Gatewaypetmemorial

I will try to condense this as best I can. Our two pets passed away 3 months apart. We asked for a paw print for our first pet. It came to us with human finger indents in the clay. We could have returned it for repair but wouldn't dare part with it in the hands of people so careless, because it's irreplaceable. We also received an urn that we did *not* choose. A replacement was offered, we chose a different one, and it then took four months to receive because (1) every replacement was defective; (2) the person looking after the matter disappears for days at a time, even with the notification email which does *not* make the experience easier because our rep doesn't leave anyone in charge in their place. After almost four months, an acceptable urn was finally made and it sat on our representative's desk collecting dust in their absence. I phoned Gateway to see what the heck was going on because it had been so long and of course, our rep was absent, so someone else sent it out. Four months later, we hope our beloved pet is finally resting in peace. -- Our second beloved pet passed away 3 months after the first one - and that is correct, we still didn't have the replacement urn for our first pet (because receiving it took *4* months). The second urn - which we choose as different from the first two for our first pet - arrived defective. A replacement was offered and our rep actually told us that we would normally be responsible for the shipping cost of the replacement; so in other words, they're doing us a favour by paying for the shipping to cover their crappy workmanship and their error in sending it out in the first place. Furthermore, our second pet's ashes arrived tied in a very sloppy manner: The seam of the bag, which is on the bottom of the bag, was almost tied into the gold tie at the top of the bag (so the bag was tied very crooked), *and* the amount of ashes were literally probably half of our first pet despite that this second pet was taller and longer. Because the bag was tied so sloppy, it is obvious that the person tying the bag was careless & the bag slipped, and a great deal of our beloved pet's ashes spilled out. -- The saga continues: Regarding the replacement urn for this second pet, our rep told us that they would look it on a certain day and make sure it was okay before sending out, and would send photos before sending it out. That was two weeks ago and the person still isn't in the office, still hasn't looked at the replacement urn - if it's even there at all. If it isn't, it will take even longer. -- On one occasion, again in our rep's absence, we spoke with someone else who wanted us to email why we were calling, in essence telling us that they're not interested in taking our call and we should go to extra trouble and spend even more of our time writing out the reason for our call - probably for someone else to deal with. We refused, made them listen, and then they didn't even return our call as they said they would. -- We've had it and have made our own urn for our second pet. -- We are speaking of the Guelph, Ontario facility. -- We realize that most veterinarians use this facility, and that a great majority of grieving pet owners will see this review too late. Nevertheless, it is out there for those who *will* see it beforehand, and who will hopefully pass it on to their loved ones. -- Photos: The photo of the colourful urn on the left for our first pet shows only one area of scratches with some kind of stupid squiggly scratch. There are scratches and dents on every area/side of this urn. -- The second photo of the wooden box urn for our second pet shows a huge crack along the entire bottom of the box and up the sides (only one side showing in the photo), and a second crack beside the long one. You might have to enlarge the photos - or you might not. -- Please tell everyone you know. No grieving pet guardian should go through what we've gone through. -- EDIT: Our rep got back to us about this. She promised to make changes, i. E., new supplier, leaving someone else in charge in her absence, etc. I doubt this is the first time this has happened, so just beware and go somewhere else if you can, anyway.