Banfield Pet Hospital
Reviews and Complaints

if you think tests on your pet is useless, then you shouldn't be a pet parent. shame on you. go read up on good health care and you'll see tests right next to it. educate yourself before you say something like that.

I don't know the details but I can tell you this...it's very likely your dog developed a heart murmur. Heart murmurs do not have to be present at birth, and sometimes do develop with old age (old heart valves just don't have the same potential as new ones) and since your baby was 14, it's likely hers was developed from old age (if she didn't have any other underlying issues, like an infection), so I would not be quick to think that they didn't care or didn't tell you about it when it was there all along because it may have just developed.

Banfield is by far the worst vet I have ever been to. The wellness plans are a total sham - every visit, I've had to fight to get the vet to perform the most routine tests that are promised in the plan and even then, they find loopholes to charge you... They charge several times the regular rate for meds ect. so you end up paying for that you would have if you'd gone to a reputable vet. All of the doctors at Banfield are inexperienced and incompetent. They are clearly only concerned about getting as much money from you as possible. I worked at a vet for over 5 years and know a little bit about what a good vet should do. I recently took my Great Dane into Banfield in Palm Coast and paid a lot of money for a complete senior wellness exam with a full CBC blood panel screen. The vet barely looked at my dog and did not even notice 5 large lipomas until after I pointed them out to her. She spent LESS THAN 3 minutes examining my dog! She did not ask to review his records nor did she carefully listen to heart and lung function. It was very clear to me the whole exam what just a sham to get money and she did not care at all about my dog's health. She seemed annoyed that I asked questions and did not have informed answers for any of them. They supposedly did a full CBC panel which (miraculously) came back in about 5 min. However, they did not give me the results and when I came back it to pick them up, I noticed there was an abnormally low level platelet count (148) The doctor had not even noticed it until I pointed it out and then made excused saying it was "normal" A reputable vet would have ordered a manual check of this to confirm. A low level platelet count can be very serious. I now have to go to another vet to have this checked. The CBC panel itself was not nearly as inclusive as most panels done at regular vets.. yet they charged me 3x what most vets charge! I told her about my dogs cognitive decline and the doctor said she had never heard of Anipryl which is the most commonly diagnosed prescription med for this... nor did she know about choline or Cholodin; which are the most commonly used supplements for canine cognitive decline! Remarkably uniformed! She did not seem to care at all and did nothing to check him for this... She also said no adults canines can get ear mites which is a lie. She pretended to briefly look into his ears.. (this is not the way to check for mites.. you have to take a swab at look under a microscope) When I worked at the vet, I personally treated at least 30 adults dogs for ear mites. Finally, they charged me twice what they originally quoted for Rimadyl and only gave me 10 days worth with no refills! I had to go back in to get the Rimadyl because the vet forgot to add it during the first visit! When I finally got it... It did not have the full amount and most of the pieces were broken up. Two years ago, when I took my Great Dane into Banfield on the "platinum plan" for a complete yearly exam and screen... they left him in a small cage all day long and when I picked him up after work - 9 hours later, he could barely walk and had feces and urine all over him! They told me they did not do anything for him that day.. no tests.. NOTHING! They had forgotten he was there! The doctor refused t come out and talk to me and they even tried to charge me for that! They also gave him 6 month supply of bad heartworm med that was recalled! They did not want to reimburse me nor did they apologize for their incompetence. If you care at all about your pets, I would avoid this place at all costs! You are going to get much better care going to a real vet.

When I signed up at your clinic I was told in advance that there was going to be one vet - so far there has been at least 10 there now I told there are two new ones and they want to do all these test on my dogs again. It seems like everytime you get a vet in your offices they want to do extensive work on the dogs that have been coming there for years (read the charts for gods sakes). I have an 2 elderly dogs and all they want to do is put them threw test that will cost me money (not them) and tell me what they want to happen to the dog (More money). I have already been threw this with the first vet there which caused nerve damage to my dogs leg and now it's to late to fix it and I fought with him about it (Cost me $600 to fine out nothing could be done from another vet). Then Dr White wanted to put them threw the test again I said fine but was not happy (Cost me even more money). I even had a friend who's dog went there 6 months ago and almost died because of the vet did she now takes her somewhere else and the dog looks great (Cost her $4, 000 and your doctors saying it was not there fault). I don't know who you hire but a better back ground check should be done along with some compassion and understanding of the owners. I have sent lots of people to your clinic only to hear horror stories from them I'm beginning to understand what they are saying

My daughter worked at Banfield as vet. They are one of the worst employers in the country. Its all money driven and the heck with the doctors and customers. They treat their vets like dirt, and do nothing but push them to do unnecessary tests. If they don't they threaten to fire them. Most of the vets work 12 to 14 hour days and get padi for 8. Cheap, cheap cheap - they are the worst - DON'T BLAME THE DOCTORS.

