Banfield Pet Hospital Reviews

Nanette's attitude was completely different. She was friendly, apologetic, and gave me a full refund. I was so impressed with her kindness and honesty that I decided to keep taking my other pets to Banfield.

About a month later, I called to request refills on some meds for a pet. I was told that the meds were back-ordered. It wasn't an emergency, so I waited. I called back periodically, only to be told that the meds were not available. This went on for about a month, then without warning, I received a large, plain-white envelope in the mail by certified mail; there was no indication as to who the sender could be. When I opened it, I discovered it was from Banfield, sending my records back and telling me to get lost. I thought this must be something that Nanette had dreamed up on her own, so I called customer service back to explain to them that I understood that they no longer wanted me as a customer, but that they did not have to resort to this type of lying, passive-aggressive behavior, pretending that the meds were back-ordered when they really just wanted to get rid of me. The customer service told me that the district manager had approved this letter and this method of getting rid of me, and that nobody would return my phone calls or acknowledge me in any way.

The vet should have told me that my pet was gravely ill and should be euthanized. Instead, she was all chirpy and acting like this condition was no big deal and he'd be fine. If Banfield did not want me as a customer, they should have told to my face instead of acting like a bunch of third-graders. I have known Nanette for two years and I was shocked that she would behave so horribly; however, the fact that the district manager would encourage and approve such unprofessional and childish behavior is even more shocking.

I am a 60-year-old woman; I am not violent or dangerous, and all that silly cloak-and-dagger stuff is completely unnecessary.

Previously, we had gone to a high-priced vet for over ten years in Boca Raton, Florida. We switched due to a misdiagnosed of our beloved, Bunkie. I guess you never know what you are going to get whether you overpay or are charged fairly. We feel we are very lucky with our experiences, thus, far with the local facility!

Driving the dog to her final appointment, and preparing to say goodbye, was clearly one of the hardest things my sister and her family have gone through. Unfortunately, after more than an hour of crying and waiting in the hospital, my sister learned that the veterinarian would not be able to follow through with the planned procedure. Prior to making it clear that my sister would have to leave with the dog, and one of your staff members quite insensitively suggested several times that the dog's "head could be cut off, and sent in for testing. "

I felt shock and disgusted after I heard how this agency handled this situation. It is absolutely unacceptable that because of Bandfield's oversight, my sister and her family will have to experience the pain of ending their dog's life. If this agency does not have the resources to train their staff, then I feel they have no business offering this procedure.

I travel to HSV, AR every three months to visit my parents and my dog gets groomed there. I chose to get a second opinion from the DVM that my family has used for more than seven years.

The following weekend, December 27th 2010, I took her into a DVM in Hot Springs Village, AR. Within two minutes into the exam, she said my dog had stones, and asked if she could do an x-ray. I agreed. The Doctor and tech returned with the x-ray and I saw the blockage and just cried. She had to have immediate surgery. After surgery, the doctor stated that this was not an overnight diagnosis, my dog had them for a while! There was seven stones, the largest one 1 1/2" inches by 1" inch which was sent out for testing, and three of them were 1" by 1" and the other three were minor. I still have them.

Banfield has yet to respond to my request of reimbursement for their costly mistake.

She became worse over he weekend, so we took her back to Banfield Monday morning. Dr. ** suggested that we take her to VCA Sacramento Veterinary, which we did. After spending an additional $1,500.00 we were told that Lilly did not have pancreatitis, but was diabetic and had gone into a diabetic shock. Due to the negligence and misdiagnosis of Banfield, we lost our Lilly on Monday, March 28, 2011.

After searching for a responsible veterinarian, I found one in Coral Springs (FL) that stated that no vet in his right mind would administer a rabies shot to a sick dog. I am very disappointed and shocked to find this out about Banfield and furthermore will no longer shop at PetSmart. I plan to share this information with everyone I speak to.

The appointment went from bad to worse. They told me that my dog was dying of liver failure or maybe even cancer of the liver. They based this on the fact that she had thrown up the night before. It was grainy, slimy and smelt like it had came from the opposite end, if you know what I mean. This is why I agreed to do blood work for $475.00. After which, they still had no answer as to what was wrong with my buddy. They did x-rays of her leg because they thought it could be arthritis. The x-rays showed none they said.

After three hours and the $475 I had mentioned above, they still could find nothing definite wrong so they suggested that I come back for more tests. At one point during the three hours, I started to leave just for them to give me a guilt trip. They actually asked me, “Well, don't you want to find out what's wrong with your dog?” I said, “Of course but you’re not finding anything wrong.” I went back on Saturday and spent an additional $475.00 for an acid bile test which came back normal. Then they suggested that I do an ultrasound on her liver and biopsies if she had any tumors, which I did not do. I told them that she had been poked and prodded on enough and that I just wanted to let her be.

Anyway, to make a long story short, within two weeks time, this place got over $800.00 from me. They never gave me any medication for my animal. I cried the entire two weeks about my buddy not to mention the stress level was off the charts. She was still not well and I was at my wits end. I went home to Ohio to see my family and took her to my family vet, Dr. **, who spent about ten minutes with her. He sent me home with a ton of meds and said that she absolutely has arthritis in that leg without even having to x-ray it. It has only been four days since her trip to Ohio and she feels 100% better, no more limping, she actually goes up stairs without assistance. Also, Dr. ** said that he didn't see any reason for them to say that she was dying of liver failure that it is totally normal for a dog of her age to have elevated liver enzymes.

I will never go to Banfield Animal Hospital and I hope no one does. They should be shut down. Shame on them for taking advantage of people who love their animals!

Two weeks later she is still no better. A third follow up appointment and now a third vet who wants another $121 to perform cultures and put her on another antibiotic. Does this feel like I am being nickel and dimed? Yes. I don't put up with seeing 3 different doctors that don't know me when I am sick, but Banfield thinks this is ok when an animal can't talk and say how they feel. The vet was also 45 minutes late even seeing us. We were forgotten about. We heard him ask if anyone was in room 2 when we had been in there for 40 minutes. This is not the care and concern I am used to from vets. Over $500 and my dog is almost as sick as she was as the first visit with Banfield. I now have to spend money to go to another vet.

The puppy did not live that long. On Wednesday, he was so bad that I took him to another vet based on a friend's recommendation. In about five minutes, she determined that the puppy was very dehydrated. He should not have been kept down on any medication in any case. And after a strip in a urine sample, it was determined that he had severe diabetes and probably would not live. He died later that day.

The "charge" of $626.00 could not be stopped, because a "service" had been delivered. I only wish those involved at Banfield get the same "service" at some point in their lives.

I went to work the next day and called Banfield in the afternoon to see if I could bring her in to be seen. After being put on hold for a while, the receptionist returned to tell me that they were booked that day and I could bring my dog in as a "walk in," but she could not guarantee how long it would be before she was seen. The receptionist then proceeded to tell me that Banfield doesn't like to see sick pets in the late afternoon or evening because they might need x-rays or further tests. I then asked the receptionist what the point was of paying for this so-called Wellness plan if I couldn't even get my sick dog in to be seen. I told her I wanted to cancel the plan and, without hesitation, she recited the phone number for the corporate office for me to cancel the plan.

I took my dog to the urgent care animal hospital and they diagnosed her with a possible protruding disk in her neck. She was placed on painkillers and muscle relaxants and I was advised to follow-up with my regular vet in 1 week. Needless to say, I have found a new vet for my dog and will never return to Banfield Animal Hospital! I would not recommend Banfield to anyone.

You will discover this should you "sign on." You will also come to realize quickly that you are wasting your money. Do not do, as I did, and accept the word of your local Banfield's that you do not renew at the end of your contract. You must contact the home office. I was not told that. Rather, I informed my local clinic.

The month after expiration, my bank account was automatically billed. When I called, they said it was "my responsibility" to notify them of non-renewal. However, without notifying me, they increased my premium by $10. I could not get my money refunded.

Do not use Banfield unless you enjoy being ripped off.

On April 8th, I took him to see another vet outside of Banfield. He informed me to have vet at Banfield to re-evaluate shoulder because it felt enlarged. On April 12th, Banfield vet re-evaluate my dog and checked shoulder never once mentioned to re-xray it, vet states arthritis and prescribed Tramodol for pain and for me to order Consequin DS tablets, which takes between 4-6 weeks to work. At this visit, they did take blood which had elevation in his Bilirubin; they also dewormed him and gave him Bordella vaccine.

On April 28th, I contacted them again because my dog is in a lot of discomfort; they set him re-evaluation appointment for May 3rd. I could not bear to see my dog in so much pain so I took him to see outside vet again on May 2nd. This vet took another set of x-rays confirming the worst for my dog; he had Osteocarcinoma of his left shoulder and had months to live. He explained that my dog was in extreme pain and Tramodol will not help it and prescribed something stronger. Sadly, I finally had my answer to all my dog's pain, but had to go to a vet outside of Banfield for my answer; this visit cost me $205.00.

My dog had to be put down on May 5th and he was still in extreme pain and I could not bear to have him suffer any longer. Again, I took him back to the same vet who was able to diagnose his problem and paid $190.00 for him to be put down. I not only lost my dog; I lost a loyal champion and friend who was a remarkable one of a kind pet. I lost out on possibly having him with me longer with the correct diagnosis.

I was extremely angry to know all the suffering he endured at Banfield Pet Hospital. I want everyone to be aware not to take their devoted pets to this hospital. I honestly feel that this place should be put out of business. The end result is that my loyal dog, who was in excellent shape besides his left leg, had to be put down. I was and still am extremely sad to lose such a dog who I thought still had many years to be with me.

My 5 (to 6)-month-old German Shepherd was on the Banfield "plan". Took him in 3/23/11 for a limp (after he had escaped and was missing for 12 hours in a wooded area populated with wildlife). After a quick (less than 3 minutes) exam and conference he was diagnosed as having "pano" without X-rays or blood work. We were told by Susan ** that it was highly unlikely to be related to his being out in the woods for 12 hours. If it was related to that, it was because the overexertion may have caused the inflammation. We were also told by ** (owner/vet) to rest him on Rimadyl and Tramadol for 2 weeks and come back for x-rays if he was unimproved.

We were told that on the plan our discount would put us at $479-$559 for sedation and x-rays. This turned out to be MORE than what we spent (a total of $456) at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine Emergency Room in Raleigh for emergency care with an exam, x-rays with sedation, blood, neurology consult, and a week's worth of meds for home. This was also more than any other veterinarian in a 20 mile radius, including our local emergency clinic for the sedation and x-rays.

After taking our puppy to another local vet, after he worsened to the point of not walking within 12 days (this was 4/4/11), we were told that his case was severe and it was unbelievable that ** diagnosed him without a workup. The second vet told us to rush to the Emergency Room at the Teaching Hospital over two hours away, because it was that severe. Our beautiful baby was diagnosed with a L4-L5 compression fracture, which due to the almost 2-week delay, caused irreversible nerve damage and rear end paralysis.

Two different vets (the local vet that we took him to when he worsened and the vet at the hospital) diagnosed the fracture on palpation. It was confirmed via X-ray, yet ** *missed* all of this during her physical. Due to her incompetence, we are losing a puppy that we consider to be part of our families. We have 3 options. 1) Spend $5000 for a surgery that may work but is not likely to reverse the damage, just possibly stop the progression. As a military family raising foster children, we can't afford a surgery this expensive. 2) Confine him to a cage for 8 weeks, while feeding him large quantities of medication in the hopes that it may heal on it's own which is less likely than surgery or 3) euthanize a puppy that, had he been diagnosed correctly the first time, would have had an excellent chance at recovery.

If we go with option 3, and put him down, we have to continue to pay for our "plan" at Banfield. We are in the process of working with the Client Advocate Team at Banfield Headquarters to fix this. They are launching an immediate investigation into this veterinarian and we are also filing a complaint with the NCBVM (state board). Susan ** also has multiple complaints against her that have been filed since she has been in practice.

Getting to the point, my pups were checked out by the doctor, and she stated that she has to administer a skin test to check them for mites. The cost is $30 per pup, and if the test results are positive, I have to pay for medications for each pup. My pups never had any skin or health problems whatsoever until they reached this unsanitized facility. I declined the test because she should have administered the test for free due to the fact that they caught the ** from their infestations.

On Monday, April 4, 2011, I called Banfield's complaint line to file a complaint. I was on hell hold for at least 30 minutes. A customer service rep finally answered the phone by the name of Dwayne. I submitted a claim over the phone, and he stated it takes five business days for them to complete their investigation, and someone will give me a call. A joke. If I wait around for this money-hungry company to treat my pups, they will look like hairless pups. I hired an attorney to analyze the situation to see if I have a case. In the time being, my pups are been treated elsewhere.

The headquarters is in Portland Oregon and the CEO is Mr. John Payne. Their 1-888 number for complaints is a joke. They promise to call you back within 3-5 business days. Don't wait by the phone, no one will call. There is quite a bit of turnover with the vet staffing, vets leaving or only there for one day a week. I believe that if a vet really cares about providing quality care above profits, they will not be working at Banfield. An investigation need to be done. They are simply getting away too much and they can do it.

I am in the medical profession so of course, I questioned everything she did. The vet had me bringing my 7pound chihuahua back so many times. Every time I had to write a big check. At her advice, I took the medical plan only to learn months later, it's not pet insurance. So I tried to cancel. The male representative refused to cancel my account unless I made a payment over the phone of $336. He also said I had to send my ID to him; I said this does not sound legal. I asked for a supervisor and he said no. What's going on at Banfield? Why do I still have to pay them if I call to cancel? I have called them twice and both times I have spoken to the same aggressive man who will not cancel my account at my request. This is illegal and I need help. Is there anyone else who is having problems with Banfield?

So I bought it even though I had doubts. I asked them what about if they eat it, would it hurt them? The vet informed me they don't eat it. I questioned him again by saying, “Are you sure? My piggy will eat everything.” She informed me it would not hurt him. One week later I was back to the office with a very sick guinea pig; he had ate it. When I asked for help, they charged $39.00 later plus meds of $40.

They apologized and said he would be fine; another two days later he’s still no better. $39.00 more plus meds and cleaning out his rectum assured me he would be better. Two more days and he passed away. They do not know how to treat guinea pigs nor do they know what they are suggesting is ok for them or not. Although I did get a heart-felt apology, it still does not bring back Rodney. He was my friend, sometimes my only friend. Please do not trust them with your small animals and do not use cardboard mulch for guinea pigs—it will kill them if they digest it.

My poor kitty is now home with a horrible, painful 5-inch long scar, wearing a cone due to their negligence. They didn't even feed her when they said they would. They didn't even give her pain medicines until I begged them to. Last month, I took my dog there, and $150 later, they told me I should buy their expensive dog food and she'd stop itching. They buried a $6.80 fee for waste removal, which I called them on as there was no waste to remove and they deleted it with no apology. They are crooks! They know you are at their mercy as you are desperate to help your pet. I had to open up a Banfield charge account. I complained about the poor treatment and was told "sorry for any miscommunication" I am considering not paying $1300 for their ineptness at my poor kitties expense. I will never use this vet again. They are extremely dishonest and inept.

She came home fine for about 30 minutes and collapsed. She was so weak, paralyzed, and had vomit and diarrhea. I knew she was dehydrated from this, so I kept forcing water to her and tried feeding her. I called the vets there and she said it was totally normal for a puppy to have this reaction. I waited another day. My little one was not getting any better and first thing in the morning I took her to the vet at Banfield again. They simply did not know what was wrong with her. I left her there for the rest of the day where they put some support for her and told us she has low blood sugar.

When they closed at 7, I picked her up and she was still so weak. But the vet there told us she was going to survive and she was doing very well. She had said that her chances of surviving were high. She then recommended taking her to the emergency vet. We then took her to the emergency vet. There the vet took sample of her blood and ran all other tests just like the vet at Banfield did. He told us that her blood sugar was very low and her chances were not very high even if we get a blood transfusion.

I am filled with regrets I took her to Banfield. They have injected way too many vaccinations in such a little one. Vets should know better how much a newly born, small baby can take. We called this morning ,11/09/10, to cancel the puppy membership and informed them that our little angel is no longer here with us.

At the first visit October 20th, I said he had a couple of sores near his testicles, he said it might be ringworm. He sent me home with medicine and told me to come back in two weeks. He said he would call me if the test would come back positive for ringworm, he then said he called my house /no answer, and that was it. He has my cell phone # but never tried to called it my cell phone. There he could have left a message, but he never bothered.

The next follow-up visit, two weeks later, Nov 3rd, Dr. ** said the dog has ringworm. I told Scott that my dog was shaking his head more than normal, he looked in his ears just with his eyes. Didn't use lighted instrument to look, stuck a Q-tip in his ears and my dog yelped and he said all I see is a little wax. All night long the dog was shaking his head. The next morning, the nurse called to see how he was, and I swear this is the truth, I ask her why he didn't use an instrument to look into his ears? She said that would have been extra money, it was only a follow up visit.

They always call a couple of days before your appointment. If they couldn't get me on my land phone, I'm positive they would have tried my cell #, but for the ringworm? One land phone try is enough. He is totally incompetent.

On Nov 4th, the next day after I saw Dr. **, the dog is still shaking his head excessively. I then took him to Orange County Animal Emergency Service and they said his both ears were infected. I cost me $75.00 for the Emergency visit plus $80.00 for the medicine..

I left and did not realize they had not given me the medication until later that night. I called the next morning and got "Bob". He did not seem concerned when I told him what happened, instead he treated me as an annoyance. I went back that afternoon and Bob gave me the medication. No one advised me how to give it and he did not even apologize that I had to make another trip to Petsmart. His whole attitude was "oh well". What is it I'm paying for? I am fed up with the lack of caring and zero customer service, so I am cancelling my Insurance with Banfield.

I was first given a quote for services in the $900 range for cleaning and stitching an abscess, pulling a tooth and flea/worm meds (which already seemed pretty high compared with other vets we have been to). They told me if I joined their wellness plan it would drastically reduce the costs, which then totaled in the $700 range, but included a year of care on the wellness plan.

However, after services were performed and I went to pick up my cat, the bill was somehow over $1,000! In shock, I paid and left almost forgetting my cat! I called the next day several times and spoke with the office manager, the hospital manager, and called corporate. No one can really tell me what the difference in the charges were. But they are sending me out a copy so I can figure it out.

At one point, they actually offered to have me bring back the medications for a refund! Now, what kind of animal hospital does that? It seems unethical. When I said no, that the animal needed the medicine, they offered me $100 as a compromise.

I'm sorry but $100 is not the same as the difference between the amount I was quoted and then charged. They keep telling me oh, they must have forgotten this or that and well, actually you got some services for "free" that they forgot to bill you for. This place is a mess. This is not how you do business. I specifically asked that everything to be done and the price of the wellness plan to be included on the invoice before services were rendered.

The employee doing so hand-wrote the amount on the top of the invoice. I had faith in her that she was doing it correctly. She claimed I was supposed to stop by the reception to get my total price. I was not told anything different upon check-out.

