Walkabout Harnesses Walk A Belly Harnesses Refund Refusal, Extremely Rude, Unrealistic Return/Refund Policy, Santa Cruz California

The Walkabelly is a product which is supposed to help pets post-surgery to stand so they can go to the bathroom, or to help them walk. I purchased it after speaking with Cathy Erwin who seems to run the Walkabout company, who assured me that if the harness did not fit my dog, I could return it. She did not mention, however, that even trying it on the dog will result in them not issuing a refund. The harness is so shoddy and cheaply made--fake neoprene on the outside lined with fake sherpa wool on the inside. It has two unpadded canvas straps that dug into my hands as I tried to lift my 110 pound dog from the ground, just to see if the product would be a good fit. It immediately bunched under his belly, and even though I attached the $25 "suspenders" to the harness, my dog almost slipped out of it onto his face. Cathy told me that if I didn't buy the strap, my dog might slip out from the harness, which should have been a red flag, but I was desperate and needed something quickly. Even with the $25 useless strap he almost slipped out!

After trying it on him, I called Cathy and she told me I could return the product and they would refund the $100 I spent. I spent about 30 minutes doing my best to clean the wool from the velcro, which as anyone who has ever tried to get any material out of velcro, knows is nearly impossible. I did my best though, picked the tiny amount of dog hair out of the neoprene, and spent $11 returning it. Several days later, she sent the Walkabelly back to me and wrote a note saying she would not return my money because the product was "used and dirty." I immediately called her and explained that I had simply tried the harness on my dog, and that the wool in the velcro was impossible to remove and was not my fault. She accused me of lying about how many times I used it. I asked her if she would refund my money if I could find a professional company to remove the wool in the velcro, and she said no and hung up on me.

The return/refund policy the Walkabout company has is obviously crafted to protect them from anyone ever returning their products to them. They will refuse to refund money unless the harness has not touched any part of the dog's body. I believe they are crooked and unethical, and the harness they make is useless and horrible.