Nov of 2017 the FDA put out an alert about Vetsulin and the varying amounts of the crystalline Zinc insulin. However, my vet never told me about it and the possible side effects.

In May 2017 I went in to pick up a vial of insulin. i was told that they were out and on back order. I asked if they can call their other locations to see if they had any in. After calling 5 locations there was one nearby that had 1 vial left. This was alarming news and asked the nurse if the vet would be willing to script out in case of a situation like this occurs again. She comes back into the room and says No he will not script it out. Now a month later he is scripting it out b/c they no longer have Vetsulin at any of their locations. They put my dog on Humunlin N and said to keep the same dosage. They never told me about the need to switch syringes now for the past 3 days my dog is getting who knows what kind of dosage. I am so furious at their lack of care.

Bansfield is very underhanded. You call and get a price quote, then they tack on all sorts of “extra fees” including “medical disposal.” I took a feral cat in for spaying and the bill with all “services and fees” was over $650. When I called they quoted $350. I feel totally ripped off and now they are even telling me that I will have to pay an additional fee, on top of the $650+ to get the spaying staples removed. Unbelievable. I will never go back to Bansfield and will definitely tell anyone I know with pets not to go.

BAH continues to draft my checking account. I am stuck in a contract(This is the 4th year of a 1 year contract!) They have drop off appointments for services (with no comunication) they are never available for sick or emergency visits. They always find a procedure, treament etc. in addition to "covered services so that every "in plan" check-up costs me $60- $300.00 more. They removed the wrong lump requiring a second surgery and acting like I should have been grateful they didn't charge me for putting my poor dog through anesthesia again. The last time she had her teeth cleaned it took 3days to recover from anesthesia and although " eye abnormality was noted on the apperwoork this was never communicated and coatand skin were "normal even though the reason for the apointment was hotspots (I had to have a drop off "well checkup" for them to see her) It took a threatening email before the Vet returned my calls about this I have yet to hear from Banfield regarding any of this. My advice is to stay away from "chain store" vets .

On Sunday, August 23, my two dogs got in a fight.

I noticed on Tuesday, August 25, that the one dog's face on the right side was beginning to swell. I decided to keep an eye on it and take her to a vet on Wednesday if it was still swelling.

On Wed her face did look worse, but my husband had chest pains and I took him to the ER, he was admitted to the hospital and ended up in ICU.

On Thursday morning I called my daughter and grandson and asked them to find a vet and take my dog Sasha because her face was really swollen by now. My grandson googled the closest vet and found Banfield (7th Ave and Bell Road in Phoenix AZ). Since they are affiliated in the Petsmart store, I had confidence that this was a good place for them to take her.

When they arrived and the exam was completed, it was decided that she needed to have surgery. The cost was given of approx $1200 and I agreed to this - since my husband was in ICU, I could not put his dog to sleep at this time. Surgery was done, a drain tube placed in her cheek, oral and ear drop antibiotics were given. (She has been given her meds every 12 hours since the surgery).

On Monday, August 31, my daughter took her back to Banfield as requested by the Vet. She was examined and the drain tube was removed.

On September 10 I noticed that her face was starting to swell again. I called Banfield and was told that in order to have her checked again I would have to pay another exam visit. I questioned this since if the decision to remove the drain tube too soon was made, then I should not have to pay for that mistake. Christy put me on hold, came back and said she had talked to the Vet - and that there was nothing they could do - if I wanted her checked again I would have to pay for the visit. I told her I was very unhappy and that if I was going to pay someone a 2nd time to care for my dog after this botched procedure by their Vet - it would not be them.

This is the WORST vet attitude I have ever encountered. I am so sorry I took my pet to this location. I will do everything within my power to make sure others are aware of this treatment. I will share my BAD experience at every opportunity. I do not have another $1, 000 to take care of my pet and if another surgery is now required, then my pet will probably die.

Banfield at this location in Phoenix did not care about my pet – and since my incident I have seen so many unhappy customers at other locations that I now beleive that Petsmart probably doesn’t care either or they would not have continued affiliation with Banfield

My comments are to share my BAD experience - if my dog had not been so sick, and I would have checked all of the complaints before I would not have taken her to Banfield.