When I called corporate they told me I could cancel the wellness plan within 3 days for a refund, but would have to pay the retail price for services then, which now is over $1500? How does it go from $900 to $1500? Wouldn't you expect a phone call if your bill was going to be more than was expected? How often do you buy something at a store and when you go to pay for it it is 60% more than what it is marked at? Never.

When your animal is sick, you expect someone to do the right thing, not take advantage of you when you are stressed or emotional about the situation. They very easily could have admitted their mistake and refunded me the difference, but refuse to do that now. I was told there was nothing they could really do, but the hospital manager would talk to the doctor and staff about the miscommunication. So, unless you want to pay an extraordinary amount for pet care, do not take your animals to Banfield on 82nd!

I asked her how can a dog's ear bleed from shaking and she began to explain to me that whenever dogs get excited and start to shake it can cause bleeding. I was naive and did not examine his ear while we were there because I did not see any blood. Although I thought it was a little strange that his ear started bleeding from shaking especially he's always excited and shake while at home and his ear never started bleeding, but I'm not a veterinarian so I believed and trusted her. About 45 min. later, I returned to Banfield because my dog went to shake while in the car and I noticed blood in the car. I examined my dog and that's when I discovered that his left ear was covered with glue as well as blood and the glue haven't been cleaned off of the top of his head. The tip of my dog's left ear was cut.

I have never seen a Vet who was so cold-blooded. The only thing she cared about was how much money she tried to get out of us. $424.00 was first on her list.

As a result, I couldn't do anything but take her down to the Humane Society and have my dog put to sleep. I called about every Vet in the phonebook and none would take payments. What has this world come to? I guess it all boils down to the mighty dollar!

When I called to set up the appointment here in Dallas, they told us we did not have a wellness plan. When I contacted the corporate office regarding our account, they told me we did not have a plan. They said our plan had expired in April. When I inquired how much money we had paid to them, they told me it was $263.40. They then went on to tell me that I could not use the $263.40 anymore because my plan had expired in April. When I asked where the money had gone, she said that the money went to the clinic but I can't use it anymore.

I feel that this is a total rip off. The representative from their clinic did not tell my husband that the service had to be used by the end of April.

After the charges stopped, our family was harassed and called everyday of the week even after I asked them to only communicate in writing. Sunday morning, you can expect a call from their collection company. We were harassed until we paid the amount they determine we owed. We have not been to Banfield for almost a year and I was charged $99 and my credit was threatened repeatedly, plus, all those months I was paying prior to stopping the charges, an estimated $300.

Contact the elderly, you will find people still paying monthly to Banfield on pets that have passed away. Any attorney would have a field day with this insurance company. Possible class action. Go get them. I will never shop at Petsmart again because they allow their customers to be ripped off. We spend over $2000 a year and Petsmart just lost that revenue. We will be going to Petco.

After that she lay there, limp. I really got scared when she went into convulsions. I force-fed water and watered down food to her along with real maple syrup while Brian looked online for a pet emergency room. There was none in the area and Banfield did not open until 9:00 a.m. We finally got her to another clinic that opened the earliest and the doctors did their best for her until evening came. Ruby went home with us, but they said the food Banfield prescribed would irritate the digestive system, making her diarrhea worse and bringing her blood sugar dangerously low. Her body temperature was also 5 degrees below normal. They also found a huge abscess in her right side that two vets at Banfield missed.

They cut it out, leaving Ruby with a wound the size of two nickels stacked on top of each other. She had also lost 1/4th of her bodyweight. Banfield had told me it will take weeks for the roundworms to clear up to cover their asses when Ruby got worse because of their care. But when the other clinic tested her, they found no sign of roundworms and here I thought it was a "raging" infection. We just took Ruby to a follow-up today. The abscess has grown and more got cut out. The doctors believe it is the result of an injection from Banfield. Banfield has many unsatisfied pet owners and dead pets as a result of their "care." My little Ruby almost died. I spent well over $100 on her at Banfield and about $600 fixing their mistake at another clinic (mostly hospital boarding fees). Please read reviews and articles about them before taking any pets there. I sure wish I did. They are found in many Petsmart stores.

We were told to bring him back the next day so their Vet @Banfields could check it out and we did. The Vet gave us 5 Ancids and told us if any other problems to call our Vet or bring him back or call them.

We called last month and were told to call our regular vet since it had been a month (your Recept). Titan got a little better and then downhill this month to lame again in front Right. Titan is 10 1/2 yrs old and yes we realize that he has got some Arthritis but we got no explanation as to why we brought him in healthy and out from your place lame and hurting!

The thing that bothers me the most is Stacie, your front desk receptionist. That woman is horrible! She's rude and has no customer service skills at all! She called me "Snotty" and seems to know everything and wouldn't listen to me. I asked her name and she held up her badge and said "Can't you read?" This is a deal breaker for me and not sure we will ever return. Still have a miserable dog and now forced to deal with his Vet.

A week later, I bring the urine to Mr. ** and he didn't want to take it because it wasn't going to solve anything. He said he needed to do all tests to see if what is the problem. Mind you he kept mentioning the price, never even bothered to look at my dog or touch her. Then I brought her in. She couldn't walk and she kept whining when we would touch her.

Today, I bring her in as an emergency and than the doctor tells me there is a discharge from her bottom and then I told him that why didn't he tell me anything last week. I was there you tell me something is discharging when you didn't need an exam for that. Meanwhile, last time I came you didn't even bother to look at her and now that she's so ill can't even walk you tell me there is something discharging from down there. Why couldn't you tell me that before when I brought her in you didn't even accept the urine test I brought in.

Now my dog is nearly dying and he is charging me so much I just don't like how he only talks about money not even worried about my dog's health. This isn't the first time my dog was sick before and was a about to die and he wanted to charge us a lot as well and told us there was a big chance of her dying. We took her home and we treated her and she survived. The doctor just wants money and I feel he does not care. I just want a healthy dog and the other doctor that did care is on vacation so I had no choice this time. I feel she needs serious medical care.

First: our dog of many years, who was my late mother-in-law's dog, passed away. Banfield will not cancel the so called "wellness" plan. So, I am paying each month until the end of the contract (in my case an additional 8 months after his death). Or, I have the option of paying what they say is the difference in their charge and full retail for the work done in this contract (almost $1,000). We loved Winston. We are still grieving. Their policy does not support their claim of being part of the family and providing "wellness" for your pets and your family.

Second: Banfield was once the family vet. But how can you be a family vet with the high turnover the company now has. It seems that we have gone no more than two visits in a row with the same doctor. And both surgeons who have worked on our animals are no longer with the company. While the staff loved Winston and our other dog Mimi, or at least appeared to, consistency of treatment is no longer there.

Third: On some things, you save money at the time. Winston's surgery two years ago for cancer was far less than "retail" or what other vets we check on would charge. But all other services turn out to be the same or higher when you price shop the market. So, their claim that the "wellness" plan saves you money is at best an optimistic interpretation.

Because of seeing three doctors in three visits, the follow-up and even opinions were different each time. We were to use a specialist outside the plan for Catscans and other expensive options to diagnose. His liver ended up shutting down. Numerous calls and despite our dog having passed away on July 24, we will have to keep paying a "wellness plan for the dog to the end of the term”, January 2011. Each payment that comes out reminds us of his being gone, and of course takes money from our recessionary pockets. They will not let us cancel out other dog until June 2011 (she is well), so we are stuck with Banfield. Banfield says they can do nothing as the plan is with an outside company. But when you call that company, they respond "Banfield Pet Hospital". File this under still missing our dog and very unhappy with the policies and practices of Petsmart and Banfield Hospitals.

Dr. Courtney ** looked at it and said it was nothing to worry about because the suture is supposed to dissolve and he was fine, just a little scabbing which was normal. I went home and about 3 weeks later, took my puppy to the groomers. When I picked him up, my groomer said, “Your puppy still has stitches on his incision area, you should see your vet”. I looked at the area again and the scab is now gone and there was a very visible blue outline of a stitch. I made an appointment on 8/23/10 and was seen the same day. Dr. ** saw my puppy again and this time offered to speed up the process by snipping off the tip of the dissolvable suture. When he was brought back by the vet tech, the suture was not snipped off at the tip, but the previously present suture was completely taken out and there was a hole where it laid imbedded before.

The vet tech continued to tell me that there was some ** that came out when the doctor removed the stitch so now the incision area was infected. I needed to buy antibiotic medication and topical medicated rinse to clean the area now. The antibiotic is Ceftodixime 100MG for $15.73 and the rinse is Chlorhexidine flush for $13.07. So now I'm out $30 and after 2 visits and insisting the suture be taken out, and my dog has an infection now. When I brought this up, the vet tech proceeded to tell me that the infection could have been from anything even from the ant bite he has a few centimeters to the right which wasn't infected.

I do not understand why it took 2 visit to remove the very obvious stitch that was still there. I can't say that leaving the stitch in that much longer caused the infection, but I can't say it didn't either. Shouldn't that be the job of my vet? To ensure that my pet is well cared for?!

Well, I told their employee to charge me for all fees that first day because she had to come right back in two weeks. Sasha had bad reactions to this medicine bath. She was totally out of it and couldn’t even hold her head up for about 3 days but she wasn't scratching anymore. It was like a new dog but then other side effects came into play, mainly diarrhea and sort of lifelessness. I would hold her all night due to fear she would die because it looked like she would not make it.

After about 1 1/2 weeks, the itching gradually returned on a kind of light basis but yet noticeable. I notice the ear rubbing into the carpet and went back to the veterinarian describing symptoms and concerns. She was given 2 other medicines to relieve symptoms until time for second bath treatment. I was told by two different receptionists there, Grace and Erica, that my bill would be increased by $20 even after all was paid, I thought anyway. I had to pay another $20 on the day of the actual bath. Okay, I accepted the fact that all charges were not applied as asked in the beginning.

Well, on September 8, 2010, the second bath is due and Sasha is delivered by 7 am, as requested. My husband took her on time as instructed, he gets there, they tell him the bill is $73.95, and he calls me upset saying that I need to call these people. I made the call and was talking to Maria. She was rude and she told me that her girls made a mis-quote on different days and times. I explained that their misguided training is not my problem and was the point. Maybe if I knew the true charges I would have researched a cheaper resource. Maria, the manager, told me that her girls never told me that and it was he said, she said. She basically called me a liar, my husband is my witness, and I will take a lie detector test any day and any hours to prove they told me this.

Well, Maria, after calling me the liar, I told her about her unprofessionalism and how they were cheating me but to go ahead and give my pet her treatment for the $73.95 but I will be contacting her corporate office. Maria told me that she is the manager and she makes all decisions at that store and there is no corporate office. Later, she contradicted herself by saying, well even if you contacted the corporate office that they would only email her and tell her to call me and that wasn’t needed being she is already talking to me and telling me how this is going to play out. I was appalled at someone talking to me this way and I pay this company my hard-earned money.

I told Maria that I want the corporate number and she would not give it to me and I let her know that I will show her my skills. I'm an administrative assistant and good at it, may I add. I knew within 7 minutes that this company is out of Portland, Oregon and I had located at least 8 upper management names. I called immediately but due to time difference no one was available, yet. I called later that day, my pet was ready to be picked up, and I wanted to get her away from them before stirring the fire, as you never know these days if there is a nut case that will poison your pet or who knows how others think.

After she was home safe, I called and got the Oregon Banfield Advocate associate people and made a complaint and she told me that someone should call me within a few days. I felt like I was just bothering this person, as well. So who knows about this service? We will see but now I have to shop for a new veterinary service for Sasha and Lady. I hope overcharging me $50 was worth losing my business and probably the business of many who reads this and how I was treated by their manager at that location with no apologies yet calling me a liar and had no concerns of customer service skills.

I wrote my complaint to the corporate office via email to Banfield and sent the pictures of my dog in the wrap. When I went back to Banfield for the follow up visit a few days later, the vet that my dog had was not there anymore. I'm not sure why but glad she wasn't. I decided to give Banfield another chance.

My new complaint is I bought in a 6-month-old puppy (had just got him the week before) on August 27, he wasn't feeling well. He was given antibiotics, checked for worms, parvo (I was told both test came back negative) and given his rabies shot. We left and came home. I put him in a room by himself to rest and tried giving him fluids. I checked in on him often spending time with him. The next morning when the puppy got up, he walked out to get a drink. As he was walking, blood was coming from his behind, not a little but a lot, a puddle was on my floor. I called Banfield and was told to bring him in. I was leery because I felt this was serious and with the problem I had before with my Rott I wasn't sure if I should bring him to Banfield.

My husband reassured me and said he would bring him to Banfield so I could go to work and not to worry. I called Banfield once my husband was there with the puppy. I spoke with Tyler (the vet). He said he believes Bentley (puppy) had a stomach virus. He said he would give him an IV to give him fluids and a shot of Benadryl and an acid reducer. I told him about all the blood, I also know he saw the blood it was all over his fur. He said he thinks it a stomach virus. My husband brought the puppy home and allowed him to rest, he checked in on him at 2:00 pm before he left for work, he was just laying down the room we had for him to recover. I came home at 4:15. I came in to check on Bentley (puppy), he was breathing very heaving and was staring off in space. I called Banfield to let them know, I was told to bring him right in. When I picked Bentley up to take him to the car, he died in my arms. I called Banfield and told them what had happened. I was told to bring him in any way. Once there Tyler (vet) was very sorry and kind, he asked if he could do an autopsy to find out why he died? I told him, yes. The results came back a few days later, I got a call from Tyler, he said Bentley had worms in his intestine and he had parvo that is why he died.

My puppy was misdiagnosed with faulty test given and I don't feel with all the blood coming from him, he should have came home. He suffered! He wasn't given the care he deserved. I believe Banfield is only good for giving shots, that is it. I don't think Banfield is equipped to take care of a sick dog.

I paid for my puppy to get on the Banfield puppy plan on Tuesday when I first bought him in, also for medication $186.00. The next day I paid $137.68 for more medication and for my puppy to have IV and shots of Benadryl and antacid. I did a stop payment on the check, I refuse to pay. I feel if I would have taken my puppy to Pet hospital, he would still be alive or at least given better treatment and not had suffered.

I called the corporate office and put in a complaint. I was told someone would call me within a few days about my complaint. I haven't heard anything about it. All Banfield is concerned about is being paid.

Additionally, this ignorant employee "the director of pet nursing," said that Bella should not be bred because her temperament is deficient. Furthermore, she brought poor little Bella out with blood dripping down her back leg (this is not an exaggeration), where apparently they had to draw blood for one of Bella's tests. Well, maybe if they didn't take pets from their family to a strange area with all strangers and a very large dog next to her barking non-stop. She wouldn't have tried to snap at someone. They traumatized little Bella. I think I would have been scared and snapped too especially if I was being handled by someone who clearly has no patience for scared little puppies. Bella Rose's temperament is so sweet. There is nothing deficient or defective about her. I cannot say the same about the "director of pet nursing" though. I believe she was entirely deficient and defective in her handling of small puppies.

It's interesting to me that Bella goes to the groomers all the time and gets her nails ground and never has a problem being handled. I registered a complaint with Banfield's complaint line xxx-xxx-xxxx on 7/29/2010 and was told by a very polite customer service person, that "senior management" would get back to me within a week. It's now a month later and I placed a follow up call a week ago and was again told the same thing. I will probably not live long enough to hear that phone call come back to me from the senior management team. I have asked for them to discontinue my wellness plan for Bella and I guess I will have to fight about that as well because they can't even address my present concern. I feel Banfield is absolutely the worst place to take your four-legged family member. Please don't take your precious puppies to them. They don't really care about your pet or you.

On July 24, 2010, I took Lolla in for her yearly physical and tooth cleaning and they performed lab work prior to anesthesia. The labs came back as acute renal failure and positive for a urinary tract infection (UTI). Dental cleaning was postponed and treatment was performed to stabilize Lolla. I was asked by the treating provider Dr. K. if Lolla ever had a UTI in the past or any renal abnormalities. I said, "No, not that I'm aware of.” Then later that same day, I was informed by that same provider after looking at past lab work dated 29 and 30 of January 2010 from the Oxnard location, that, indeed, she did have crystals in her urine, which is indicative of a UTI that Dr. G. never made me aware.

I contacted the Oxnard Banfield later that evening and requested that they pay for the care that was given to Lolla for the lack of follow-up and treatment of her UTI from January 29, 2010, which could have led to her current acute renal issues. After Dr. G. taking responsibility for his and then proceeding to makes excuses for his lack of superior pet care as advertised by Banfield, I requested on multiple occasion over the following week not to contact me any further. But he insisted in contacting me and emotionally causing me distress. I finally told him if he contacted me again, I would file a lawsuit against him for harassment.

He told me that unless I signed the release I would not be issued the credit and at no time he stated that Lolla's policy was in jeopardy of being canceled out of retaliation for me not signing said release.

Today, August 25, 2010, I called the Ventura Banfield to reschedule Lolla’s postponed dental cleaning and was surprised to find that Lolla’s policy had been canceled and to contact the Oxnard Banfield for further information. They proceeded to apologize for having to be the bearer of bad news.

That night he bit me bad. The next day, I took him back. All this time, they were saying he is sick and are putting fluids in him. They never drained his blockage off. So when they keep pumping him with fluid and squeezing his kidneys, his kidneys burst into his stomach. This is the vet’s fault. It’s like a jug. If it is full, you don’t add to it and squeeze it or it busts. To anyone else, if you love your pet, do not go to Banfield. They said they wanted to put him down and I can’t figure why she told me she could help. Then let it go so much he died.

Anyone who complains about their prices should go to Webster Groves or Kirkwood or the e-clinic. You would really complain then and you would never see the same doctor twice. They have the lowest office visit of around $34.95 and first time free office visits. I take my pet back there every 6 months for a check up with the wellness plan I am on. It has saved me so much money and helped me budget so I can give my pet the best in healthcare.

The only reason everyone targets Banfield is because there are a zillion of them and they are bound to make mistakes like everyone else. I don't know about you but I would rather take my pet to a place where they have the latest equipment and safest protocols then to a vet who has been in his/her own practice for 20 yrs and is stuck in old ways. Banfield will always be recommended by me, you can go in at any time for a tour of the hospital and the Sunset Hills location has their own brochures with the same faces you see when you actually go in.

I called Banfield and spoke to Elaine. I told Elaine I was on my way to Banfield; my dog was having a hard time breathing and her tongue and lips were blue. Elaine asked if Bailey had been seen there before. I told her no, but my cat is a patient there (even have insurance policy through Banfield on the cat), and one of my French Bulldogs had surgery there about two months ago. Elaine put me on hold. Another employee came to the phone (I was so distraught I don't remember the second person's name).

The second employee said, "Can I help you?" I again provided the same information I had given to Elaine. I was then told (as I am pulling in Banfield's parking lot) they are very busy today. They have had two walk-ins and I would get quicker service if I drive to the Emergency Vet Center about 15 minutes away. As I drove rapidly to the Emergency Vet, my precious Bailey died. My 12-year-old son even tried to give her CPR. When I arrived at the Emergency Vet Center, they met me in the parking lot and immediately tried to resuscitate Bailey. They were unsuccessful. I will never know if 15 minutes made the difference between life and death for my Bailey. I thought it was required for a vet to administer emergency care. I guess not on a busy Saturday. My family is devastated and we will no longer shop at PetSmart or take any of our pets back to Banfield. How can Banfield have a logo that states "Treating Your Pet Like Family."

