top. Special bags to carry them in??? Please! I’ve come to the conclusion Pocket Puppies are meant for the rich and my friend will have to find love else where. I told her the name of a good foster program where she can get a doggie that definitely needs love for a considerably lower price.

The puppies are adorable! However the people working are rude and snobby. They rush you through petting the dogs and are rude when you ask questions about breeds.
I think this concept is also slightly morally wrong and the employees have no right to be rude to people. If you’re looking for cute puppies go in and play with them but NOT at this location! Also I’d recommend not buying from here and instead support local shelters, foster places or breeders.