I took my cat in so they could look at a type of blister/cut/ cyst on his paw that had become infected (it was oozing yellow liquid). I waited nearly 40 minutes and the vet gave NO diagnosis, only that it was infected. (duh-that's why I took him to the vet). Then they charged me twice for 2 different antibiotics, which I noticed later.

The gave me some antibiotic drops and told me the dosage. When I returned home to administer the medicine, the dropper had a different form of measurement than what they had told me so I called to make sure I had converted the measurement correctly. The receptionist first said "the dosage is on the box" I explained that I wasn't sure and she went and checked, but I felt like they were implying I was stupid. I wasn't able to administer the medicine at that time because it had gotten late and I had to work. I put it in the fridge and went to work.

When I returned it was 9:30pm and I opened the medicine and it was already opened! Horrified that they gave me unsealed medicine, I set it on the table by my purse so I would remember to return it the next day when I went out. At this point I thought the medicine had already been used and was bad and didn't see any reason to refrigerate it.

I went to the vet with the medicine and explained that it was opened. They told me they ALWAYS did that because the medicine comes in a powder form and they have to mix it with drops. I was shocked that the nurse had not explained that to me. I asked for another bottle since the other one had not been refrigerated (because I thought it was bad) and they tried to charge me for it! I ended not taking it at all and walking out. I later went to a health food store and a got a natural herb antibiotic for my cat which is what I should have done in the first place.

I next called Banfield's 1800 customer service line. I said I wanted to make a complaint. A guy said that he would type my complaint into his computer word for word and then send it to coporate. I said "I am not asking for a refund, I only wanted to voice my concern about the vet and the nurse's lack of diagnosis, explanation of dosage and explanation of opened medicine. " I proceeded with the same story as above and he said someone would call.

Someone called 3 days later and left me a voicemail saying that I could not be issued a refund! Uh huh, word for word? Not even close.

I will never return to a Banfield, not even a different location. As shown above, the vet, nurse, and corporate office doesn't care at all about the pet or the customer. They didn't even listen to a word I said.

I took my 3 year old yorkie to Banfield Pet Hospital at Petsmart in Kennesaw to get his rabies vaccine and heartworm pills. While I was there, the nurses were completely incompetent, they threw away and had to reprint 4 different estimates in 20 minutes because they said they kept forgetting additonal fees for things like blood storage, etc. The nurse asked why I was there, I told her, and 2 minutes later she came in and asked me again why I was there because she forgot and didn't make notes in the computer for the doctor. When the doctor came in she said she didn't know what I was there for because there were still no notes in the computer. I told her again, they did his vaccine and drew blood and we left. The next morning he was shaking all over, would not move at all, and if you touched him he would cry and whimper. I called at 9 AM and told the receptionist what was happening and that I needed to know if this was normal or to bring him in. She put me on hold, then came back and said that I could bring him in if I wanted, but it would be $80, and "you know, like, they may just give him fluid, you know?" Literally, that is what she said to me. I told her I did not know, and could she please have a nurse or the doctor call me so I could know what to do. 5 hours later, I called back, because no one had called, and the same girl answered, I asked her if I could speak to a nurse or the doctor since no one had called me. The nurse was very rude, interrupted me in the middle of me telling her why I was calling, and asked what exactly is he doing. When I told her, she said (very rudely) that she has been a nurse for 5 years and has never heard of a reaction to a rabies vaccine. I was absolutely appalled because in the 5 hours of me waiting for them to call me I had looked on the internet, and told her so, about all kinds of reactions to rabies vaccines. Not to mention, that is why they will not let me take him in to get groomed until 48 hours after the vaccine. She told me that no one called me because they were in surgery, which at that point I told her how the receptionist answered my question the first time I called and she told me it was because she was new. She put me on hold, then came back and told me that she was mistaken, the doctor said it is possible for dogs to have a reaction to the vaccine, but as long as he is not vomiting and having diarrhea then it should be ok, and to bring him in tomorrow if he is not better. I will NEVER take him back there. I work for a doctor's office and if a patient is having problems we do not guess, or even come close to saying what the receptionist said.