Our beloved Bailey died. There is no amount of money in the world that can bring her back. I spent $244.00 at the emergency vet, and $335.00 to have Bailey cremated and purchase her urn. We purchased Bailey in March of this year for $2100.00. My husband, my 8-year-old daughter, and my 12-year-old son are devastated. We treat our pets like members of our family. She was the sweetest, most calm, and innocent dog we have. She was only 3 years old. Her life was unnecessarily cut short.

He did an exam and prescribed a stronger does of medicine and sent us home. Sunday evening I heard Molly crying from underneath our bed and when I went to pick her up from the floor she was stuck to the floor. I found out that she was bleeding from her vagina so again I called Banfield and the vet had left for the evening so I brought her back to the vet that we saw earlier that day. They ran some tests and did an ultrasound and found out again that Molly needed emergency surgery due to the fact that when Dr. **from Banfield had sewed Molly up they hit her bladder wall and this was causing all of these problems. Molly has been in ICU since Monday the 26th. She has been thru hell and back and so have we. The vet bill cost us $1,834.60 from Friday and $190.05 from the visit on Tuesday.

I feel that Dr. ** did not perform her duties as she was supposed to have. We are talking about a dog who is our child and we have done everything for her. This extra surgery has cost us over $2,000.00 due to the lack of responsibility from Dr. **. I am making a complaint against the above doctor. Neel Veterinary Clinic has saved our dogs life. On Monday the 26th Dr. ** called me to see how Molly was doing and she told me that when they sewed her up they hit the bladder wall. I feel that we should not have to pay for this first surgery due to the fact that Banfield is irresponsible and this woman never apologized to us. She needs to lose her license as a vet.

After telling the vet this, she still didn't listen. After a week of treating my female with the stuff prescribed by vet, my female was worse. But now my other two dogs got the same thing. So I called the hospital explain to them that I need a prescription for the Revolution and after arguing with them, they gave me a paper with the prescription, and said that I could get it at any pharmacy. But after calling 8 different pharmacies and 4 other vets, no prescription . So I called them back and let them know this, and they told me to go to 1800 pet meds like they do. I needed the prescription right away. My female and other dogs are so infected that they can't wait for 5 days.

I finally found a hospital. They carried it on hand and was willing to let me purchase it from there hospital even know my dogs don't go there. After all this, I made a complaint to the Banfield complaint line. I was told that I would hear from someone in 3 to 5 days. Well nothing, needless to say, it's been 3 weeks. I have contacted them 9 times and this last time was today, and was told that the director is still looking it over. So I asked what is the director's name and the guy said, "I can't give that information out." Are you kidding me? All I was asking for during all this was for them to reimburse me the last bill I paid which was $172.89. So today was my last call. Now I need to take further action. Any suggestions?

We paid a total of $166.21 on 06/26/2110 to affect this change and purchased heartworm and tick prevention medication. I received a call last night from the same family member that we adopted the dog from and was informed that Banfield debited her account for $23.95, the same amount we are paying. Thinking this was a clerical error, I called the local Banfield clinic. I was told that the previous owner was responsible for cancelling the old premium, which they failed to disclose to us when we opened our account. When she called Banfield corporate today, she was informed that her agreement was binding and she was responsible to pay the monthly fee until the contract expires in November. I called corporate to explain that we were now paying the premium for the same patient. I was told that their policy is to collect for the full contract amount regardless of duplicate premiums.

Now, I have to refund my relative the same amount I'm paying for the dog's coverage. When I asked if my dog was receiving twice the coverage, they said no. When I asked if the transfer which I was charged $69.00 for had increased Banfield’s operating expense, they said no. Finally, I asked the corporate representative if they were in my shoes, how they would feel. The reply was a cold “I can’t answer that question because it’s not my pet”. This is an absolute crime. They did not lose a client, but now they are trying to collect twice for the same coverage on a single animal. I'm out of room or I'd explain my sales issue.

Bottom line is that this company has either lost focus on customer service and doing the sensible right thing. But more likely this is a sales organization that is driven by greed and revenue, with a corporate policy that screws their clients with no regard to ethics, moral, or decorum. Their tactics of disclosure are at best invisible as they defer to small print in their terms and conditions. And they even twist those words to a point of distortion that is unrecognizable to the consumer’s eye. This organization is dirty, underhanded, and feeds off fear and love of pets to upsell unsuspecting customers, who assume that they are legitimate because they are partnered with a large national chain like Pet Smart.

Our dog is also on the plan and every time we go in, it is like having a group of gypsies trying to swindle you. For example, they told me the only way to get a true urine sample was to stick a needle into my puppy's bladder. That service was going to cost over $100.00. I also had to pick up some medicine for my dog. One Banfield told me I would need 50ml of Ivermectin which would be about $45.00, and that would last 2 weeks. Another Banfield tried to sell it to me for $160.00 and said my dog would need 60ml. I found the right drug online for $30.00 and it has lasted a whole month.

Every time it is a new sales cycle for them. They will tell you your dog will die without this. Lies, lies, lies, lies, lies. Beware.

After the check up, she returned with a list of things that had to be done. This list totaled $1,700, and that this had to be done that day. Looking over the list, it included shampoos, conditioners, urinalysis treatment for eyes, blood work, and the list goes on. She said this had to be done that day. I said I would take my dog to my vet to have her checked, at that time she brought in the vet manager and told me if I didn't get this work done, she would call the humane society on me.

I was not going to be blackmailed into letting them treat my dog, then they tried to charge me an office visit, remember it was a free visit? I started to leave, then the vet said if I leave, I have three days then she will call the humane society. I left. I took my dog to my vet and it turns out all she had was an allergy, he gave her the booster shots she needed and the medication. She is doing great and it only cost $127.00. I will never go back to Banfield or Petsmart again.

It was misleading to the point that you had purchased an insurance policy for the care of your pet, which would save you money on every visit. All of this is false. I have yet to take my dog in and not had to pay a lot of extra cost that at any other vets are routine and half the price of what they are charging. You sign a contract, which allows them to pull money from your bank account each month even with no services. It is a scam which people should be aware of.

I found out that you still will be charged even after the death of your pet. They save you no money but actually are more costly. They failed to find demodex mange at the initial exam and cost me over $200 more if they had done a thorough exam. I'm bound to a year contract now for something that is a lie.

Now, I will be honest here as I was with the veterinary assistant. My cat is very docile at home but she is rather psycho with others - hissing, scratching, and biting is common. I was assured by the technician that they could handle her without a problem and could even trim her nails, for a fee of course, while she was in for the exam. I agreed to the nail trimming, however, I was then told that there would also be a $16.95 additional restraint fee. Okay, so I agreed to pay the fee (although it seems a bit ridiculous) as I didn't really expect to get out the door for free and I really wanted to get her the checkup and the nail trimming. The technician then strongly suggested that I do a round of vaccinations that this cat isn't due for on one until late August and on the other in September, so I declined. She was a little pushy about it, but I politely declined and advised her that I'd want to check with my wife first and would return at another time to do so.

The technician then picked up my cat's carrier and takes her into a back room, and as the door closes behind her, I realized that this facility treats animals out of sight and away from the owner's view. I don't know why this is as I have made over a dozen and a half trips to different veterinarians with various pets throughout the years and have never once seen this. While waiting for my cat, I was feeling a bit pressured with regard to the vaccinations, so between that and the mystery treatment scenario, I had just about made up my mind that this first visit was also going to be my last.

Just a few minutes after she left, the technician left the room only to return to suggest the vaccines again, saying that they had just started trying to get my cat out of the carrier and that based on her temperament, it would be easier on everyone to get them done all at once. I declined, again, only to have the technician leave the room and return to suggest them again. I declined for the last time and then, while I sat in the waiting room and they had apparently gotten her out of the carrier, I could hear someone, I assume the veterinarian, struggling with my kitty and sounding very frustrated and impatient. I overheard this person say "This is ridiculous, and he's not even doing the vaccinations," and after about a minute of hearing them struggle with my cat, this person exclaimed "I'm done."

The technician then returned to the waiting room a few minutes later with my cat to tell me that they weren't able to do anything, not the examination, not the nail trimming, nothing. I said okay, and asked what they suggest I do. The technician stated that the veterinarian was writing up an estimate for me to have her come back and be sedated to be examined and to perform the nail trimming. At this point, after they have given up, the technician informed me that the coupon I had was not valid as they are not part of the chain and that I'd be expected to pay $56.90 for the visit; $39.95 for the exam and $16.95 for the additional restraint fee. I told the technician I disagreed and that I'd like to see this mystery veterinarian.

As aggravated as I was, I kept my cool and heard the veterinarian out on how she proposed to treat my cat should we return. The explanation came down to $425 worth of services which is absolutely ludicrous, even for an aggressive cat such as mine. I knew this was not happening, so I asked what the cost for today's visit was and was told the same amount. I questioned why this was and was told that it was because the coupon could not be accepted and that she had already contacted the owner and confirmed this. I stood my ground and just flat out said that I was unwilling to pay for a free exam that they didn't even perform.

The veterinarian left the room and came back with a story about how she'd instead charge me just a $19.95 service charge for the visit and that she'd explain it to the owner later. Let's just say that my best recommendation to anyone reading this who was considering visiting this or any other Banfield Pet Hospital would be to rethink that and steer clear of this place. While my experience may be limited to this location, something tells me based on the sense I got from this place, that they are to veterinary care what McDonalds is to gourmet food. Find yourself a good local veterinarian who loves pets and isn't only concerned with making money.

The Dr. told me that he would give me the meds needed but only if I "Committed" to the recheck visit. As the mother of 3 children and having numerous dogs, I had never heard of mandatory rechecks and that I would come back only if I determined that there was a need for follow up treatment. The Dr. became very angry and told me I would not get the meds for Amber and he would not treat us without the commitment to the recheck ($$$$$PAYMENT). I told him it seemed like an ultimatum and I questioned if it was for the benefit of my dog (remember this is chronic seasonal allergies not an acute injury and I have been through this 3 times) or to increase fees.

Apparently I pushed a hot button and he threw me and my dog out of the office for questioning the integrity of his profession. He sent us away without the medication he agreed to prescribe to my dog (ethical priorities?). BTW he directed me to pay a bill for the office visit on my way out. Nice! I did not pay for the office visit and I called my attorney and the Banfield Complaint line to share my experience. The silver lining is that I found petmed.com and got OTC products that work better then the prescriptions for a quarter of the price.

I will never use Banfield again. It is all about not needed tests, follow up visit fees and bullies who guilt you into things that defy common sense. Good warned!

During the assessment of my dog for the second time with the same symptoms, I was asked once again the same questions (did he get into the trash? Did he eat something outside? did he have flea and tick medication applied recently?), all to which I answered that they had just asked me these two weeks ago. So once again, they suggested blood work, IV fluids, x-rays and yada yada. I agreed to the x-rays and IV fluids and dropped my dog off. The nurse called me 2 hours later to inform me that the x-rays show that there is an obstruction, but they are doing more x-rays with some barium so that they can see exactly what it is and that she will call me back. Another 2 hours passed, she called me and told me to come in and speak with the vet (who unfortunately, I cannot understand to begin with!).

Anyhow, I made my way back to the Banfield office where I was met by the doctor, who showed me the x-rays. During the presentation, I was told about my dog's stomach and what not, and then told that "there may be an obstruction but I can't see anything, so I'm not really sure. Therefore we want to do exploratory surgery". Now to me, this is like a doctor telling a person that after doing x-rays they can't see anything, yet they would like to cut you open and "explore". Ha! I said no thank you and "is there anything else I can do before I go letting them cut my dog open?". He simply stated, no. But if I want to get an MRI done, then I can pay an extra $500 on top of the $456 I was already paying them for this visit to make sure there is something there.

I decided to get a second opinion from a real vet. I took my dog to a nearby vet who took one look at the x-rays and said "there is something in there, we need to operate right now". There were no maybes or possibly. I spent over $700 at Banfield for something that would have cost me way less at a regular vet's office. My dog suffered and so did I. Turns out, my dog had a toy ball stuck in his intestinal track. He would have died that night had it not been taken out. Do you know how much I was charged for the same blood work that Banfield did at this vet's office? $50! How can Banfield charge me a monthly fee for my dog to be on their wonderful Optimum Wellness plan and then charge me twice as much for services as a regular vet who has been in business for over 20 years? Needless to say, Banfield no longer has my business. I have canceled my dog's plan and filed a formal complaint to get my money back for their lack of skill as well as emotions.

So he left Banfield at 8pm. We put him to bed (since he was well-drugged and loopy when we picked him up.) and figured at least the beloved cat was better and we wouldn't have to worry anymore. By 8 am the next morning, his drugs had worn off and the cat was meowing miserably. We did as told and checked back in at the hospital in North Attleboro, MA. Boom. Not even 12 hours later, this same cat who was cared for and on his way to recovery is now in an emergent situation according to the doctor or nurse there at Banfield.

To say we were upset would be an understatement! We were told "Here is a list of emergency rooms in the area. Expect to pay around $1800.00 for his care." And then they handed back our cat and sent off with a "good luck" from the girl at the desk.

I asked her how they didn't know he had "crystals" yesterday, since they had done a urinalysis for $175.00! That should have shown these crystals or abnormalities in the urine. Not only that, I questioned the x-rays and the point of those and asked her why they didn't see the bladder issue or crystal "stones" that all of a sudden the cat had now. She just gave me a non-commital medical mumbo jumbo, stating that they can't detect crystals with an x-ray. When I asked her what we were supposed to do with the medications we had spent $150.00 on, she said, "I dunno." Now, what kind of kids do you have working in this "hospital"?

I am a registered nurse and know very well that a urinalysis for a $175.00 is outrageous, not to mention the exorbitant fee for the x-rays and "handling fee." On the medical aspect, the urinalysis should have shown these "crystals" as the girl called it and very well should have shown that the cat was in danger and required better care than Banfield could have given. Not only that if there were stones, it should have shown up on x-rays. I'm educated and know very well you should have known.

But to make a few hundred bucks, you, guys, pretended to take care of this cat, knowing very well that he was not well enough to send home with us. You should have sent us to a real animal hospital as soon as he was examined on Thursday, if you were giving good care at your facility instead of thinking about the bottom line and making a few bucks off a family. You didn't even think of the welfare of the cat. How can you call your selves honest caregivers of animals? It is a shame on you, guys, and your staff there!

We are a family of small means. My husband is on his way to become a pastor, and we live paycheck to paycheck. We had to hold our mortgage to take care of this cat! And we did it out of love for our children who adore this animal. Had we taken your professional advice and gone to another drive-thru type of hospital or emergency room, we would have had to surrender our cat, so that he could get the care he needed or put him down so that he would not die in pain because we could not afford another animal bill. Unfortunately (or was it luckily), we were declined for the animal Care One credit card that the ER suggested we get.

Luckily, I have a good friend who guided me to another animal hospital down the road. They told us there that we did not receive the right care and that now this animal was in danger. Thankfully, the cat has been at this facility and received excellent care the past three days and is on the mend. For the three days of care and all the medications and catheterization this cat required, we will be charged $600.00. For three days of care! Did you hear that? We had one day of care with you that resulted in over $400.00! As I said before, you, guys, should be ashamed of your selves for taking advantage of people who come to you desperate for care for their beloved pet.

To say I am upset or totally disgusted with the care this past visit would be an understatement. You, guys, should not even be practicing veterinary medicine. I am sending you this letter, because I don't know who else to send it to, since there is nowhere else on your homepage to comment or complain. If this letter is sent to the wrong department, please forward it to whomever is in charge at the North Attleboro Massachusetts facility, since no one would listen to our complaints there. I want some action taken for this injustice and some response to this letter. I will be letting everyone I know to not have anything to do with your facility. It is a shame how you, guys, charge people outrageously; it should be criminal.

She was grossing us out too because she spent an inordinate amount of time kissing my dog on the mouth instead of trying to calm her by stroking her. The dog was shaking with pain, and I don't think was interested in having some stranger kiss her on the mouth. Very unprofessional. This place is obviously a scam and should be shut down for inhumanity to animals. They are all about money, and clearly have no interest in the welfare of the animal. Any vet who would work for an organization like this also clearly has a skewed sense of ethics and professionalism. For a vet, the animal's welfare should always come first. I have contacted SPCA to start a complaint against them. We hope that when we see our regular vet he will be able to do something that will quickly alleviate her suffering. The damage from going to Banfield's was $107.00, which was a total waste of money.

Okay, so I comprehend this is the protocol. This tech couldn't answer my questions regarding some of the items on the form for the FL Health Certificate though. So I asked to speak with the vet.

When the vet came into the exam room, he was looking disheveled and disturbed. He never bothered to give me a professional greeting (i.e., I'm Dr. A.). He was very discourteous and began reading to me the FL Law which I acknowledged to him that I already read. I tried to tell him that I knew what he was trying to convey and that I know the law because I've arrived here with my kitten at Banfield trying to get all the care done which came to $202.00 USD. But because I have 3 different people interested in buying this kitten, I could not give him the name of who I was selling the kitten to.

This particular kitten has been shown and been in the top 10 in two TICA cat shows. He is in peak condition and has had all of his kittens shots, including calici with all the other core shots. He only lacked getting his rabies shot.

But this vet made some insinuations and made his point, which was that in order for the Certificate I would have to have the name and address of the person buying the kitten. Well, I explained, "Because of these 3 interested parties, I can't give you one name." And it was said that "then getting a FL Health Certificate is a moot point... at least for now." and that I would have to wait.

I asked if he just do the rabies and the micro-chip and that I would take the kitten to another Doctor of Veterinarian Medicine to have the FL Health Certificate done when the kitten was ready to be neutered. The Banfield vet went into a rage, getting louder and louder and saying the same thing over and over about the law.

He was so threatening with his body language and tone of voice that I took my kitten off the table and placed him in the carrier. I told the vet that he wouldn't be examining my kitten. And that I understood what he was saying. But he never acknowledged that I was ending the appointment. I just wasn't going to stand there and allow him to harass me. He was becoming more exasperated, kind like a lunatic. And as he became increasingly irrational, I started out the door. I simply wanted to protect my self and my kitten from him. When this wacko vet followed me out into the waiting area, waving his arms and yelling at me. I felt that he was having a psychotic episode.

I told the receptionist that thank God he never laid a hand on my kitten and that there wouldn't be a charge for an examination because none was conducted. And that not only has Banfield lost out on the thousands of dollars I spend there in Pet Smart, but that I'm going to report this person in a formal complaint to the Better Business Bureau.

I then asked her for the number to the corporate offices of Banfield. I will be writing them a formal letter to complain about this particular individual who obviously lacks not only common courtesy but professionalism so much so that he failed to be reasonable. I made haste, and I yelled back at him, "You are not going to manhandle me, and you're certainly not going to manhandle my kitten." Why, this person thought he could be so indignant and disparaging. I can only surmise as to his metal instability and inferiority complex.

