Military family heartbroken after paying $2,600 to ship puppies abroad, never receiving dogs

Chief Petty Officer Jeff Swanson and his wife Aaron hired PCS Pets in Carrboro to ship two lab puppies to Spain while the family was stationed there.

The dogs were birthday gifts for the couple's two young boys.

"They were really good. We talked (and) they answered all of my questions,” she said.

The Swansons paid the company $2,608 to ship the animals, and PCS responded with an email, which listed an airport and flight time but no airline.

The family tried to get that additional information but never heard back.

"No one has ever answered the phone. Every time you call it's an automated thing,” she said. “And when you leave a message not one person has ever called me back. When I send emails, (I heard) nothing."

They have had limited communication through Facebook messenger, but the dogs were supposed to be picked up from the breeder in Nashville on Tuesday.

“I’ve exhausted every possible means to contact them,” Swanson said.

PCS Pets' listed address is 405 E. Main St. in Carrboro.

"I've had five to call me in the past two months," said Sylvia Degraffenreaidt, an employee at a nearby business. "I've heard of PCS Pets being there, but I've never seen PCS Pets."

The Better Business Bureau has five official complaints about PCS Pets, echoing the concerns of the Swansons.

“I’m out of that much money, and I still don’t have the puppies here,” Swanson said.

WRAL News left a message with PCS pets Tuesday afternoon and hasn’t received a call back.