So My wife and I noticed one of our dogs was itching alot and then all of the sudden she started loosing her hair! So we took her in to Banfield's since that is the closest vet to our house. They said she is allergic to flea bits. she gave us First Shield and shampoo and a conditioner and some other crap total (over $120). They convinced us to get a skin graph and skin scrape (another $60) they said she might also have a food allergy and recommended this dog food that is $65 for 15 LBS! And then after the graph and scrape they said she also has ring worm and bacterial infection. They wanted to treat everything all at once (another $230) I asked them how can we know whats wrong if we treat everything all at once? The lady said its just easier to be safe than sorry. After doing some research I found my dog had no symptoms of ring worm or a bacterial infection and they thought that the itching and hair loss could be either allergies or fleas (this is when I asked about how treating for both would tell us which it was). After using First Shield for several months my dog has lost more hair and itches non-stop and I still see fleas on her! I am out over $300 and I am worse off than when I started! I flea bombed I used the shampoos and sprays and did everything they said to do and all they have to say is bring her in and we can diagnose her again! Thats $30 just for the visit plus whatever ### tests they "need" to run it would be another $100+ for that visit! (I AM NOT JUST A RANDOM PERSON I HAVE WORKED AT VET CLINICS, HUMANE SOCIETIES, ALL OVER OREGON, I AM NO VET BUT BEEN AROUND AND WORKED WITH VETS FOR YEARS!) TAKE MY ADVICE DO NOT GO TO BANFIELD'S THEY ARE *** VETS, EACH VET WILL HAVE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT DIAGNOSIS, THEY SCAM YOU AND FALSIFY INFORMATION, DO TESTING THAT IS NOT NECESSARY, TRY AND TREAT ONE SYMPTOM WHICH COULD BE MULTIPLE DIAGNOSIS ALL AT ONCE INSTEAD OF RULING OUT POSSIBLE ISSUES NOT ALLOWING YOU TO FIND OUT THE ACTUAL EXACT PROBLEM, THEY SELL *** PRODUCTS AT OVER PRICED LABELS, THEY ARE NOT AFRAID TO SELL PRODUCTS THAT ARE PROVEN TO NOT WORK OR CAUSE HARM TO YOUR PETS!, THIS IS A CORPORATION NOT A CLINIC THEY ARE VETS WHO CANNOT GET HIRED BY TRUE CLINICS OR ARE NOT COMPETENT ENOUGH TO HAVE THEIR OWN CLINIC, THEY ARE ALL ABOUT $$$$$ NOT YOUR ANIMAL! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE TAKE MY ADVISE! I KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT AND DON'T MAKE THE MISTAKE I DID AND SO MANY PEOPLE DO DAILY. WE NEED TO ALL PUT A STOP TO BANFIELD'S FRANCHISES EVERYWHERE! STICK WITH YOUR LOCAL CLINICS THESE ARE VETS THAT TRULY CARE ABOUT YOU AND YOUR PETS BECAUSE THEIR JOBS AND REPUTATION DEPEND ON IT IN ORDER TO COMPETE WITH THE BANFIELD'S OF THE COUNTRY!

I don't suggest to take your dog/cat to Banfield Pet Hospital at Petsmart. At first I thought it was such a good deal but then problem after problem occurred. I thought you paid this one time fee of like $300.00 but that's not the case, everytime I go into Banfield I pay.
Okay let's get to the actual story. I took my puppy into Banfield to get fixed. The first couple of weeks after surgery she was fine, until I noticed a huge hole where the incision was made. I immediately called Banfield and told them about the situation. They told me to bring her right in. We took her into Banfield and they said that it was an abscess. I asked what we should do about it. They said it will cost nothing they were just going to cauterize it. In my eyes it was a huge hole and I definitely thought that it needed a suture. I also thought she would need an antibiotic but they said she would be fine. I figured they knew what they were talking about though since they work with animals on an everyday basis. Well two days later I was bringing my puppy back into Banfield because the cauterizing didn't seem to work. By this time I was very upset. I called Banfield again and let them know what was going on again they said to bring her right in. I took her into Banfield for the second time. This time they said she was going to need a suture. I thought with them making all of these mistakes on my puppy I would not have to pay, well I guessed wrong. They ended up charging us almost $30.00 for one suture. I made a huge stink about it because I didn't think I should have to pay. I wasn't the one making all of these mistakes they were. They told me either I was going to need to pay or they weren't going to work on my dog. I ended up paying the $30.00 because I wasn't going to walk out with my puppy having a huge hole in her stomach. Like a week later my husband took her in to get the suture taken out. He had notified them that she was putting off this off awful smell. They said it was part of the healing process, which sometimes after surgery there is a smell but this was horrible. Weeks later again my puppy was still having problems. I looked at her stomach everyday and nothing seemed to be healing. Weeks later her incision should've pretty much been healed. I waited a little while longer. Then I noticed two bumps where the incision was. I then called into Banfield again. They said to bring her right in as they did two other times. Again I took her right in. I had told them she's been throwing up...licking at her behind..and still having problems with her stomach. (I think the reasons why she was doing all of these things is because of the infection on her stomach). They didn't really say much they just said they need to take her into the back room. So 20 minutes later they come in to tell me Paisley (my puppy) still had two sutures stuck in her stomach...plus her anal glands needed drained. They took out the two sutures and also did something with a anal glands. Meanwhile no one came and talked to me about anything that was going on until what they had did was finished. They then charged me for both procedures. Well enough said. We are definitely switching after our yearly plan is up with Banfield. We just had way too many complications. Thanks so much for reading what I had to say I hope it helps anyone who is trying to make a decision on where to take their pet.