My kittens are luxury pets. I'm not about to return to the Banfield in Daytona Beach, FL located on International Blvd. or any other Banfield, because this person exemplified the demeanor of a nit-wit. I felt that he was threatening. Do not take your pets to this Dr. **. He's an unkind, malicious individual, and he has a mental abnormality that a physician of psychiatry should examine.

They looked him over and gave him a clean bill of health. They told me that the vaccines he received since not administered by a vet and they couldn't be certain they were stored properly didn't count. This is when they got me to sign up for this Wellness Plan. I figured it would be cost effective since he had to have all his deworming and vaccines again and it was going to cost me $100 to get him neutered at my reg vet. The first visit went great and I rescheduled for his booster shots in three weeks.

I showed up for my appointment at 9. I was a little shocked that someone else was also checking in, but thought maybe they were just dropping off. I then witnessed two others check-in. When the vet came in and gave him the vaccines she tells me, "Your dog has a heart murmur and we can't neuter him until he gets a sonogram done on his heart". I was dumbfounded. He was just in three weeks earlier with no heart murmur, but now that I am reaching there must be sterilized by six months he has a heart murmur and it will cost me at least $250 to check it out. I unfortunately had not done my research on this place beforehand, but hopefully I can save someone from making the same mistake.

If you read the small print it says they have to undergo preoperative blood work before surgery and if it shows something and you can't do the surgery you have to pay out of pocket for the blood work. Considering that the bill for the first visit for the vaccines only was $350 I hate to think what blood work would be. I am cutting my losses and bringing him to my vet. I will then get their opinion if he has a heart murmur. I'm not trying to be cheap, I really want to do what's right but I'm not going to pay for something that I don't need.

Fine. So I went back and waited for another 10 minutes and the vet never came back. I opened the door again and asked the receptionist, "Look, I'm late to work and want to go as soon as possible--can you do something?” And she goes, "No, you're gonna have to wait for the doctor." So I said, "Well, but the vet hasn't come out for a while and I'm gonna have to leave soon." Then she goes, "Well, if you leave now without paying, then you are a thief." Oh, I got extremely upset and requested to speak to the manager and she goes, "I am the manager." I decided to walk out of the place because it was ridiculous (of course, I paid for the exam). When I was walking out the girl had a comment, "Well, you look good with your suit and your nice purse, but can't afford ear medicine.” I would never, never recommend such clinic to anyone, and I am extremely disappointed at the quality of Banfield. Just terrible.

When I took her back the next day, they claimed I had refused the Benadryl shot despite my asking for it to be given twice. I told them that the doctor who treated her was not allowed to touch my dog again, and they gave me the same doctor anyway. Within the first couple of months of me getting my dog, she developed symptoms that looked like small seizures. I was told she probably had low blood sugar and to give her honey and carry additional treats for her. Thank goodness she grew out of it. When I researched it on the internet, I found out it was a problem with the breed and she would probably grow out of it around 6-8 months, which the doctors never told me.

Instead, they tried to talk me into running expensive tests, which she did not need. She also has a skin condition. She scratches and licks patches of fur off and breaks out into an all over body rash. The doctors told me she had dry skin or allergies. They sold me oil spray for her skin, fish oil for her food, their brand of Benadryl, put her on a special diet, etc. None of their medications worked, so they tried to talk me into getting a $400.00 allergy test. When I refused several times, the doctor scheduled the test anyway and told me to bring her in as a follow to x-rays.

When I brought her in for an unnecessary visit, they told me that my insurance plan had just expired and they wanted to charge me for the visit. Also, be aware, their x-rays run about $400 and do not include copies of the x-ray, which they tell you they need to run so that you can take it to a specialist. I have spent about $1,500 on their wellness plan, medicine, procedures, etc. My dog’s skin issue has not been resolved, and I cannot get a copy of the x-rays I paid for without paying an additional $30.00, which I was not told about.

She later was diagnosed with Demodectice mange and they treated her with Ivermectrin (approved for cattle - not dogs) and she soon became lethargic and unresponsive. I was told later by a subsequent vet that the dose they prescribed should have killed her. After a long year, I was able to cancel my agreement with them (February 2010), but have now received a notice from a collection agency that I owe them $52.00 (including $9.00 interest). I have never seen this bill from Banfield, and cannot imagine being turned over to this agency in less than 4 months on a bill I have never received. I am already anticipating a protracted fight on this.

Well, we took her over to Banfield this morning and our appointment was at 11 we didn’t leave until 1:30. We had 3 people come into the room before the vet looked at her and try to sell us everything under the sun! Blood work, heart guard (already taking and has 1/2 box left), anhistime, shots (update), microchip (she has one already and they said it wouldn’t scan but it scans for everyone else!) flea prevention (already on frontline and has 1/2 a box left), a contract for wellness and so on and on! They said she needed a blood test because the girl thought she might have thyroid problems. Okay, anyway, the vet came in and we told her what the problem was and that she gets the shot once a year because of allergies.

She left the room and came back in and said, “Okay, we will start with antibiotics and Benadryl,” (told her that Benadryl was not working) so she said I won’t give her that shot because we don’t have any blood work on her. If you don’t go with their sales program, they won’t treat your pet! She gave me an antibiotic that cost 68 dollars, charged $29.99 for office visit and $25.00 for different histamine and said, “When you’re ready to get the blood work done, then we can see what else we can do for your dog.” What?! You talk about going off! Then they called us stupid and unknowledgeable because the shot was not in the dog’s best interest and we need to read up on allergies.

So needless to say, I still have a miserable dog that is still itching and unwell. So now I have to wait for Monday to get her help! My dog is still miserable, sick and unwell because they would not help my dog because I wouldn’t let them take blood, buy their flea prevention or heart guard items or contract for wellness.

Five minutes later, a woman came out looking for me. Her name tag said "office manager." She asked me who my previous vet was. I told her but also told her I had a conversation about it when I called for the appointment about a month in advance and had supplied all that information so they would have it on file before today. She was very cold and rude and told me she couldn't provide the vaccine I made the appointment for because they hadn't even asked about his vaccine history and without verifying it I could only get a one year vaccine. I declined and was going to leave when she offered impolitely to call the previous vet. I said okay. She said she would be right back.

Fifteen minutes later, I walked out to reception again (dog again stressed out). I saw the office manager with an obviously irritated demeanor, talking to a vet. Due to their terrible lack of professionalism, lack of respect for animals and their owners who pay for their services, I left my "free office visit coupon" with the receptionist and left. Never to return. While I was there, you could clearly see through a window in my exam room and hear them yelling at crying dogs in the back hospital area. I observed them prepping a dog for surgery in a big open room with lots of people walking around. The dog was under anesthesia, vent, heartbeat monitor, etc. looked very unsanitary and casual conditions. No compassion. Major turn off. The only damage done is the hour and 30 minute ordeal for me and my pet, the aggravation and embarrassment in going back to my prior vet.

I explained to the vet that I did not want to make him needlessly suffer and did not feel that these expensive blood tests were going to change the outcome; it was time to let him go. Shockingly, your doctor refused. In fact, she began to explain to me that it was company policy that these tests be performed. She explained she had never seen him before and he wasn't "comatose" or anything. She would not euthanize him. I was extremely upset, expressed that we had another appointment the next day and were only there because I felt it was necessary to have him seen so soon. I also stated that, I found it unusual that your company policy was to force grieving families to spend unnecessary money, in an effort to treat a pet that had lived a long life and clearly had dire medical issues going on. She still declined. Interestingly enough, she offered to send me home with antibiotics for him. I asked how she could prescribe antibiotics when she hadn't performed the blood tests. Interesting, seems the company policy is only in effect for customers who have been profiled as able to pay the price? Either way, I want you to know, we took him to our regular vet yesterday morning, where he was humanely put to sleep like he should have been the day before. He was put to sleep because our regular vet could clearly see that there was one of three things wrong. His kidneys were failing, his liver was failing, or he was diabetic and would require lifetime injections. It seems odd to me that your vet could not see what was going on, but another could?

The point of my letter is to let someone know how incredibly in-humane I find this entire experience. We were forced to take a sick kitty in and out, back and forth, to two different doctors, to be poked and prodded because your vet continued to do nothing but quote company policy! Company policy is the way products are returned, or why you can't get cash back without a receipt, not why your family member is clearly forced to suffer while the doctor continues down her power trip! I am disgusted, horrified, and don't think I can continue to spend my money in a store that does not practice humane treatment, even when that means euthanasia.

Yesterday, I told my neighbors, co-workers, friends, and family members what happened at Pet Smart and I can assure you, they will think twice when faced with a choice of where to take their animals.

Consequences included time and a dog that is in pain. They did agree to give us more free antibiotics and pain killers. I'm starting to believe this outfit is about money and not great care of animals like they sell. I took my dog back in Thursday morning for him to be put under again and have his teeth worked on for a third time. This is getting old, and I wanted others to know about our bad experience.

When I called back the next day to ask a question about the antibiotic that she put on, I spoke with the vet Steve **. He was very angry and rude to me, telling me that I had to pull the teeth immediately and would I do that if this was my child. I still refused and then he said I was no longer welcome there and that he was going to cancel my insurance. The next day, I called their corporate office to report how I was treated. I never heard back from them. The next week, I received a letter, saying that my insurance had been canceled. I don't believe these people care anything about animals. They will do and say anything to get your money. They are just scamming people. I was harassed and put under a lot of stress because of how they treated me. I also think because I was a woman, he thought he could push me around and because I refused, he really got angry.

I stated my concerns to my office manager on different occasions. Nothing was done. So when I lost my job over word of mouth, the company lack the evidence to terminate me and instead had me come to work to fire me. I will never recommend any friends of mine to go there because if they could do that to me as a hard working single parent, they can do whatever they want. I am now ashamed that I represented this company. I am now seeking legal help against them. No matter what it takes, I will get my justice.

She also told me that she has called poison control and she was waiting to hear back from them. She said she was sorry. I didn’t exactly understand what the big picture was. I expected that to mean that my baby was going to be very, very sick for a while. And then the vet started to cry. She told me she would call me back when she heard from the poison control, and so we hung up the call. About 40 minutes later I got another phone call. The vet had heard back from Poison Control and they said that it is potentially fatal in cats and to administer an antidote. Well after talking to them, she called around and was able to find only one antidote as it is rare, and begged to have it. After being granted the antidote, that was when she called me. She told me about it and told me the antidote was at KU and that she was going to rush my Fifi up there to get it. I said okay and we hung up again.

Later on at about 6:34-ish (not for sure accurate), I received one last call. The lady said that she got there and the antidote was not yet ready for my baby as they were still preparing for it. She then said to me that my baby went into cardiac arrest and they tried CPR, but they couldn’t bring her back. I didn’t understand what she was telling me. I said "Is she alive or is she dead?" And the lady said she passed away. The next part of it was a blur and hard to remember. I cried and nearly fell over I had to sit in a chair. She asked me what I wanted to have done and said that Banfield will pay for all the charges. I told her I didn’t know. I had to call my parents. She gave me her number and told me that she would contact me tomorrow with what I would like to be done. Next I called my mother and she couldn’t understand one word I was trying to tell her. I was hysterical. A co-worker had to tell her. I went outside the doors at work and simply cried and cried with my mother on the phone. It got so bad my dad had to come up and get me.

The next day I called the vet and she asked me what I would like to be done about my little girl. I know at one point she offered to have her buried or whatever I wanted by the people they go through for animal death. I just told her no. I really didn’t know and that I just wanted my baby. The lady told me she would have Fifi waiting up at Banfield for me. When I went to get her, my dad had to go with me. We waited at the desk for 5 minutes for some reason. The next moment the vet came out with her collar first and said sorry, and then gave it to me. Then my baby girl in a box. I broke down for a moment and took the box and carried my baby out of there. I drove home with my dad and he wrapped her up then in two white trash bags. She was in a box tightly wrapped in duct taped trash bags. We went out to the back of the property and buried her. Now about 4 months later I have decided to have her cremated. I was unsure if it could be done considering the amount of time that has passed. But I went to the Banfield and asked them about cremation because they never offered me anything. Not even another kitten. They told me this will all be on my own dime. At this point now I am going to dig my cat up and drive down to the animal cemetery and have her cremated so that she may be with me no matter where I go. I loved my daughter. I loved her very much and she was taken. I don't believe they killed her on purpose, but it still hurts. Fifi born April 1, 1994 and died January 15, 2010.

Jump forward to March 29, 2010. I returned from vacation and found a letter from IC Systems, a collection agency, saying I owed $237.93. Prior to this I never received any past due notice or any other communication from Banfield since canceling the contract. I went down to Banfield on Research Blvd, Austin, Texas. They had no reocrd of me owing them any money on my account. So, I went from thinking I owed them nothing, to getting a letter from a collection agency saying I owed $237.93, to the local Banfield office which was saying I owed nothing.

I talked with Elise (from the head office). Elise adjusted the charge due from $237.93 to $192. Even though I felt I did not own the money, I paid the amount under the threat that if I did not pay the disputed amount by June, my credit rating would be negatively affected. She lied to me because I have since been told that once it goes to a collection agency, a credit rating is ruined. I am a 66 year-old retired teacher who has worked my whole life to maintain a good credit rating. Banfield has ruined it.

This company is totally unscrupulous, unethical and unprofessional. I filed a complaint with the TX Attorney General's Office which yielded no results. They told me to hire a lawyer. I will never set foot in Banfield again! In doing the search, I found 2 other persons with the exact same complaints as mine, referral to a collection agency without warning (one from San Antonio). There were many other general complaints as well.

The hospital stated they could do the surgery a third time after they had already stated to me while I was there earlier in the day that it probably wouldn't work anyway. The vet had no knowledge of the hospital procedures and stated that she could send me a bunch of literature as to why it wouldn't work. Yet this is the same vet that said to bring my dog in for a third surgery! I have heard several people complain about this hospital while I was there the second time around for the surgery--that they have horrible service and they are only out to make money. Now I know what they were talking about. I had to take several days off from work for both surgeries. I paid for the first surgery plus a six-month coverage in case anything occurred and yet, the second time I went in, I had to pay an additional $70.00.

I began phoning vets and took him to Banfield Pet Hospital on 9th Street before 11 am where he could be seen immediately. Bob was alert, agile, and completely normal except for the pain in his abdomen when manipulated. I explained that it seemed he had unsuccessful litter box attempts for a few hours, which was first discovered at 4 am when I awoke, but he was otherwise normal. Dr. Merari ** felt his abdomen and told me that he felt impacted with feces, which was blocking his urethra, and needed an enema with manual breakup of the blockage and that would relieve the pressure off of his urethra which was preventing him from urinating. I agreed to their estimate for this procedure for $188. I was relieved and went home to await any news.

Within an hour they called to tell me that he was indeed not constipated, he had a full urinary blockage. They did not ask me to come in to discuss necessary procedures or fees or sign any other authorization forms, but asked for blanket approval to do anything they wanted, which made me uncomfortable because I did not have unlimited funds on such short notice and I did not want to agree to treatments and tests that could total thousands of dollars without my ability to discuss what they were individually and decide what I felt necessary and able to pay for. I asked to call back in a few minutes. I called several other vets to compare prices and asked what were the absolutely necessary procedures for a urinary blockage and received very uniform answers, but could not get an immediate appointment elsewhere.

I called to be sure I could borrow the funds necessary to cover the average costs of around $600 with blood work for the procedures as quoted by the other vet offices I spoke to and decided it was best not to move him. I called Banfield back within 10 minutes to authorize very specifically that they (1) remove the blockage, (2) flush his bladder, (3) put in a catheter, (4) provide him any necessary medications and (5) provide IV fluids as is standard procedure for this type of blockage. I then asked them to tell me exactly the costs of these procedures and the girl on the phone told me it would be $310. I agreed and authorized that they do the five things requested and call me if he needed anything else.

They never called or told me that he needed additional medications, procedures, or fluids. I called around 3 pm to check on him. They said he was starting to come out of his sedation, they had removed the blockage, installed the catheter successfully and I could pick him up around 6 pm, as they closed at 7 pm and I must have him out of there by then. Seems they were more concerned with going home early than the health of my "child". I had to insist on speaking with the doctor. Dr. ** came to the phone and warned me that he was not out of the woods yet and I needed to watch that urine production continued steadily through the night to be sure his kidneys were functioning. I assured her that I was quite capable of caring for him with proper instructions and I would be his nurse constantly through the night, every single minute for his care. I asked if he would have an IV bag and catheter collection bag to ensure that he was receiving enough fluids and processing them. She said that there was too much risk of the tubes being kinked, which could block him again causing his death and she did not want to do it. I just needed to be sure to watch him to see that fluids were flowing.

When I arrived at 6 pm to pick Bob up, they asked me to pay $420 without presenting me with an itemized bill and without my seeing my animal or the doctor for a follow up to discuss the procedures completed, his current condition, prognosis, or other necessary procedures they felt were essential to ensure his survival. They were busy at the counter and would not give me a private room to speak with the doctor, but I continued to ask two different girls at the front desk about follow-up care, for an itemized statement, and an explanation of what exact procedures were done that caused my bill to increase more than $100 than quoted. I was not unwilling or unable to pay the bill. I simply wanted exact explanations of all charges and itemized statement so I was certain what procedures had been done. They would not allow me to see my animal until I paid my bill. I continued to insist and they presented an itemized bill, but I was still very confused about the charges, unsure about the full extent of procedures they administered to my animal and continued to ask questions without receiving direct answers.

Dr. ** finally met me out in an aisle of the pet store as if it were an inconvenience and I was a problem, rather than in an exam room with my pet. She told me that she had to give him a shot during his procedure because he had vomited and that was why my charge was $100 more than quoted. She showed me the blockage that was removed (the diameter of a sewing needle), told me to watch his catheter tube to be sure fluids were flowing and take him to an emergency vet if he vomited or cried out. I then asked if he had received any fluids during or after the procedure. She was interrupted and walked away without answering or returning. As it turns out he was never administered any IV fluids during the procedure or after, thus causing his acute dehydration and demise (which I did not know at the time) but I was not able to determine this for sure from my invoice or their lack of direct answers and proper attention to me as a paying customer.

Two other cashiers tried to answer questions for me in between helping other customers at the counter, again treating me as if I were a nuisance. I was there. I was a paying customer with a gravely ill pet. I had waited for 20 minutes while they helped other customers before me. I had paid them over $400 without ever seeing the state of my animal and they still would not give me the direct attention necessary. In all, five different people came in and out of doors, as if I were interrupting them to answer questions and none were fully answered by any of them. Finally, a girl gives me the number of an emergency vet to contact if he had any problems or more questions, gave me medications and instructions to dose him when I got him home and comfortable.

