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Joy

The viral story of how Chewy helped console a pet owner after losing her dog is unforgettable

The best of humanity comes in many forms.

chewy customer service, chewy twitter, anna brose twitter
Twitter

A picture of Anna Brose's beloved Gus.

Many of us know Chewy as the online marketplace for all things pet goods. What you might not know is the extra care that the company provides to pet owners after the loss of a beloved fur baby. That is, until one woman’s story went viral on Twitter.

Anna Brose (@alcesanna) had to say goodbye to her sweet dog named Gus. To make an already tragic event worse, she had an unopened bag of dog food purchased from Chewy that would now go unused. Brose was so surprised by the company’s compassion and generosity that she felt compelled to share her experience online.

Her tweet read:

“I contacted @Chewy last week to see if I could return an unopened bag of my dog’s food after he died. They 1) gave me a full refund, 2) told me to donate the food to the shelter, and 3) had flowers delivered today with the gift note signed by the person I talked to??”



That's right. A full refund, plus a heartfelt note and flowers. NBD.

Much to Brose’s surprise, she was not the only one on the receiving end of such kindness.

Pretty soon stories from other grieving pet parents came flooding in praising Chewy for going above and beyond during their time of mourning.

One person shared, “@Chewy did the same for me when we lost our sweet boy, Murphy Brown. I’d just ordered 2 cases of his special kidney diet food, and they arrived after he passed. But they gave a full refund and told us to just donate the food to a shelter. That act of kindness meant so much.”

A person who works at an animal shelter confirmed this is Chewy’s standard practice, saying, “We often have people reaching out to donate because Chewy told them to reach out to a local shelter. I can’t express what this means to shelter’s like mine. Truly a gift.”

Many reported that Chewy even sends hand-painted pet portraits, like this one:

Can you imagine having a beautiful memento like this to cherish? Of course it doesn’t replace the pet that’s now gone, but man, what a great way to make such a painful transition a little more bearable. Customer service is great and all, but this is a wonderful example of businesses displaying humanity.

That kindness isn’t limited to times of grief, either. Chewy apparently sends birthday cards, and seems to often encourage customers to donate all kinds of unwanted items after giving a full refund.

“I bought 4 sling carriers from Chewy to try for my new rescue dog. Only used one. Was shocked when @Chewy told me to just donate the rest after my refund. Brought them to [a] local rescue dog group who were happy to take them,” wrote one person.

As a mother of two cats—and a regular Chewy customer—I was both shocked to realize the company did all this, not to mention touched. I wasn’t alone. People were floored.

As for Chewy—since Brose’s tweet went viral, the company did see it, and left its own response.

“It's the least we could do, Anna. We hope these flowers will help to keep your spirits up.”

We don’t always picture corporations having a heart. But it is a possibility. Huge kudos to Chewy for providing pet owners true care … in more ways than one.

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