I paid 140 for my female cat, which included pain meds, antibiotics, IV fluids, and a check up afterwards. I am a big believer in smaller vet offices and have recieved cheaper and much more care that is more compassionate and caring.

If the animal was healthy and you bought it in for like...a microchip...then there should be some concern without the owner's consent that the animals is bought there for this reason. For all the vet knows, you could have been someone who stole the cat trying to claim it for yourself. However, since the cat was injured and required medical care, the cat should not have been turned away.

What do you mean, Banfield did nothing? They re-imbursed the price of the dog AND medical expenses.. Do you expect every veterinarian to get sacked when they make a mistake that is actually quite common? At least they explained what happened and worked it out financially, which is more than a Dr will do. Human dies in surgery, surgeon gets paid. Surgeon still has a job. Yet you people think that a vet should go and work at Walmart..
Why do you think vets are getting so friggin' crazy? They are expected to do everything, charge nothing for it and make no mistakes..

I am so very sorry for your loss. I probably hear more horror stories about Banfield than any other place. Thank you for posting your story as I know it has probably saved other lives. I hope you filed a complaint with the state veterinary board about this "doctor."

I too had a "Suki, " also a victim of veterinary malpractice (not at Banfield). I founded the Veterinary Abuse Network in her honor and memory, and for 10 years I have worked in the advocacy area of helping people hold vets accountable (it is basically an impossible task, as they are so well protected by state boards, political connections, and lot$ and lot$ of $$$$). We are making some small progress, mostly in the area of educating consumers as to what to look for (failure to notify a pet's owner, for example, when the animal is in crises is a HUGE red flag, as is the unavailability of the vet, shabby recordkeeping, lack of informed consent, etc.) and therefore hope to help them avoid bad vets.

It's not surprising Banfield did nothing. I hear that all the time. The only thing to do is file a complaint, but the vet will likely get away with everything. BUT...I still tell people to file. It puts the vet on notice, forces them to put their lies in writing (which ALWAYS catch up with them later), and alerts the vet board that even if they don't do anything, they will recognize that name should they see it again.

Again, so very sorry. I know how devastating this is, and while I am glad the insurance company acknowledged the loss, they too are paid to keep their sorry vets out of trouble as much as possible.

Take care.

Sorry to hear that this happend to ur dog, and i appreciate that u don't blame the whole practice for one dr's mistake.
just to mention these mistakes happens even in emergency hospitals nad i have wittnessed a case where the dr's coverd the death of an animal on something else.

Hello,
I am contemplating working for Banfield so I am carefully reviewing many of the positive and negative comments on the website about the company.
First, what you are describing is a hormonal-induced incontinence. A small population of spayed females can become incontinent. This could happen at any vet, any hospital, any day. It usually requires treatment with a product called DES or PPA. So ironically, your other vet is incorrect and simply taking advantage of your hatred of Banfield by saying they are responsible. I hate to tell you the same exact thing has happened to every single vet, including me, and including this new vet you are going to. That's the facts.