I asked for a copy of all his medical records including his lab test results, just in case I needed to rush him to an emergency vet through the night and was told they could not give it to me because it had not been entered into the system yet; they do it at night. I asked for a photocopy of whatever they did have and they refused, asking me to just wait until the morning. I was distressed, exhausted, I had already paid the bill because they would not let me see my animal until I did and they finally brought out a comatose cat, put it in my arms telling me that he is just still a "little groggy from the sedatives", told me to bring him back in the morning and walked away. At that point my bill was paid, the cat was in my hands, I was in complete shock and they began helping other customers as if I were continuing to be a nuisance. Bewildered, overwhelmed and in incredible emotional pain over the state of my beloved pet limp in my arms, I left as there was clearly nothing more they would do. It was now after 6 pm on a Friday; other vets were no longer open. I was not sure what to do. They assured me he would be ok as soon as his sedatives wore off, "he was just groggy" they said and told me again to come back in the morning.

I arrived home with him around 7 pm. His condition the same as when I left Banfield. I was gravely concerned about his condition but reluctant to rush him to the emergency vet if he was simply still groggy from the sedatives. He was slightly responsive but did not seem right, he seemed in pain so I gave him the pain medications as they had instructed. He had a drip coming from the tube so I thought things were going like they are supposed to, but he was not able to drink fluids due to his state. I tired unsuccessfully to get him to drink fluids, watched him hoping that the "groggy" would start to wear off soon and he kept looking worse. He started to cry out, heave as if he might be trying to vomit and breathe fast around 9:30 pm.

By 11 pm, I arrive at the Emergency Care Center on Belcher Road with him in this distressed state. They confirmed that he was in shock, was experiencing hypothermia, he was more dehydrated than they have ever experienced in the entire history of their practice and immediately began IV fluids and oxygen with him on a hot pad to bring up his temperature. Dr. Lisa ** explained to Bill ** and myself how she could not understand why they did not administer IV fluids, did not have a closed IV system on the cat or why they sent him home in his condition and still so heavily sedated. She explained that the proper procedure was to administer fluids in a closed system to ensure that kidneys were functioning properly and she also said that she has had several pets come to her is such deplorable conditions from Banfield. It is common knowledge to any trained veterinarian that an animal who can not drink fluids of its own accord, being drained by a catheter, will dehydrate and perish. He was unable to be revived and passed around 4 am on May 1st.

On May 3rd, I finally receive the full records from both offices to discover that the documentation in the Banfield records is incorrect to the point of blatant and intentional falsification to avoid responsibility for their negligent care. They stated that I told them the cat could not pee for days when I clearly told them I first discovered this at 4 am the same day. I personally watched the girl write it in the file. They refused to give me a copy of their hand written notes.

Their records indicate that I refused IV fluids, blockage removal, catheterization and a bladder flush when they clearly performed these procedures, which I authorized over the phone around 3 pm. All of these procedures are documented on an itemized bill received upon Bob's discharge, so this also clearly indicates that they have false information in their records. They did not administer fluids; their report says that I refused to authorize it. I specifically requested it when I approved the other procedures and thought they had done it or I would never have left with him in his condition. If Dr. ** sincerely thought that I had refused to supply IV fluids for this procedure, she is negligent for not telling me that it will kill the animal and that it is cruel. Dr. ** should have told me he would not survive without IV fluids and never allowed him to leave in his state if she legitimately thought I had refused it. Not only is this facility grossly negligent in the care of my family member, but if they allowed him to leave in that state and die such a horrific death that I had to witness, will never ever forget and possibly now need therapy for because of the heinous emotional distress I went through with him. It should be considered both animal and human cruelty.

I don't and can't have children. Bob was my child and he wasn't even 5 yet. When he arrived at their location at 11 am on Friday, he needed care but was healthy and alert. By 6 pm when they discharged him to me so unprofessionally, he looked like he was still under complete sedation and by 9:30 pm he began to go into shock. They made me take this cat home in this condition because they wanted to go home at 7 pm. They never once told me that I should take this cat immediately to another vet for continued care in his condition. They told me he was groggy and he'd come out of it soon.

This is gross negligence, abuse and cruelty all in one incident that should not go overlooked or unpunished. If their office was incapable of handling such a serious medical condition because they do not provide over night ICU care to animals. They never should have told me they could handle the case and referred me to a specialist instead of taking my money and killing my family member. They preferred to empty my wallet at the expense of my child, leaving me $1200 in debt, paying for the loss of my most loved family member who was in the prime of his life and the absolute center of mine. Banfield Pet Hospital killed the equivalent of my son in the cruelest way possible and forced me to be an unwilling participant in it. $1200 in veterinary fees and supplies, immeasurable emotional trauma and pain/suffering to the animal.

I have paid through the nose for a wellness program due to them saying the surgery would be cheaper if we signed up to pay $29.00 per month and then still charged us about $500.00 for the surgeries. Also, my cat still needs this lump fixed. She’s been lethargic compared to normal. She’s fighting with the other cats (I am assuming it’s due to her not feeling well, and I am afraid this lump is going to keep growing and kill my cat before Banfield decides to get off their butts and fix their mistake and help my cat.

These people advertise good prices and excellent care I saw neither, no line of people waiting, (now I know why). I'm glad all these people are complaining. I was one of the lucky ones just to get ripped off and not have my pet endangered. Thank you for sharing. Will never go back and I will spread the word about these so called DRs.

When I came home, I had a message from the vet stating that it is 2 units, not 20. I called the vet and told him that my dog had been getting 20 units. He said o no. I said I called and that's what your receptionist told me. I told him that he should have went over the amount with me anyway, not her. My dog still had been drinking a lot of water and peeing. I had to bring him back to Banfield (which of course meant more money).

Now the vet put him on a twice a day insulin called Vetsulin. He had been on it for about a year and a half. Now, I am finding out that Vetsulin has just been recalled and it causes blindness in dogs. Needless to say, almost $1000.00 and my dog being blind, I am back at the beginning trying to find a new vet and new insulin. Bottomline is this is just like a food chain restaurant. They don't care about your pet at all. Save your money and your dog! Please!

Finally, on our last visit, we were told that our dog really didn't need the vaccines after all and the vet stated that she didn't even give them to her own dog. In any event, they seemed more interested in trying to push their products on us and had no interest in taking care of our dog. Banfield is more interested in parting you and your money than they are in providing care for your pets. I would suggest that Dove Lewis Animal Clinic would be a much better hospital for your pet. It has been several months since we cancelled our Banfield Wellness Plan, and today, we received a notice from the Multnomah County Animal Shelter which included a bill for pet licensing.

It seems Banfield was none too happy that we cancelled our plan and this is retribution. I have read hundreds of horrendous accounts of Banfield from other clients and I can only conclude that this is part for the course. I intend to sue Banfield Pet Hospital for Harassment and Extortion! Anyone interested, please contact me! Banfield prescribed their own brand of dog food for our dog and she became extremely ill.

In fact, she started eating peanut shells meant for the squirrels because she wasn't getting enough to eat. The food made her absolutely miserable and seemed to go right through her. It was soon after that that we noticed her ears were infected due to the medication they prescribed and her feet were bleeding and infected. Since we have stopped taking her to Banfield, her ears are better, but still inflamed. Her feet have improved tremendously and her weight is back to normal. Banfield should be closed! They are a danger to pets and a liability for pet owners!

During our evacuation from hurricane Katrina in 2005, Boeing, our border collie mix developed a rash/infection around his nose and mouth. We took him to a vet in Texas as we were passing through who took a skin sample and prescribed a cream to put on his infection. The cream seemed to work rather well, and quickly. But, almost exactly one year later, he developed the same thing. We took him to Banfield. They said it was a "plastic allergy" and that we should only feed him from dishes that were not plastic. Since we didn't feed or water them from plastic containers, we were a little confused but filled the prescription for the meds.

The infection eventually went away, probably on its own more so than with the prescribed meds. More recently, in February, 2010, we noticed that Hemi, the black lab looking one, was favoring his left back leg. Having brought him to an emergency clinic when he was about 10 months old for the same thing (and being told it was "growing pains"), we were not immediately alarmed. When he continued to limp after a week, we scheduled an appointment at Banfield. After sitting in the waiting room for what seemed like an eternity, (as is the norm) the doctor came in, felt Hemi's foot, ran her hand up his leg then pulled it backward. He yelped in pain. She said "it's hip dysplasia" and prescribed an expensive anti-inflammatory medication.

No follow up visit was mentioned, no "call us if this doesn't seem to help", no "to rule out anything more serious we may want to do x-rays", nothing. Over $100 (and yes, we had the Wellness Plan insurance) and 2 weeks later, we had not noticed an improvement. I told my husband I wanted a second opinion. My sister has always brought her pets to the Humane Society location near our home for veterinary care so we decided to make an appointment for Hemi there. On our initial visit, they asked if they could do x-rays. We agreed. The office visit and several x-ray shots cost $126. Not a bad price compared to Banfield's rates with insurance.

They called us a couple of days later and said they would like to meet us to discuss the x-rays. We went in and met with a doctor who told us that they had referred our x-rays to a specialist at the clinic that we had used when Hemi had growing pains because she saw something unusual in his x-ray. The specialist at the clinic met with us and told us that he was 99% sure that Hemi had osteosarcoma (bone cancer).

They took digital x-rays that confirmed his suspicion. We then met with a veterinary oncologist to discuss our options for treatment and were pretty much told that he would be dying in a few months, even with expensive treatments and amputation. She was the sweetest lady who took a lot of time to explain our options, his degree of discomfort, the possible medications and chemo and radiation treatments we could try, etc...all the while treating us like people who were losing a family member, not just a dog. We have decided to keep Hemi on pain management medications as long as we can to keep him comfortable rather than put him through the trauma of an amputation that wouldn't necessarily buy him any more time.

Had Banfield diagnosed Hemi with cancer rather than just hip dysplasia, we may have caught it in time to save him with chemo. But, it was too late for that by the time he was properly diagnosed. I will never use Banfield again and will tell anyone who has pets to avoid Banfield at all costs. They seem more interested in herding people and their pets in and out and raking in the dough than being genuinely concerned with their health and well-being.

I take them to a second vet for a second opinion and usually the second vet doesn't see anything wrong with my pets. Today I was in the lobby for an extended amount of time and notice that every "Pet Insurance Holder" walks out with an average bill of $80 and nearly all of the pets had eyes and ear problems. And I felt sorry for these young adults that brought their rescue pit in for shots and walked out with a $478 vet bill and nothing was diagnosed or treated at that time (this was only for test).

The morning I took Charlie to get his testing, it was evident that he had lost his hearing and his sight. I dropped him off and told them all my concerns. A few hours later, I get a call that Charlie needs an emergency surgery. I had my mom drive me up there, when we arrived we were told that Charlie would not make it through the surgery because he had gone into a comatose state. Therefore my dream puppy would have to be put to sleep. It was such an awful experience. The test they gave him showed that he had a portosystemic shunt. Once I got home, I researched portosytemic shunts and realized that small breeds like Yorkshires are very susceptible to them. A sign that a puppy has this condition is weight loss.

My question is why the vet waited so long to give the test. After his first drastic drop in weight the test should have been offered. I would assume that a vet knows that small breed dogs are susceptible to this condition and what tests are needed to see if they have a portosytemic shunt. My poor dog had to suffer through this and it could had been fixed with surgery, he didn't have to die. To add insult to injury , the vet said they would send me my bill. They have yet to do so, however, I get a call stating that they are sending me to collections and I asked them where's my bill, they responded with we tried calling you. Who calls to say here's your total bill. Why would they not send a billing statement. I would just warn people to be careful when sending your puppies to Banfield. If I decide to get another dog, I think I'll go through a vet's office not Banfield.

In March the local Banfield hospital called to remind me that Ozzy and Angus had an appointment on April 3 for their comprehensive exam. I explained that Ozzy had died and he was brought in for cremation to the same hospital. They said they would update their records. When we brought Angus in for his check up they told me that my policy had lapsed and that I would have to pay for a full year before they would see Angus. I decided that I was no longer happy with Banfield and left.

A few days later, April 6, I checked my checking account statement and found that I had been charged $59.90 by Banfield. I have called them twice and both times was sent to a supervisor who was not there. I wanted my money refunded. I was told by someone in billing that he couldn't do that because there was a glitch. I explained that the glitch was my dog died, multiple times, and he refused to understand that the issue was theirs, not mine. The glitch was not cancelling Ozzy--despite a note in my file from October when I called. He told me I should be happy that they didn't see Angus or I would owe them for a year.

I am appalled that my dog's death is seen as a glitch and that after more than seven years as a client, they are willing to lose a customer, keep $59.90 because of an error they made, and never bothered to get back to me. An amount of $59.90 charges in April, no services received, and according to them the policy lapsed in January.

7/10/09 couldn't tell me what was wrong charged me another $81.64 for the same kind of stuff they had charged me for. Recommended that I have a very expensive blood test done, and suggested that the dog needed his teeth cleaned and the blood work was included in the teeth cleaning, so I agreed to have the dogs teeth cleaned and blood work done on 7/23/09, was charged $456.69.

The dog was still having diarrhea took him in again on 7/30/09 ran some of the same tests. During the office visit I asked the same vet that I had started all this with if this could be enzyme imbalance in his intestines due to the change in dog food and eating that bone. She said yes, so as I was leaving the store, I bought an over the counter probiotic enzyme for my dog and in 2 days he was back to normal. This little over sight cost me $806.02 that we did not have, I am not working and this devastated our budget. Even if you give Banfield a credit for the teeth cleaning I was taken to the cleaners for about $600.00. To top it all off I have to tell them what was wrong with my dog, thank god for the internet. I waited to file this because I am having been dealing with a very ill family member.

By this time, it was well after 2:00am and I knew I would be paying big for it. Banfield's policy is to not let anyone leave before services are paid for, they showed me the bill ($1,936.78) and asked me how I wanted to pay. I asked if I could put $700 down and juggle some money in my accounts to pick up the remaining balance. They agreed and I was on my way. I checked in with her and the vet every day until she was ready to go home four days later, it was that time they brought up the 'Optimum Wellness Plan' and showed me the savings, even with the $280 start up cost it would end up saving me close to $650, I figured it would be worth it and not knowing any better signed up. I left happy that my dog was alive, but feeling significantly overcharged.

On my second Banfield experience, we had to go in for what looked like a UTI or Bladder Infection. I figured a quick look and some meds and we would be out the door, but when they drew the sample it turned out to be the protein in her muscles breaking down and entering the bladder. Apparently, she had been over excercising, especially with her major surgery only a month and a half prior. I chalked it up to experience and let them keep her overnight for an IV flush. They made it sound like she wouldn't live through the night without it, which seemed wrong, but I didn't argue. The next day, when I was allowed to come pick her up I got the bill for $374, with all my Wellness Plan discounts- the regular cost would have been upwards of $600. I though it seemed high, but paid blindly again.

Our third experience with Banfield was a run in with a bee at the park, her face ballooned to twice it's normal size and her eyes were so puffy she could hardly see. Of course, as luck would have it, I was working at the time, so my roommate took her in after calling and being told under no circumstances to give her Benadryl. She panicked, rushed her in, and let them do their thing. They tried to talk her into an overnight stay to administer an antihistamine via IV, but she refused (thankfully!). We were stuck with a $224 bill, for a check up, injection, and the instructions to get and administer- Benadryl.

Among all of the major expenses, we've also participated in the semi-annual 'Wellness Exams' which take an entire day (7:30am drop off, and something always seems to come up to bump our 12:00pm pick up to 4:30pm). They never will preform the exam in front of you, they always whisk the animal away to the back room. On our last exam, I asked if we could get an out of state health certificate for a trip we were taking to Glacier Nat'l Park, the out of state certificate is included in the Wellness Plan. When we picked her up later that afternoon, they said since we would be taking a day trip to Canada they had to give us the International Health Certificate, when I said I didn't want it because it wasn't necessary to get to or from the States they told me the law had just changed and I wouldn't be able to get her across the border without one. I figured they would know best and shelled up the $66.60 for the certificate. When crossing the border, I asked both ways what I needed to provide for the dog, the border patrol for both the US and Canada said the only thing they need is a rabies certificate.

After all the money I have "saved" (while overspending) at Banfield, I decided to cancel my Wellness Plan, I called the local office who gave me the number to call and cancel. Fifteen minutes on hold and I talked to a representative who didn't put up too much fight about cancelling but offered to waive the fee for the month to see how much it would cost without the plan. I opted out and they said it wouldn't expire until the 7th of August, or if I wanted to cancel today I could pay the $75.86 balance of services rendered for the year and cancel today. I opted to pay the balance and cancel on the spot, I'm not planning on ever going back to Banfield, especially now that I've found my new vet who I love and would never put a dog through the stress of a day long check up. Overall, I feel slightly cheated by the deal, $20/month for the past two years and I still have to pay to get out of the deal. Good riddance.

When I took him to the emergency vet, they said they didn't know if there was much they could do, but they prescribed some antibiotics, hoping that there was something infecting his liver. After a few days, however, Keanu finally died. I soon realized that my case was not the first like this, that several times Banfield has given a heavy dose of the rabies vaccine.

They did a giardia test; it was negative. They did a pancreas test, negative. They took x-rays; it came back abnormal. At this point, my tab was at $615. The next step was to perform surgery to find out whether it was Bloat or a blockage. Surgery would have cost $2,000- $3,000. At Banfield, you have to pay in full; they don't "do" payment plans! I was told that they (Banfield) don't want to have an outstanding balance due on their books, that's why they don't offer payment plans. I don't have that kind of money just laying around the house! They gave me a few names of other Vets that accept "Care Credit". You have to apply for it in the same way you would apply for a credit card. There's no way in ** anyone will approve me for $2,000-$3,000 line of credit! I had no idea that vets don't accept payment plans.

What are our options? They didn't give us any! None! If you can't pay for the surgery in full at the time of service, then you have to kill your dog.so now I have to live with the guilt that we killed our dog.

That is so ***! I wonder how many other pet owners have to kill their pets because they can't pay in full for surgery?

Banfield is nothing more than a business.They don't give a ** about the life of an animal. It's more important to them that they don't have an outstanding balance due on their books!

How can that Vet Doctor sleep at night knowing she just killed a 3-1/2 year old dog because her owners didn't have $3,000! *** Banfield! I am going to cancel my other dogs' wellness program and find a Veterinarian that is a vet because they love animals, not because they love the money.

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 stops 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 listen to people threatening legal action. I really believe that it can't be legal that they cancel the wellness plans to collections for more than 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.

I asked her to scan them to see their location and both chips were in the area where the inflammation was. She scanned the chips and had a very surprised look on her face. The technician was trying to sell me a wellness plan and flea products, I told her more than once that I did not need them. She stated that they don't recommend any OTC products; however, when I received my recommendations for treatment there were at least 3 OTC products listed and they were horribly overpriced.

When the doctor finally arrived after at least another 30 minutes, she did not give my dog a thorough exam. She reached out for my dog's mouth to check his teeth and she did not give any indication to me or my dog and we were both startled by her action. I felt that as a trained vet you should approach an animal with caring and comfort, not by just reaching your hand into his mouth. She also diagnosed his ear irritation from the computer at least 3-4 feet away, saying "yeah, it's inflamed" without touching it or examining the inside with a tool. She didn't complete a thorough office visit exam for which I was charged. She did not take his temperature, check his paws or look at his ear thoroughly.