I worked for Banfield briefly as a collections rep at the corporate office in Portland, Oregon. The post by Daniel is perfectly indicative of the Corporate atmosphere as well. The Wellness Plans are made for one reason only, TO MAKE THE COMPANY MONEY! All day long I talked to people who were told by the hospital that the plan could be canceled at any time. I Know for a fact that the corporate office is aware of this misinformation and deliberately does not advise there hospitals to correct this. The actual production cost of the services provided by the wellness plans is often less than $100, but the “Retail Value” of the services can be in excess of $1000.00. I understand that a company obviously needs to make money, but the markup on these services is outrageous on top of the unethical lack of information given to the clients by the hospital staff (generally speaking) about their options for canceling the wellness plan. In addition to this the billing for the company is all “paperless”. You have to give a credit card to be automatically billed every month. If something happens and the payments aren’t automatically processed for several months the wellness plan is canceled to collections. At this point, even if the “Retail Value” of the services used is LESS than the cost of the plan they are going to send you to IC Systems (a collection agency) for the whole year’s cost of the wellness plan plus collection fees, if said fees are allowed in your state. This means that if you took your pet in to the hospital all you had done were 2 shots and some kind of fecal exam, and later on the payments are defaulted on (sometimes the “automatic billing system” randomly just stopped taking payments for, SERIOUSLY, no reason!) you are going to be sent to collections for up to $400.00. Granted, it is ultimately the client’s responsibility to make sure their bills are being paid, but how easy could it be to miss that 21.95 wasn’t deducted from your account? SOMETIMES the clients will be mailed a letter saying the payments are not being made and SOMETIMES a phone call is generated in the system, but by no means does this happen with every client. I would say it happens maybe 30% of the time. I know, this is all I did all day long for two months while in the Wellness Plan collections department. I have never in my life worked for a company where all day long I had to listed to people threatening legal action. I really believe that it can’t be legal that they cancel the wellness plans to collections for more then the retail value of the services that were used, and I also think this is in direct contradiction with what the actual contracts say. This is one of the worst jobs with the worst company I’ve ever had in my life.

for your information the wellness plan is for well services not when your pet is sick. not all banfields are this was the banfield in lawrenceville georgia only thinks about your pet and what to do to help them. just becuase you have had problems at one hospital does not mean you will have the same problems at another. do not judge one hosptail by what they do.

FYI, rectal temperatures are routine and they may seem rough to you, but they're the only way to know your dog's temperature. Even if your dog has a sensitive rectum for whatever reason (worms, parvo, impacted anal glands, infected anal glands, injury, etc.) a temp is requisite because if your dog has fever or if he's hypothermic, these require emergency intervention immediately. They shouldn't have done it in front of you, for sure, and I wasn't there, so maybe it was rough!

Anal glands are checked by squeezing the rectum in two different ways to express the accumulated fluid. Dogs almost always react with pain to this because if the glands are simply full, it causes distress and discomfort to empty them. They probably just squeezed, the dog reacted with pain (normal), and nothing came out (quite possibly due to this infection?) and decided it wasn't a big deal. Vet offices try to get them in and get them out.

I never worked for Banfield but I doubt its operation differs significantly from other clinics. You're right. They should be responsible for part of the cost, but - in my opinion - not because of the temperature or whether or not it exacerbated the condition (it's unknown) but for their oversight and lack of thoroughness which exacerbated the condition.

Nothing's worse than your baby in pain and an animal hospital that's more concerned with the bottom line and working within time constraints. I'm sorry for your experience.

Banfield knew my cat had kidney disease and prescribed CLAVAMOX which is clavulanate potassium! He is almost dead! DO NOT TAKE YOUR PET THERE!

well, seeing that it is mandated by the county that all pets HAVE to get at least a rabies vaccine, the cat had to have it... so you would have to agree to get it. but i agree that they shouldn't have given the vaccine that day since the pet was having difficulty breathing already

Do not take your pet to banfield pet hospital. They aways tried to push meds on my dog for illnesses he did not have. When I tried to cancel my plan. I knew the year was over they said because he had an office visit I would have to pay over two hundred dollars. I just paid the balance for the year and told they to cancel the plan at the and do not charge my credit card again. I would never use them or tell my friend or family too. Stay far far far away,

The plan was not the problem for me. I liked it very much. The problem is that they stopped taking the money out of my account and never told me. So after a while they sent a collections agency after me (had I known they weren't taking the money out of my account I would have gladly paid via mail or internet). This was the only notice I got from them. I immediately paid the amount asked for (which was the remaining amount on the contract). After that I was informed that I would have to start over with a new plan essentially double paying for the remaining months on the original contract. That is what I don't like about Banfield.

Maybe you should read the fine print before signing a contract... Having a pet does cost money. Different doctors use different medication, depending on who you go to.

The people that work at this Banfield Hospital stink! They do not know how you do their job nor do they care! I called for them to fax a perscription in for my dog who has seizures. She was already getting this medicine for almost a year, just ran out of refills. So I call very early one day, they were supposed to fax it in at 9:00am... By 5pm it STILL was not there. Then by 7pm it still was not there! I called back & they said oh she is going to fax it right away. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THERE HOURS Ago! Anyways a short version: they finally faxed it to the WRONG PLACE! & I told them 2 times where to send it & the phone # but still couldn't... My dog had to miss a night pill & a morning pill! Which is extremely bad for the dog! It didn't get faxed over till the NEXT day around 1pm! These people suck & should be fired! They don't care & are extremely rude! Don't take your pet to them if you love your pet!

Antibiotics are not effective against a fungus infection and ringworm takes thirty days to clear itself up, so the antibiotics probably did not do a thing either, so you should be just as peeved at the second vet. In fact, I hope that you post a complaint on his/ her website since he/she was just as bad as the first one.

Has anyone been able to sue Banfiled or the Doctor for damages (medical expenses incurred) ? My 12 year old cockapoo was treated for allergies when she was later diagnosis with a mass in her trachea. She died during surgery to remove the cancerous mass that could have been treated orally with medication.

I first visited Banfield when I adopted my Chihuahua mix and the rescue group included a coupon for a free exam. After reading several negative reviews regarding Banfield in general, I was pretty skeptical but needed to save $ so I made an appt., forgoing my usual vet who was much closer to my home. Two additional dogs later (both adopted at age 14, so they are not your average patients), I would never consider going anywhere else. I am certain that Dr. Parna at the Kentlands Banfield in Gaithersburg, MD has saved my dogs' lives on several occasions, beyond the normal well visit appts. I was initially concerned that an office in the middle of a retail outlet would lack a sense warmth but I was wrong on that count, too. Every time we have been in for an appt. we have been welcomed warmly and made to feel that there is a genuine desire to do what is best for our pets, so much so that we carry several of their business cards to give to friends who ask which vet we use. Understandably, not everyone has the same exact experience but I am very happy with Banfield and respect and appreciate Dr. Parna more than words can say.

Banfeild is terrible! I won't even go through the angry frustration they put me through.. Anyone deciding to use this place should think twice! Compared to what you spend at a normal vet that actually cares about your pets their is no cost savings and Banfeild will let you down guaranteed. Rude customer service (was told by an employee to complain to her supervisors, like she didn't even care about fixing the problems she caused). ALL check out consumer affairs report on this place 91% ANGRY customer rating!

Talk about a SCAM!Last Saturday afternoon we came home to find that our dog had chewed up his tail big time ..Knowing that Banfield was the only vet open in our area other than the emergency hospital. we took him to the Banfield Pet Hospital in East Peoria, Il. The vet said that his tail was dying and he needed an amputation immediately. or it would travel to his spinal cord if un-checked.. She even claimed that it was not from chewing but some other trauma besides chewing such as getting his tail caught in something etc..(which didn't make sense because he was in our bedroom for 3 hours as always on Sat. mornings.) He had been biting his tail due to his allergies and had been given an allergy shot on Thursday and seemed fine on Friday.) Anyway, she insisted it was not chewing and I asked her about the cost of the surgery...She said in these words " fifieen to two". I resopnded, "Do you mean 1500 to 2000?! " She answered "yes"...My husband who was sitting there with me told her that we need to see our own vet..She said "Well, I wouldn't be suprised if you have to take him into the emergency hospital by tomorrow...We said we would take that chance...and she gave us anti-biotics (how caring)and we left..We happened to know where our vet lived so we decided to chance it and stop by...Thankfully she was in her yard and was able to look at our dog and said right away that his tail was NOT dying, showed us the bite marks, told us to give him the ant-biotics and come back to her office in 2 or 3 days...Went back and he is recovering nicely. In the mean time I have been gettin quotes from different vets on tail amputations and the highest was around $300...One vet told me to get a hard copy from Banfield and when I called them they said they needed me to bring him in...Then I complained and told her my experience...She did not offer to look into it and her apology was very shallow...I am so angry...Thanks for letting me air my feelings . Her final words were, Well, let us know how he's doing."

Banfield Hospital in Crestwood, IL was responsible for my pe'ts death. The vet and staff convinced me to perform an operation on my 15 year old pet which resulted in death. They charged me $1, 000.00 on top of it all. The death of my pet was bad enough but my complaint went on death ears. Their customer service is poor and the top officials would not talk to me or return my calls. You can not cancel the health insurance with them when your pet dies. You have to pay until the insurance expires. I would not recomend Bandfield to anyone. Beware of the small print of their contract. I wish Banfield would close so that no one else has to suffer like I did. I will be taking this to the better business bureau and eventually an attorney.