I talked to the manager, Denise, and she was going to get back to me and finally did so on November 12. She stated all that she would do is give me hospital credit. I told her that I did not feel comfortable bringing Bruiser back to her facility because I feel that they just wanted to sell me products and they really didn't care about helping me fix Bruisers' condition. I asked that they credit my bank account. I went to my primary vet and paid for the treatment my dog so desperately needed. It was way cheaper and I didn't feel that they were trying to rip me off or sell me stuff that I didn't need. His ear and his neck both got better and it cost less than half of what Banfield quoted me.

I grudgingly paid for a professional service which I did not receive and the customer service was very unprofessional. Denise hung up on me and my mom several times. I've gone to several vets over the years and none of them has ever handled my dog in the manner that the vet at Banfield did.

After my mom and I both went back and forth with Denise, I finally filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. When I called to inquire about the store credit that she owed me, she said "that was before you called BBB, I can no longer talk to you" and she hung up, even though she said that her solution was to give me a store credit, although I told her I would never bring my dog there again. Banfield is unprofessional and they don't care about our pets. They just want to overcharge you and get you to buy their stupid insurance. If you love your pets, do not bring them to Banfield.

Today, March 24th, I called Altmeyer. It turns out they never received my pet. I quickly called Banfield. After a 17 minute hold, I was told that they still had my pet in a holding area. Unacceptable! I was then given a nurse who told me they had a communication breakdown and that I was suppose to call Altmeyer to come pick him up. After a heated conversation, the nurse apologized and said she would take care of this situation and that someone would call me back tomorrow to tell me how long it would take. This isn't the first time the Newport News office has miscommunicated with me and the health care of my pet of 14 years.

I will not pay those people a dime. I will go to Banfield and confront them with my evidence and end my contract with them. I do not need to do business with such a highly unethical and immoral company and I urge all others to do the same.

What made me take it to another vet was the price Banfield was going to charge me to have another vet look and see what was wrong with the dog. They charged me almost $500.00 the first time and wanted almost $300.00 for an x-ray and around $1,100.00 to fix what was not fixed the first time. This is price gouging and unfair practice to pet owners all over America.

After we left there, her eyes got puffy and red. I did give her 2 treatments as how the doctor instructed. Her eyes got worse and more puffy and more watery. I stopped using it and just washed my dogs eyes instead, and it stopped the redness. I brought her back, and another doctor said that she maybe allergic to the ointment. I said that I'll just try to wash her eyes and keep her clean to see if it will heal from the allergic reaction.

Now the date is the 11th, 8 days later, and my dog eyes are horribly swollen and blistered. Her eyes so watery that every time she goes to sleep and wakes up, her eyes are dried shut from the eye fluids drying as she slept. I have to wet it and slowly try to open her eyes. I know that as the eyes dry shut, the fluid in her eyes keeps building and the disease of the blistering spread to the surrounding areas which is her face. And now, she's getting blisters on her chin and around her mouth and her neck got 2 big bumps getting big and hard. She looks horrible.

I brought her back today, the 11th, and the same first doctor that gave her the eye treatment was there to look at her. I asked the doctor what's wrong with her, and she said she doesn't know and wants to draw blood and check it and brought out an estimate of 500 something dollars. I was so upset and sad at the same time, and I feel it's so unfair to bring my dog there for them to damage her and then they try to make me pay for what they've caused on my dog.

Now my dog is in pain, I know. I don't have the money to treat her right now. Somebody please help me sue them. I really need justice for my poor innocent little pup. Somebody please step up for us. Thank you.

On the third call, I asked for the vet who is rude, unprofessional and during my last visit on Feb 1st, I talked more about her hysterectomy she had just had and her money problems than she was concerned about my dog. Her name is Susan and she was nasty with me when I asked her to refax the prescription. She became down right nasty then hung the phone up in my face on 8 Feb '10 6pm simply because I requested a refax of the prescription. This lady is suppose to be the director but let me tell you, she truly has some mental health issues going on. I called Banfield Corporate on the 8 Feb 2010 to complain. They said someone would get back to me in 7 days. I haven't heard from them and it's 4 Mar 2010. Every time I call to cancel this insurance I have paid for for years, they give me a hard time telling me I owe money that I don't owe.

I have yet to successfully cancel the insurance but will try again today while they continue to charge my checking account. I really question just how competent the vets are and the director of nursing, Kim, and the individual who answer the phones especially Holly, always has an attitude. I guess poor management trickles down. I called them on this surgery they said my dog needed and Susan didn't like me questioning her. That's my job as a consumer and a dog parent. Dr. B was there for the last few years and never a problem. What a wonderful doctor she was.

Now, the new people in there, well, I pray for the people who take their dogs/pets there. My dog has not had any surgery and is happy and healthy. I changed vets to professional vets who are competent, kind and compassionate towards my dog and I, who could have said yes to surgery however they are well established and not hurting for money. So they are not willing to do unnecessary surgeries. They truly take measures to do what is in the best interest of the animal, not their bank account unlike Banfield.

We thought that would be great. It turned out not so great. We have now been getting constant harassing phone calls about our payments. They didn't tell us that an account on hold equals harassing phone calls. We told them we want to make payments but are having a hard time getting funds available. We asked if they could send us a bill in the mail so we could make payments. They said the only way we could make payments was to give them another credit card over the phone or to go into the pet hospital and make a payment.

Right now, this is close to impossible. I am currently on bed rest with my pregnancy and my husband's commute is not in the time frame of the hospital's operating hours. We also have cancelled all of our credit cards and bank accounts until we have things under control. As a client who is willing to make payments, I would hope that a company would be willing to take payments, even if that means they have to send out a bill for a few months. We will never go back to Banfield once our contract expires.

I have seen and dealt with, on a regular basis, morally and ethically disturbing situations. I can only really talk about what I saw in the office I worked in. Be prepared, I will explain to the best of my ability. I have seen dogs get dental procedures done on the floor at least three times. I will explain and clarify. The dog was laid on the tile floor and put under anesthesia to get their teeth cleaned/get a tooth pulled. Why on the floor? Because the dog was too big to fit on the place where dentals are done and the dogs were very big, over a hundred pounds each, no one there to pick them up.

A dental cart that at times will shock people using it and shock pets getting their teeth cleaned, no rhythm or reason to it plus ox/monitoring equipment are not always working right/not turning on/stopping in the middle of procedures, office manger refusing to be quick about fixing said problems, responding with comments like play with it and see if you can get it to work, or waiting a week or two or more to order the part instead of making an emergency order.

The machines that monitor heartbeat and other functions, the sound is shut off so as to not bother doctors/staff/with sound of said machine going off. The said machines go off because they don’t work right. There's a problem with machine, or there’s a serious problem with pet. Surgery and dental carts/rooms are not cleaned properly. Equipment is not maintained properly. Sharp containers opened then closed and set up to empty small containers into bigger containers. At one time, small sharp containers were growing and cleaned out by someone because no one knew where to get sharper ones. Sharp containers are expensive so let’s just clean it out so we can use the money elsewhere. That practiced stop when the office was caught by OSHA.

Various tests aren’t read quick enough or properly or not read at all. Example, heartworm tests aren’t snapped quickly enough so there’s a possibility of false reading. Fecals are not being read fast enough or not being read and giving owners a false read only to have the owner come back in for same issue later then pay for another test to find out that the owner’s pet has worms which would have been caught if the first test was read. Urine is not being read quickly enough for possible false reading. Blood test results are not run/read right or just being lost. There never have enough supplies. I repeat. There were never enough supplies. Surgeries had been done in unsafe manners/unsterile manners such as declaws. A veterinarian doesn’t scrub up or gown up for declaws and says it’s not a sterile surgery anyway. Clients buying and paying for medicines are not even in the hospital at that time because the hospital has run out/wasn’t ordered but still sold to clients. Name bands are not put on a regular practice. Why? They are too busy.

Pets are confused, wrong pet treated for the wrong thing/given medicine to that it shouldn’t have gotten. Pets being wrongful tracked. The tract tube was put in a wrong place or done by someone who shouldn’t be doing it. Pets being maimed by wrong/poor diagnosis. Pets being killed by arrogance/wrong/poor diagnoses. I have seen pets poorly tracked by wrong size of tract tube that was put in and have either lost a piece of their trachea or coughed a piece of it and no one tells the owners. This can kill a pet in time. I have given owners their dying pets and the office manger says, “Good luck in making it to the ER.” I have seen routine procedures go bad due to incompetence/wrong people doing things.

They shouldn’t have and watching, said¸”Pets die. And not being able to say anything to the owner except, “Sorry, for your loss.” While I’m crying, being called soft for crying over a pet/believing what an owner says people not using muzzles on pets they are working with. It’s for my safety and the safety of the pet. Cats getting their heads slammed into worktable because it’s a cat and cats are temperamental. When a certain owner is there, this isn’t happening. If she’s there, it doesn’t because she handles the cats and is great at it. Saving of suture for later use, here’s a big one bait and switch.

There are plans for preventive medicine. One plan has blood work. Beware, this is usually done for dentals once a year. You get the blood drawn. If it comes back to normal, it’s covered with no problems but if it doesn’t come back to normal, your charged blood work that’s suppose to be already covered that’s over a hundred dollars. Also, you will lose that blood work that’s supposed to be free because you have been paying for the monthly plan. if you need blood work you have to pay again because you used the routine blood work already. It makes no sense to me.

Its horrible and has caused lots of problems in IV lines, bags of fluids, needles not changed i.e. we got a memo saying that IV lines and needles need to be changed after each patient and bags of fluids not to be used over 48 hours because some hospitals weren’t doing it and it caused deaths. This hospital used to use fluids until the fluid bag went empty. They don’t do that anymore though.

The staff/office manager says horrible/mean things about clients behind their backs while trying to get the most money, trying to pad the bill, saying things about clients because they either ask questions or don’t understand what’s being told to them, improper training/no training, improper pictures taken, taking advantage of an emergency situations, and laughing about it. Example, the client is being charged $75 every 30 minutes for an emergency and the office manager laughs about it because she’s making money off another’s pain. That’s just some of what I have dealt with, sorry for it being so long but I feel people need to know so they can make an informed decision.

By the next morning, she hadn't urinated at all or ate or drank in over 48 hrs. I took her to a vet there who immediately put her in the hospital-"critical". She sent for the blood work from Banfield which showed her blood sugar was high & her urine showed the highest reading the charts show, as well as the gluten level was off the chart. They kept her for 4 days on iv fluids and 2 different kinds of insulin. She is finally on soft food, drinking and urinating normally, but still not 100%. I visited the vet today to question why he didn't start her on insulin 2 weeks ago. He said he doesn't trust the tests. I told him I want reimbursement for all their charges (since I had also signed up for the wellness plan), and I also want reimbursement for the hospital charges when out of town. He said he is not authorized to give a credit. I told him I will never bring either of my pets back there.

Visiting for the first time at the Roswell location, I had a rude awakening. I was bringing my dog in for a skin condition I had begun noticing. The staff there (Kelly) seemed posh to start with as I ignored his rude remarks on, "Oh, you need to spay that dog. We don't need any more runts running around." (I am in fact on the spay included wellness plan so his words were far from necessary). After waiting in the office for 1 hour and 45 minutes before seeing a doctor, she came in seeming to be in a hurry.

She brushed her hand through my dogs coat for a calculated 30 seconds, agreed with my opinion that it seemed to be and probably was an allergic reaction. She then said nothing more and left the room. I thought she would come back with some more information or to take another look, rather a tech entered with a $780 priced treatment plan for skin cultures, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory, shampoos, ointments and a urine sample. I was dumbfounded at how this could be the treatment plan a doctor who "treated" my dog for less than one minute to an issue she herself said looked to be an allergic reaction.

Walking away from Banfield at that time with nothing but the shampoo in hand to ease the itching (which later caused the condition to spread) I proceeded to a different local veterinarian a few days later that treated her with a steroid shot for $45 that cleared her skin up in less than 24 hours.This is not the end of my rather negative experience. Visiting again a few weeks later, I had decided to give the office another try because of its convenient location and to take advantage of my wellness plan to give my puppy some updated shots. I was welcomed by a female associate who seemed nice enough.

Soon thereafter, a tech came in again with a printed out estimate of my costs. I told her I was on the wellness plan and that the majority of what was listed should be cost free. She walked out of the room and Kelly came in with a very rude and condescending tone that they cannot honor my plan unless I buy the adult plan or re-pay my initial plan costs. I, of course, refused to re-start a plan nor pay for any further plan costs that I had paid for back in June when my plan began. He told me she could not help and that I had to contact the Alpharetta office to get her shots and to continue her plan.

The Alpharetta branch had long since been closed. I contacted the Johns Creek location who of course told me that Roswell had to call them to have my plan transferred back. Regardless of the fact that when I heard months ago that the Alpharetta location was closing I had to call back and forth numerous times to have all the information transferred to Roswell to begin with. I now have scheduled my puppy's spay and further shots at the Johns Creek location, a very inconvenient 35 minutes away. However, the staff, over the phone at least sounds very kind.

I will never again return to the Roswell location again and I will also make my friends, family and neighbors aware of my experience with the staff and doctors there. The procedures of examining and calculating what actually needs to be done to help my dog, I felt, was totally ignored. I would hope that a veterinarian office, doctor, associate and especially the bottom line of the corporate company standards itself are always #1, the health of the pets that come through its doors and not trend of increasing money.

I truly hope that the above letter helps you implement a change in the way clients are their pets are treated and how things are handled between each location. Transferring her plan was confusing enough with each location telling me a different thing. It did not help that the staff was rude and inconsiderate about it as well.

I also hope that the doctors, which I am sure are not all of them, grasp the understanding that when someone brings in their pet, it is because they want a problem fixed, just as people see their own doctor for the same reason. Thank you for your time and I would appreciate a response in this matter.

Third strike? My 7-year old Greyhound has been limping, so I took her in. X-rays were done, the vet told me that she had cancer and had less than a year to live and that I should just give her pain pills and enjoy my time with her. I contacted two other vets and they didn't know why a test for Valley Fever was not done. When I called the vet at Banfield and asked to see him, he said "Oh, I did talk to another vet and she said that I should have checked for Valley Fever and I was going to call you". He said that he was not from Arizona, so he didn't know that Valley Fever should have been screened. He also said that there was only a 5% probability that it would not be cancer and would be Valley Fever.

Needless to say, I loaded up my Greyhound again, took her back, paid another $135 to have the test done. I contacted another vet today who said, "You can't determine if it's cancer until a biopsy is done". He also said, "There is a 50% chance it could be Valley Fever". As a pet owner, one can only imagine the anguish me and my 2 girls have been through during these experiences. If my dog does, in fact, have cancer, I will deal with the options and prognosis. However, to make a determination so quickly that is not based on evidence is a disastrous mistake for a vet to make and I could have said "goodbye" to my dog way too soon. Please do not consider using Banfield!

Every person we saw asked us the same exact questions, and we ended up repeating ourselves continually. And the actual vet only came in for a very short period of time and then left right away without explaining anything or telling us what needed to be done. This was followed by a nurse coming in and handing us a bill for a bunch of stuff, most of which did not make any sense. We paid it, and he got antibiotics. Things went well for a while.

Then a couple days ago, he started acting really funny. But on the phone, they said it would be fine to wait until the next day to bring him in. So we waited, and during that evening, his condition went from bad to worse. So we rush him to the clinic, and then they tell us that he would be alright and came back with a huge bill over $850 which I could not pay. So they cut off a bunch of the unneeded tests by their own words and came down to $600. After making a couple of phone calls, I decided to go forward with it, because I love my cat dearly.

He didn't make it though. They put him through a lot, drugged him up, and then when it came closing time, rather than keep on caring for him, they told us to take him to another clinic a short drive off. Following their instructions, we drove him over to the new clinic where he died of a heart attack due to his kidneys failing completely.

What's worse was we talked with the doctor at this 24/7 clinic, and she said that she could have told us 5 weeks ago that this was going to be a problem we would be dealing with for the rest of his life and would need a special diet. She also told us that the chances of his survival had been so low that the fact they did not even tell this to us at Banfield made me feel cheated. Had I known at the time that this had the slightest chance of working and would leave him in pain and gimped for the rest of his life, I would have put him down and not put him through what I did. And that makes me feel horrible.

I love my cat so much, and to know that they lied to me just to get my money when they saw the writing on the wall that he probably would not make it but kept on telling me he would, that's not right.

If I went to a doctor, he would be straight with me if I was dying, and I expect the same about my vet when it comes to my animals. And this is why I will never go to another Banfield ever again. I don't care if they change management; the problem is the people as much as the overpriced treatment.

I finally called Pet Smart and had them ring the dog care center and someone from there went to ask them about the phone. She then came back and told me I could call now. I did call immediately and the girl that answered told me they had a staff meeting and that is why the phone was on auto pilot. I don't believe that for one minute. When you are trying to run a business (especially from 1-3 pm) that was hardly the answer I was looking for. I asked when I could pick up my dog and without even asking who my dog is, she said he'll be ready in a half hour. I have gone down for him and waited over 1 1/2 hours. Someone should take a look at management. I have been a faithful client of Banfield for 5 1/2 years now, I will no longer recommend you.

At the end of September when she was fixed, the vet said that she was still scratching and biting so better to keep an eye on her and give her Benadryl. On October 16, we took her back for her recheck and at that time they took a scraping of her back quarters. Two weeks and a $115 later I get a phone call saying it was bacterial and I had to come in and get her medicine and shampoo. At this point the poor puppy has no hair left on her back legs. Had to purchase the shampoo and medicine. Told me to come back in a couple of weeks. On November I took her back, she was still scratching and biting her legs. They took more tests and more medicine worth $118.

On December 8 I took her one last time the vet and at that time they told me that my puppy had ringworms and that is what they were treating her for all this time. No one ever said it was that she sleeps with my daughter and I also have another dog in the house. If someone would have told me that I would have remembered and would have been very concerned. Some people who work in the animal field who saw my puppy before this were shocked when I told them what they told me what they were treating her for. She had no sign of it. They took more tests and gave her more medicine I waited for over 2 hours in the office to find out the vet didn't need me to wait that they didn't even run the test at time. Oh by the way this was $169 later.

I took my puppy to another vet. He looked at her paper work and did not see any records of ringworm. He suggested that we do not give her the medication that Banfield was giving us and that she was on it for too long and that we need to try and change her food. They mentioned that she may have food allergies and we need to put her on a poultry, beef, wheat free diet. We started this before the Christmas holidays and her legs cleared up.

I called Banfield on December 8 to put a complaint in and 2 months and 4 phone calls by me later, I have not heard from them. All I am asking at this point is to cancel my wellness plan with them. During my phone call with one of the employees on January 4, 2010, I was assured that they will not credit the cost my card until this issue was resolved. I just received my bill and sure enough I was charged the $25. I would like this resolved. I'm tired of playing games with them.