Banfield is the worst business I've encountered. They smile in your face then stab you in your back. BEWARE!

The writing in the comment recommending this location looks suspciously professional. As in, congrats for the attempt to rectify this situation by the Banfield Public Relations Department. Perhaps instead of writing this and posting it as if it came from a happy customer, complaintsboard.com should just inform the public of who actually authored this post. Was it Banfield?

I've dealt with Banfield at both the Germantown and Gaithersburg locations. The complaints above regarding the yearly Wellness contracts are based on wrong assumptions.
There is no "month to month" plan. The (optimum) wellness plans are a specific cost for one year, and the payments can be spread out in monthly installments over the course of a year. This monthly installment option is convenient, and from what I recall there are no extra fees for doing this.
When someone signs up for a year-long plan such as one of the wellness plans, there's a risk that something may come up during that year where you don't need the plan anymore. Well, in such a case, you can't just cancel the contract - you still owe the inital plan's cost.
I've had great cost-savings by being on the optimum wellness plan the past year and a half or so (keep in mind, the plan will automaticall renew after the first year unless you cancel it, or tell them not to automatically renew it). I also like Dr. Parma in Gaithersburg, who's very knowledgable and explains things very well, and even finds ways to keep extra costs to a minimum when I've asked. This has not been true of any other vets I've had for my dog (which have included a few other places in the area). In fact, one visit to other vets has easily cost the yearly fee for the optimum wellness plan! Also, the vet techs at this Banfield are very nice and helpful, and also know a lot about dogs (and always remember my dog's name!).
Of course, serious problems do need to go to better equipped animal hospitals, and Banfield will definitely recommend this. For example, when my dog was young, she had a serious problem which was immediately diagnosed as her having ingeseted rat poison. In this case, I was referred to a pet hospital in Rockville, where they could do a blood transfusion (there are not many, or any, regular vet practices that are equipped to do this procedure).
I do recommend Banfield and their optimum wellness plan.

I registered 2 pups in the Wellness Program (at the same time/male/female). Knowing they were 1/2 related I decided to upgrade my female 3 mos later so she could be spade when she was older.

I ended up giving them to good homes and knew I would have to honor my contract for a yr each pup. Since I upgraded my female I was forced to pay an xtra 3 mos after the yr ended.

Made no sense to me but it was either that or my credit being threatened.

I AGREE...SCAM CITY ALL THE WAY BUT THEY HAVE YOU BENT OVER A BARREL!

By the way, shame on me...this was the 2nd set of pups I went thru them with. NEVER AGAIN!

I was taking my dog to PetsMart PetHotel in East Hanover, NJ and my dog was vaccinated with Bortadella four months prior. During one of their many kennel cough outbreaks, with the vaccination four months prior, he got kennel cough. The staff did not tell me of the outbreak or warn me and there have been several outbreaks since. Then when I tried to make appt recently, they informed me he needed another shot, becuase it was 7 months since his last. I have spoken to several vets who think the 6 month vaccination is too much and will not do it. I told them I would provide a note from my vet and they told me no. They also acknowledged that there are no guarentees with the shot (which is obvious since my dog was vaccinated and contracted kennel cough in their East Hanover, NJ facility).

My conclusion is they don't care about the health of the dogs and they continue to have outbreaks of kennel cough even with their strict policy. They need obviously change their managment of the facility - more circulation, watch for signs of outbreaks, warn customers when they do have an outbreak, etc. I would say to anyone considering this PetsMart PetHotel in East Hanover, NJ to think twice. They have a strict policy that does not work and an environment full of sick dogs, which will just cost you more in vets bills and be a a huge nuisance and risk to your dogs health.

The PetsMart PetHotel does not require you to re-vaccinate your dog every 6 months...we require you to get your dog a booster for the Bortadella vaccine, which protects your dog against Kennel cough. It's very similar to giving a child a booster shot for the MMR vaccine. Kennel cough can be very mild... like the common cold for humans. But left untreated, kennel cough can be deadly... so why not take the advice of people who make caring for dogs their living? You can get the booster at any vet...PetsMart does not offer any form of vaccine or other injectable, so PetsMart will make no money off of the booster shot. It is simply for your dog's protection.

Shelby
PetsMart PetsHotel Manager-Houston, TX

UC Davis recommends that the Kennel Cough Vaccine (bordatella) be given every 6 months because that's how long it's effective lasts.