It has been 6 months now and Banfield is still withdrawing money from my checking without my authorization. My bank said that I need to go through Banfield first and get them to reverse the withdrawals. If I don't get that from them , then I need to contact my bank once again. My complaint is that Banfield is a total fraud and I cannot believe that they are getting away with it.

I signed up with their pet wellness plan and were greeted by a very friendly staff. I brought my two German Shepherd puppies at three weeks interval for five consecutive months for testing. No problem were ever found--while the dog had diarrhea and not does not eat fully. Growing frustrated of the increasing bill for each examination without any results, but I was trusting their expertise.

I began to notice worms in my dog's fecal matter. I was extremely surprised for we test for worms just days before and all these months without any problems. I did notice one of the puppies has a round tummies indicative of round worms. I scoop some samples (including some crawling worms) and brought them in for a worm examination. After 45 minutes, the stupid nurse told me the doctor and their exam reveal there were not any worm. I blankly stated that they only need to look and they'll see the worm crawling. They then handed me off some generic drug that I could have gotten from Wal-mart without examining what kind of worm it was.

They are apparently a bunch of incompetent ** out to make profit. After this forum, I'm heading over to BBB to voice my opinion. Calling their representative led me on wild goose chase. Be careful with this bunch of **. Petsmart is also lame for partnering with a company and providing no support for feedback. I love my dogs, and to see them suffer all this time needlessly in the hands of these ** is unacceptable.

In the fall of 2009, I took our dog in for a routine teeth cleaning. They used anesthetic. He did not come out of that appointment the same. He couldn't walk the same and three months later, he isn't much different. I asked a doctor (who isn't there) and she said that it could have happened from the anesthetic or it could have been the way they restrained him, but she didn't know because she didn't do that procedure. I asked to ask those that did the procedure and didn't get any answers.

Fast forward to this week, I have an older cat who needed his eye removed. I took him to a different clinic initially because I wasn't feeling trustworthy of Banfield, but ended up there because my cat was on a plan and it cost me $300 less. All of his blood work looked good and everything else checked out which made me feel confident that surgery was the right thing to do. He came home from the surgery, ate, used the litter box, walked around fine and was great the first night but the next afternoon, he couldn't walk.

We called and they wanted to check his glucose levels (he's a diabetic). They were high, but not high enough to cause this. He threw up so they gave him a shot of pepcid and another to help him with the nausea. They said his temperature was three degrees cooler than normal and we would need to feed him every hour and give him water and keep him warm, but it was just the anesthetic wearing off (which made no sense because he was walking the previous night--if anything he should have been better). They brought him out in his blankets and were going to send us home. He was struggling to breathe and was breathing out of his mouth. They took him in back and gave him oxygen, but still acted like everything was status quo and he was okay.

One and a half later, he passed next to me at home. I'm grateful that he was home, but I don't know what happened! I know he was older and diabetic, but what happened? It is hard for me to not link the anesthetic both with my dog and cat and question how they monitor it and who is giving it? I don't even know if they listened to his lungs to see if he had fluid in there from IV or misadministered?

My husband came home two and a half hours later and said the bill was $398. The vet was asking him questions about the dogs and she decided to do an ear culture and other things, plus ear drops. My husband is a senior citizen and they led him to believe that the charges for the cultures were $40 and the $58 for the drops total. Then they charged him that for each dog.

I checked with other vets and online and the same name brand medicine ranges from $10-20 for one bottle. I called to talk to the vet regarding the ridiculous charges and to say one of my dogs showed absolutely no signs of an ear infection. She was busy. I was furious. As on a fixed income we could not afford this. I drove the drops back to the store, used a ice pack because they told him it had to be refrigerated. They told me they would not take it back and their registers were closed. I was so upset. I left the medicine on the counter and told them to put it in their refrigerator and process the refund the next day.

The vet called me back that night and I told her we could not afford $115 for $20 worth of drops. She did not respond. I often do without many things (sometimes medicine) because it is too expensive. That was six days ago and they have not yet processed a refund. They had the nerve to send my husband home with information on their "wellness plan" for additional money. It should be called their "rip off" plan. I have called the credit card company and registered a complaint. I would never bring my dogs to Banfield. They try to make you think they are a savings over an individual vet, however, they are extremely overpriced. We have not been reimbursed for the $116.

The number they gave me was not to the corporate office. It was to the billing department. I was then transferred to what I thought was the corporate office and was told that nothing could be worked out. I told them that I would like to cancel. I received a couple of more phone calls after telling me that I now owed for another year. I told them the account is supposed to be canceled. I thought it was over until I received another phone call a few minutes ago from IC Systems saying that I now owe $300 for a service that I have not used since cancellation.

After 10 days, they told me to come back. She got one of her shots and they did another blood test. They told me that there was no improvement and now she seemed to have a sugar problem. The vet on duty told me maybe that was wrong and the machine was off. They indicated that she would probably need an operation to correct her problem. I did not feel comfortable with them so I took my pet back to my original vet. I only changed because of the good deal on Banfield's puppy plan. Her spaying was included. He asked for her records and look at the same blood work results they did and told me there was nothing wrong with my pet. I had to pay another $270 so I could cancel the plan. I had to pay the difference in what I saved. Of course, I will be writing to corporate to try to get all my money back. Except for paying a lot of money to Banfield for test, food and visits, I guess I got away okay. I got a second opinion before they did anything to my dog.

On November 30th, I had an appointment for her surgery (spaying). That morning, I left my clean dry baby in the hospital, and returned home, happy that her neutering would be taken care of. One hour later, they called me, and said that they could not do the surgery, because our kittens' blood test had shown an elevated white blood cell count. Also, before I had taken her in, her diarrhea had seemed to be under control, but when I picked her up, both the kitten and towel inside her cage were covered with diarrhea. They claimed to have cleaned her up before bringing her out, but it sure didn't look that way! Nor did they offer me anything to clean her up with, before we left the hospital, so they left us to drive home with both cat and cage full of feces. The vet said that she could not spay my kitten, until her blood work improved. The kitten was already 5 months, and 2 weeks old at this point. I was told to bring her back in a week.

On December 7th, we were in Banfield again, ready to have her surgery finally taken care of. We were surprised to learn that they were requiring us to pay full price for another blood test, without any assurance that the result would allow her to complete the surgery (that's $200.00 minus 10% for the plan). We weren't too happy with that, visualizing a row of $200 bills falling like a row of dominoes, before we could ever get the surgery done, that had been promised! We persisted in asking for some more affordable alternative, and were there for over two hours, before they admitted that they could do a blood cell count in house for only $76.71.

They sent us home, saying that her blood had improved, but not enough for them to do the surgery yet. On December 11th, I came home to find my kitten showing signs of going into heat. I called Banfield about this, and made an appointment for December 13th. Again, I was told that I would have to pay more for the spaying, since they would have to use medication to counter her "heat" before spaying her. That appointment was canceled and rescheduled twice by Banfield, because they did not have a veterinarian available. It was December 14 when we called again to find about our appointment. We were told that they still need to do blood work in full price, $200.00, before her spaying.

Now, I feel like I am a victim of the system, Wellness Plus Plan. I have the Plan. I paid a large initial membership fee and my credit card is charged every month but my kitten will not be fixed without doing very expensive blood work. And of course, there is no guarantee of result just simply by telling me that conditions are less than optimum. I feel that they can demand that the $200.00 blood test be done over and over and over. The Plan folder says "all you need to do is pay the membership fee and first monthly installment on your annual plan, which covers preliminary medical and administrative functions that build the foundation of your Pet's Wellness Plan. After that, you will never again face a large bill for your Pet's normal care, just a greatly discounted monthly payment. $200.00 may not be a large bill in their eyes, but it is in mine, especially when I'm faced with the prospect of it being repeated again and again.

Frankly, my kitten would have been through her surgery and well recovered by now if we had simply gone to one of the spay/neuter clinics that are available in our county. Banfield may "treat your pet like family", but I feel that their contract and subsequent services were actually fraught with pitfalls for the unwary. Most especially, for someone like me whose first language is not English, and does not expect to find these little traps in the fine print of the contract. I took them for their word, when I read the portion of their pamphlet that I quoted above. I am giving up on Banfield, except for those services that are already paid for. I can't afford their extra fees, nor can I afford to cancel the contract, so I must let it run it's course, and not let myself be trapped by the automatic rollover into the adult wellness plan. This entire mess has left me angry and regretful that I ever signed up for this plan.. I feel like I am caught in a noose without any chance for escape and I'll never recommend this plan to anybody.

As mentioned above, the greatest potential for harm may have been financial, but I feel that my kitten's well being could also be harmed, if the spaying procedure is delayed too long.

We informed them that they don't close until 7pm so how was this considered an emergency. They said that because it's after 6, that it's considered an emergency because it would be after 7 before they could complete the visit (complete money scam). Seeing as how we spent 30 minutes debating why we had to pay such a fee and they never once asked how she was doing, never offered to accommodate us in any way, all they could say was that was their policy and sorry for not mentioning it before you came in.

I have always used an independent vet prior to this time. The wellness plan seemed like a good idea at the time. However, now we are stuck in a contract with people who could care less about your pets. The Matthews Banfield acted as if we were burdening them at 6:30pm on a Friday night. The first lady we saw (the tech) just said there was nothing she could do and I asked to see someone else. The next person, who is named in the complaint, said there was nothing she could do after explaining again that it was after 6pm.

I asked to see the doctor again, she said the same thing. Never did any of them (being the animal lovers that they are) even acknowledge our dog, in any way. Their only advise to us, when we refused their services was to take her to the emergency vet down the road. They simply suck! I would rather take her to an emergency vet and have someone act like she mattered (and pay their fees) than to ever take her back to Banfield.

The transference of the records were not handled in a professional and ethical manner. The business partner went to the location of where the records had been maintained (Banfield Manahawkin) to pick up the records of her clients, The veterinarian and owner of the Banfield location and his staff pushed the records in shopping carts not secured to the curb outside the PetSmart store for pick up. They were not in boxes but exposed and blowing in the wind. I do believe that is very unbecoming and unprofessional of a veterinarian.

I was told that for one year she could return for any reason to the Banfield clinic since I bought the Optimal Wellness Plan, and it also included follow-up visits during that year. The vet put my dog on three different RXs (and very expensive - all at out of pocket costs to me - they are not included in the plan) and suggested surgery for her spine and torn ACLs. When I told him I couldn't afford the surgery, he suggested that I euthanize my dog! He said she was in "severe, continual pain". I decided to take my dog home and try the prescribed medications because I did not want to euthanize without a lot of thought on the matter. I had to return to Banfield 8 days later, as my dog was now refusing to eat and was vomiting continuously. Banfield hydrated her and I later took her home.

I decided totally on my own to take her off the prescriptions, as I definitely noticed that is when she went so far downhill. Slowly she returned to her normal self, although she still has the issues with the pain from the spinal stenosis and the torn ACLs. Her spirits are very good and she has a hearty appetite. On January 9, 2010, I returned to Banfield for my free Optimal Wellness Comprehensive check. I had already paid for this plan in full on the day I purchased it in July 2009. I dropped her off and told the receptionist I wanted to speak to the vet prior to picking up my dog, as I wanted to see what he thought on her condition since the last time he saw her. I'm still very concerned about my dog's pain. I have her on aspirin therapy now and wanted to discuss this with the vet.

However, when I was called to pick up my pet, I had to request to speak to the vet again, and then wait for twenty minutes while he came out of the back area. He had no idea what I was talking about when I started asking him about my dog's issues. It was fairly obvious that he had never even seen my dog that day! After having me wait while he retrieved her chart and looked at her x-rays from the previous visit, he then told me something totally contradictory to what he himself had told me the previous summer. He said she is probably not in too much pain and she's doing fine. It was clear that he had tried to "sell" me on the surgery and high cost meds during my previous visit, since this visit he was singing a totally different tune.

After our conversation, I asked him if he would have a vet tech trim my dog's nails (since it is difficult for me now due to her torn ACLs and spine issues). This is something most vets offer frees of charge to their clients and no more than $5 for non-clients. However, I was told to check with the tech, so I waited some more and asked him when he finally came over. He said he had to ask the Office Manager. I waited some more. I nicely reminded them that I pre-paid for the Wellness Plan less than 6 months ago - and spent well over $700 at that time but they could have cared less. They told me under no uncertain terms that they would have to charge me if they trimmed her nails, and they'd have to charge me $11.70 with my Wellness Plan discount. When I asked what they normally charge clients, they said $12.50 for a nail trim!

So I spent hundreds of dollars for this so-called 'wellness plan' and I get 80 cents off? That's some discount! It is VERY apparent that this is a 'quantity over quality' clinic and they are just ripping people off left and right. I know they are dealing with volume and could care less about the animal. If they truly cared about animals, would they refuse to trim my dog’s nails, given her health issues? Give me a break! Beware of Banfield - you will definitely get better care and probably at less expense - if you use a vet with a private practice.

However, the vet refused to give the dog the thyroid medicine he needed without running a full CBC blood workup, heartworm and thyroid screen, which ran me nearly $300. My dog did not take to the vet, who seemed callous and incompetent. They made me leave the dog there for the tests and I heard him yelping in the back the second I left. He was fine but I should have rushed back there and refused to go to Banfield ever again. After what happened following his rabies shot now, I never will.

We took him in for the walk-in hours which I thought would be quick and convenient. We were wrong! We waited for three hours before the doctor even saw us to administer a shot that took a few seconds. After another half an hour to get out of the store due to incompetent nurses, we brought Luke home. He limped a bit when he walked but the doctor had insisted that it was normal.

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of my dog panting, so I brought him some water but I found him to be unresponsive. His eyes were rolling around in his head and he was burning up. I tried to get him up but found him to be in a state of paralysis. I grabbed him and held him while I called the Banfield vet in a state of frenzy, who insisted that they did not do anything wrong and that I should bring him back in for blood work. Well, Banfield should not ever be allowed to touch another animal ever again!

I called the vet he went to while he was with the rescue agency and they saw him right away, gave him saline and steroids and he is now responsive, though still ill. Never, ever take your pets to Banfield! This clinic only cares about money, not the health of your pet, and will disregard proper procedure even if it ends in the death of your pet! Beware!

Luke had to be taken to a different pet hospital which saw him immediately and charged under $100 for their services. I have anxiety and almost had to be admitted to the hospital myself because of how stricken I was over my pet.

Shortly thereafter, the nurse returned with a bill for approximately $1,200 worth of "procedures." Upon reviewing the bill, I refused several of the treatments and procedures they had listed. The nurse immediately tried to talk me into purchasing pet insurance to which I refused. I told them what they had listed was excessive for a simple URI and unacceptable. I had them remove almost all of the procedures and tests with the exception of a urinalysis, antibiotics and some other random things. The final amount came to approximately $233 which I agreed to pay.

The dog was taken to the back for a urinalysis and I was directed to the waiting area. A bit later, the dog was brought out after having been sedated to perform tests because the vet was afraid that he was going to bite her. A few minutes later, the vet came out and said that his bacteria levels were low and he didn't have a URI but that she was concerned he had "stones." She stated that he was bleeding excessively and she was concerned for his welfare and that his condition could be life threatening. She said that it was imperative he have x-rays and other procedures listed in the initial bill. It was implied by the vet that I was not providing adequate care for my dog by refusing to have these other things done.

The subject of pet insurance was then brought up again by the vet because she knew I could not afford to pay $1,200. I was basically backed into a corner because I could not locate another vet who would see my dog as a walk-in and he could go no longer without treatment. I reluctantly agreed to the pet insurance and they wrote up another quote for procedures and treatment. This one resulted in me having to enroll in their pet insurance for a $39.95 a month fee for one year so he could be treated and approximately a $330 bill payable that day.

The dog ended up spending the day at the vet. I received a phone call from them at 12 noon stating that they needed to put him on fluids to be able to x-ray his bladder, this incurring an additional $80 charge. I agreed to that. This brought the bill up to $413. I arrived a little before 5:00 PM to pick the dog up. The nurse nor vet were overly cooperative in explaining all the procedures and charges listed on the bill. The vet's final diagnosis was a URI, which she'd previously stated at 11:00 AM that he didn't have and that's what led to more procedures, tests, my enrolling in pet insurance that I did not want and incurring additional charges.

How does a dog not have a URI at 11:00 AM and then have one by 5:00 PM? Had the vet been honest in the first place in saying he had a URI and not insisting on procedures and test he did not need, I'd have not been forced to enroll in pet insurance because I'd have been able to pay the $233 they previously quoted me for the tests I requested.

On Monday, January 4th, 2010, I went to Banfield and spoke to a woman at the reception desk. I explained to her all that happened on Saturday and stressed that I did not want the insurance that I was "forced" into buying because the dog didn't need all the additional test they gave him. I told her that I was not going to dispute the $413 I paid because I knew that they wouldn't refund any of my money anyway but I did not want the health insurance.

I told her that I wanted an explanation on how the dog at 11:00 AM was diagnosed as not having a URI after a urinalysis being performed and required more testing. And then at 5:00 PM, after the extensive testing showed nothing (if they even actually did any other testing), he suddenly then did have a URI. She said that she would speak to the vet who attended the dog tomorrow and if she couldn't resolve this with her, she'd talk to the hospital manager. She said that she'd call me on Tuesday to let me know.

As of right now, 5:00 PM on Tuesday, January 5th, 2010, I have received no return phone call from Banfield. My dog has a "check up" appointment at 8:00 AM on Saturday, January 9th, that I'll be canceling Friday morning. If I have not received a phone call from them by then, addressing this issue, I'm going to file a complaint against them with the Better Business Bureau. My dog will never return there and I'll tell everyone I come in contact with not to take their pets to them. This business is nothing but unethical, unprofessional, uncaring, money grubbing, dishonest and overpriced.

About 5 days later, we noticed a foul smell coming from the bandaged leg. We took her in ASAP. Everyone at the hospital noticed the smell, however, they said that they would be closing in one hour and there was no time to check the bandage that day. When we asked about the foul smell, the doctor jokingly suggested spraying some pet grooming perfume on the bandage to make it smell better for the night. She took Mya back, sprayed her bandage with "smell good" stuff, gave her back to us and told us to bring her in early the next morning. We took her in first thing the next morning and left her there for examining. I called several times to check on Mya and they told me the doctor would call as soon as she could. Later that afternoon, I finally got a call from the doctor and she told us that Mya's leg was severely infected and that they would have to amputate the entire leg! I couldn't even fathom this and I threw the phone across the room in disbelief. My partner picked up the phone and finished the conversation.

After the phone conversation, we immediately went back to the hospital to see how our Mya was doing and to talk face to face with the doctor. My partner and the doctor talked while I held Mya and just cried over the fact that something so simple has just turned out to be a nightmare. The doctor gave no details and stated that we should leave Mya at the hospital overnight so that another doctor could examine her first thing the next morning. At this point, we did not trust the hospital, but we still wanted to do what was best for Mya. So we stayed with her until the hospital closed and reluctantly left her there. There were no night staff on duty, so Mya was there all alone. We could have kept her at home and had better watch over her. I did not sleep the entire night and first thing the next morning, I called the hospital to ensure she made it through the night. They said she was just fine when they came in, but the doctor didn't arrive until 8.

About 9 am, the doctor called us and told us that Mya had lost 2 toes and there was exposed bone on her leg. How horrifying. He recommended that the leg be amputated and stated that there are plenty of dogs that live with three legs. Both doctors were very nonchalant and way too casual about the situation. We told them, how would they feel if they themselves had to lose a leg? Would they be so nonchalant about it? After we paid Banfield another lump sum to tell us that they screwed up in the first place, we took our dog to another vet for a second opinion. The new vet stated that if he was the original vet, he would have had the bandages checked and changed weekly. Now, our concern is saving the leg, which the new vet will perform surgery but is not sure that the leg can be saved. I feel that if the doctor had checked her bandage sooner or at least when I asked them to, Mya's condition would not have been as severe.

With all of the stories of malpractice, Banfield needs to be sued. They will never learn to be more careful with our loved ones if they continue to be allowed to perform less than professional services and have no remorse in the end.

When I brought Chewy in to Banfield on November 4, he was quickly looked over and I was told that they would help to provide x-rays for further information. Dr. ** came back into the room and advised me that according to the x-ray, his entire muzzle area was crushed, that he would require major reconstructive surgery which would cost thousands of dollars. She commenced berating me of how inhumane and cruel it is to allow him to live and not have him euthanized immediately.

I was reluctant to have it done immediately, due to wanting to seek a second opinion and to make arrangements if necessary to do so when my children wouldn't be home, which I had advised Dr. ** of and tried to explain--all the while trying my hardest to gain some composure of my own and crying my eyes out. Needlessly to say, she continued to berate me on how cruel I was, making me feel more horrible, with every passing minute, as I looked upon our beautiful, loving puppy desperately searching for the right, instant decision to be made. Finally, I gave in to her adamant request and she still remained cold and insensitive as I bawled my eyes out and fished through my pockets for the money she needed right then and there.

Anyway, when it was over, and I returned home to face my children, Dr. ** contacted me by phone about an hour later to inform me that she found some sort of rubber band object lodged in his mouth upon examining him again, trying to reassure me that upon that findings, he still would have needed major reconstructive surgery, etc.

On top of being devastated over our loss, I was now infuriated with this vet, whom I had entrusted with a family member, to thoroughly examine and hopefully to treat. She accepted no responsibility at all for being negligent, offered no apology nor did she attempt to, showed no compassion at all or anything close to attempt to show some sort comfort or condolence, period. She even stated that she provided some free services, as if she was doing me a huge favor and like it was supposed to make up for what not only she had done, but also for what she didn't do and should have.

I requested Chewy's body and was told the next day that it was already disposed of and was refused a copy of the x-ray report or to have the x-rays shown to me, which I had never seen. And to this day, my family has yet to receive any form of an apology, let alone response to their negligence and lack of compassion. Still, we struggle with our loss, unable to find any closure or peace.

My oldest son, whose disabilities are more advanced than my youngest son, since our loss, has worsened in his conditions, to the point of presenting dangers to himself and/or others, requiring increase in medication, medical care and several recent hospitalizations. He just returned home again, from out of state hospitalization, the day before yesterday. He spent Christmas evening through New Year's eve in the hospital again, away from his family.

I know that nothing can bring Chewy back. I have not sought to replace him. I was berated for several hours as I sat horrified, weak and in tears, accused of being cruel and inhumane. I will not accept being accused of being cruel and inhumane. I aspire to share our loss with others and will continue to do so, in hopes that this cruel, inhumane atrocity, does not happen to others and to receive a heartfelt apology and more, that my children are much more than deserving of.

For a couple days, it seemed that he was back to normal, but then I noticed that he had returned to favoring that same back hind leg. I had followed the doctor's order and watched his diet and I also limited his exercise, so he would not put so much pressure on the sensitive leg. About 3 weeks later, I noticed that his condition worsened. I made another appointment with the Banfield Pet Hospital and they found it necessary to take X-rays of his leg. After reviewing the X-rays, I was told that they saw no signs of trauma. The X-ray showed that his leg looked fine.

I was told that it was "probably" arthritis, but the only way to truly see if that was indeed the problem was that they would have to do surgery. That was the end of my appointment. I left with no referral, no diagnosis and no answers. That visit cost me over $250. The next two weeks, my dog showed very little signs of improvement. He was still holding up his hind leg in obvious pain until late this afternoon, I found him unable to walk and yelping in pain when he was touched. I immediately called a 24-hour emergency pet hospital and made an appointment for this afternoon. They requested that I have copies of the X-rays that I purchased at PetSmart faxed to their location.

I was told by PetSmart that they could not fax nor email a copy of the X-rays. I could only pick up a copy from the store on disc and there would be a $25 fee. I inquired about possibly having that X-ray fee waived, since I spent over $500 on fees and services that have amounted to nothing! I was told with an "oh well" attitude that the fee would stand as is. After my visit with a more experienced and professional pet hospital, my dog was given a true diagnosis of having ACL and not a "guess" diagnosis of having arthritis.

I am so disappointed in PetSmart and their service at the pet hospital. I feel that they have inexperienced doctors that do not have the appropriate level of training needed in order to give a correct professional diagnosis in serious cases. I feel that they did not do their best nor offer their best treatment to my pet. I take this very seriously because my pet is part of my family and I expect him to receive the same type of service that I would get for myself if I had an injury and needed medical attention. I have been using PetSmart services for about 8 years. For all of my dogs, I've used the PetSmart Pet Hotel, PetSmart dog grooming and the Banfield Pet Hospital for routine exams.

Unfortunately, after a disappointing serious visit to Banfield, I have decided to never return. I care too much for the health of my pets to allow them to be seen again by incompetent doctors. I would suggest to anyone who has recently taken their pet there for an evaluation to please get a second opinion.

I got ripped off on his care. I told them to check for bladder infection, and I don’t think they did anything other than focus on his weight. I ended up having to put Ajax to sleep; his kidneys were failing. I don’t think these people paid any attention to what I told them about his bladder infection or even bothered to check to see if that was the problem. What I got charged for their crappy care, I got 3 days and lots of tests and medication at my vet. I have been ripped off financially and the physical pain of losing my pet of 10 years. My vet will back me up on their crappy care too (Pet Haven - 316-942-2531).

I told them to hurry up and prepare Kirby so I could get him to the specialist. Immediately, I was presented a bunch of pills which were completely unnecessary, since they had nothing to do with his heart; they were for worm prevention! The total bill estimated to be approximately $548 was now well over $1,000; but they couldn't explain. I refused to pay for anything other than what I authorized. They already processed the one amount on my credit card. I demanded Kirby at once since his case was urgent. They refused to release Kirby until I authorized the additional charges. I was speaking loud enough for the other customers to hear what was going on. Alison, the "client coordinator" advised me I could take Kirby when I paid the bill. I advised her it would not be paid and that they better get Kirby to me immediately.

The office manager, Jessica **, advised me to step into an examining room or they would not bring Kirby to me. She was blackmailing me and trying to get me to wait so they could prepare a new bill which would have additional charges because they had to "prepare" Kirby for travel. They advised me two hours earlier he needed to see a specialist so there was no "preparation" needed. Dr. ** finally advised me that Kirby had a heart murmur, which is odd because in the medical report he states all heart sounds were normal; and if it was his heart, why didn't he do an EKG? I refused to step into a room and told Jessica I would file charges against her for holding me hostage and not allowing me to have my pet. She got scared and finally released Kirby.

We traveled 30 miles to the cardiologist. Another $849 later after 15 minutes of examining the x-rays and doing an echocardiogram, no heart problem at all! His heart was totally normal. The experience at the cardiologist, Emergency Animal Referral in Northbrook was like visiting a used car lot; they try to sell every option in the world. When I refused, they pressured me and played on my emotions, telling me if I took Kirby from there I would end up killing him and suffocating him. I was devastated.

I finally agreed to have him euthanized. The worst experience ever. I have since hired three other veterinarians to review Kirby's tests and x-rays. He had a blocked urethra by a small kidney stone, which could have been remedied with surgery and Kirby would most likely have come through it fine. He didn't have to die at all! I also noted in my investigation that neither operation is AAHA registered. The whole experience was horrific and the loss of a pet has devastated me. I had him since he was 5 months old!

On the fourth day, my vet is back. I went to Banfield to get Chance's records. The girl there informed me I can't have them as they belong to Banfield! Wrong answer! I am a CMA and know my rights. These are my medical records to keep as I have paid for them. I did get the records and took them to my vet. He looked over the x-rays and saw the splints. He told me that ferret may well lose his legs as he needed surgery when this all happened. My vet did the surgery for $178. Chance stayed in a cast for 8 months. We did x-rays each month at the cost of $40. Each new cast was a mere $30. All said and done, Chance kept both legs and did walk again. No thanks to Banfield. I will tell everyone not to use this vet or any therein.

I asked the doctor to make a test for both of my dogs, but she refused and said that since my puppy does not look sick, I should just take my dogs home and keep eye on them. I asked to start parvo treatment and said that I am ready to pay, but Dr. ** said that it is against their policy. I’ve been begging for anything to prevent possible sickness. But she told me that the only thing she can do is to test for parvo the fecalies of the dead puppy, and even if the results will be positive, she won’t start the treatment of my puppy. In 3 days, my puppy came down with parvo. Parvo tests became available for both of my dogs that day. I spend nearly $1,000 for the treatment.

Researching parvo disease on internet, I found Amber technology products - Victabra (antibiotic) and Parvaid (herbal food supplement) - that seem to be very successfully used to prevent parvo, after exposure to parvo and even to treat sick puppies. The cost is only about $60. There might be even more medicine to prevent parvo after exposure, but my puppy hasn’t gotten any chance to avoid suffering. Maybe the doctor was following the procedure of the parvo treatment. However, there are Principles of Veterinary Medical Ethics of the AVMA. II.A Veterinarians should first consider the needs of the patient: to relieve disease, suffering, or disability while minimizing pain or fear. Was it against the procedure to try to avoid Parvo suffering?

In August, I took both my dogs to get spayed. Their associate called me at 3pm and said that surgery was performed at 11am and my dogs are ready to go home. When I picked them up at 5pm, both dogs were in terrible shape. The Association of Shelter Veterinary medical care guidelines for spay-neuter programs: If possible, surgical incisions should be examined to ensure that the skin edges are clean, dry, and well apposed (134,158). Cats and dogs that are not ambulatory should not be discharged until they are recovered.

Does it take 6 hours for a dog that had puppies and is slightly overweight to recover after her belly was open from her tail to her chest? When I carried her into the house, she fainted. Her belly started to bleed a little. Dogs are very pain resistant. However, Banji was walking whole night (after all painkillers they gave). I was up as well. The Association of Shelter Veterinary medical care guidelines for spay-neuter programs: Animal owners, caregivers, or their agents should be provided with clear instructions for postoperative care. Written instructions are required in addition to oral instructions. Discharge instructions should include resources for handling questions or concerns about postoperative complications and emergencies. I found much later by myself that after surgery, pets shall be kept in small enclosure, but nothing in Banfield instructions.

Small things, like treating hot spots, are impossible for vets there. I spend hundreds dollars on medicine that did not even help. After quitting Banfield and experimenting, I found the good treatment in Kroger - Benadene. Redness and itching was gone over the night. After all the bad experience, I’ve got really concerned for the health of my dogs and did not take them to Banfield after their stitches had been removed (and personnel was trying not to give me back my Elizabeth Collars that I purchased). I did not mention here the rudeness of their staff (seems such a small thing in compares with professional torches).

I was paying Wellness plan two more months (last payment 10/10/08) after I quit going to them. Their Billing department got concerned immediately (doctor did not care about my visits or dogs). They gave me the number of their complaint department. I told them what happened and asked to investigate. Their office manager, Amanda, called me and said (about parvo situation) that she was offering me to make the test, but I refused because I did not want to pay. And that was pure lie. I have met her for the first time when I was taking my puppy back home after parvo treatment. Dr. Jana ** called and repeated that even if my puppy would be diagnosed with parvo on the first day, they would not do anything differently; they would not start treatment until it got symptoms. I was waiting for their complaint department’s decision. (As billing department kept sending me letters, I expected the letter from the complaint department as well.) I have never got anything from them. Instead, they turned me over to collection agency.

My son called the Salisbury Banfield around three weeks ago to first make an appointment on Nov. 20th and a week ago, I called to change it to Oct. 31st. I told the person at the Salisbury Banfield that we are looking after our son's dog that has a Banfield policy our son had taken at the Banfield nearest him in Gainesville, VA and that we would be bringing the dog in because he had this policy. The Salisbury Banfield person never said this would be a problem. With all those convenient Banfield locations near you, we had no idea there would be a problem either. Our son was aware we were taking the dog in. He had told us about his policy. When he called to make the first appointment, they did not say the policy could not be used at that Banfield. (To board the dog in a kennel near us, we still have to have a local vet check the dog out.)

My husband and I arrived at the Salisbury Banfield at 11am on Oct. 31st. for the appointment. A very nice young man, who was on shift from 7 to 7 (we heard him say), greeted us. We told him who we were and that we were there with our son's dog who has the Banfield policy through our son in Gainesville, VA. I had the folder with me with all the information from the dog’s Gainesville Banfield visits. We were asked to sit until the technician came out. I explained to the technician that this was our son's dog and that we were bringing him because of our son's Gainesville Banfield policy. She even took the receipt from the April ‘09 Gainesville’s visit to see, I inferred, what he needed for the day's checkup. After seeing the doctor and signing something that said we'd be notified if the cost would be over $100 and that they would call us when he was scheduled to be picked up that afternoon, we left to do some shopping.

Around 2:30, we were called that the dog was ready. We arrive a little before 4 to pick him up. When we approached the desk to pay, the same nice young man said, "I'm going to have to let our supervisor, M., check you out as it takes a supervisor’s okay." This was the first we'd heard there was a problem. M. working busily on the computer behind the nice young man's checkout area, gave us the bill which shows their retail fee of $527.12 and the Banfield fee of $127.36 which is now over $100 and includes a charge for the Wellness plan: First Month Payment. I asked her about this because that is not supposed to be included on the bill. No one let us know anything about it before we left the dog and it was over $100 for which we had not been notified. Then M. proceeds to say we have to do this because corporate with whom she apparently had been talking said they, Salisbury Banfield, would have to have my son's signature-in person for us to pay the bill.

My son was somewhere in the Gainesville, VA area at that moment over 4 hours traveling time from where we were in Salisbury at 4pm on a Sat. afternoon. Either M. or the nice young man behind the Salisbury Banfield desk called corporate who said that my son may fax his signature which quickly becomes our son has to call corporate right then to tell them he is canceling his policy and we would be taking it up under the Banfield Salisbury office. This could be faxed. After paying the $127.36 and signing a paper to have $25.95 taken out of my bank account each month (and now after I get home to read everything realize there's this membership fee on the statement that was not supposed to be because my son had already paid that), we left assuming our son whom we got in touch with while we were there and talked to the nice young man behind the next was calling corporate to cancel his policy and faxing his signature there to let us take the policy over in the Salisbury Banfield location.

When I got to the car, I did not like the way the vaccines were recorded, making it necessary for me to take the receipts from the April visit as well as the Salisbury Banfield one to show the kennel and the local vet that the dogs vaccinations were up to date. As I walked back in, the nice young man behind the desk said, "I'm so sorry there's a problem. We thought you had left. We went to the parking lot to find you. Your son just called and there's a problem. Corporate says he can't fax his signature and that it will cost him $250 to cancel." We immediately called our son while we were there in the office. He was heading to the Gainesville Banfield and would call us. While we waited in the office, checking on the dog, I talked to the nice young man behind the desk. He said corporate was now denying they ever said our son could fax this signature.

After waiting another half hour, my son called and said he'd have to wait until Monday when he could talk to someone in corporate who had some sense. (I’ll say here that my son has been pleased with the service he has had at the Gainesville Banfield. Therefore, we had no idea that we were sitting ducks for this Salisbury outfit.) We left feeling a ruse had been carried out here and we are the victims. I know it’s at face value a case of buyer beware but the people in the Salisbury Banfield never at any point let us know that there would be a problem using the dog’s policy at the Salisbury Banfield until we went to pay. I feel they had an obligation to tell us that upfront. They saw sucker written all over us when we just kept telling them we were there because of our son’s Gainesville Banfield policy. They also knew we didn’t know what the policy said or we would never have signed the contract because we would have known he couldn’t cancel without a huge penalty. They took advantage of our not being dog owners and wanting to help our son. We would never have driven an hour from our home to incur a new policy expense when our son already had a policy. We would have used the local vet, whom we have to have for emergencies anyway. There is no Banfield at the PetSmart here in Easton, MD where we live. We were never called to say that the charges would be over $100 and did not realize that we've actually signed to pay for the startup of a whole new policy.

To settle this fairly, we are not contesting the $127 we paid Sat. although in fairness it should not have been more than $100. We want the contract we signed thinking it was to take over our son's policy-not incurring a new membership fee too, which he and we thought he could cancel and the signature faxed to the Salisbury Banfield should be null and void. One of the things the nice young man behind the desk said as we were leaving was that maybe our son could come in person to the Salisbury Banfield office this week sign, and reverse the whole thing, whatever the whole thing is, which we know now would never have been allowed under the Banfield contract. I don't think they ever called corporate. They were planning this from the day we first made the appointment. My son who has had his policy for two years either didn't know or had forgotten about the cancellation penalty. In fairness, the policy my son has in Gainesville should be the one we operate under (this Salisbury office nightmare done with) cancel this thing we signed.

We will make the very inconvenient trip to that Banfield in Gainesville, VA despite all those convenient Banfield Vet Hospitals near you (us). We want to believe that he really was a nice young man behind the desk but are really feeling like we were lied to. The finesse they exhibited carrying this thing out can’t help but make me wonder that Banfield has training manuals with a chapter on ways to play the public for fools and make a better commission. We must have fit the profile. We fell for the act of the nice young man behind the counter. Despite two emails to internet.inquiries@banfield.net, the one given on the Banfield website and a registered letter to Banfield, The Pet Hospital, PO Box 13998, Portland, OR 97213 detailing my complaint. I have heard nothing from Banfield.

My son who called them was told that Banfield contacted the vet there and he said they followed procedures. Well, they were hardly ethical ones. I emailed my complaint to PetSmart and they did have the courtesy to acknowledge they received it. I’ve also filed a complaint with the Consumer Protection Division of Maryland, Salisbury office. I hope they can help. This is consumer abuse at its worst. However, from reading the other complaints, it doesn't look like Banfield cares what we think. They’ve adopted the attitude of today's businesses that think they are too big to fail.

I filled out the necessary forms and was shown to a room where a veterinary technician started to ask me questions about the symptoms. I told her that my dogs were exposed to another animal that had been scratching constantly and that I thought both of mine had caught something from him. She countered that it was probably allergies. I told her that it was definitely not allergies and I treat for fleas and bathe regularly. She still insisted it was allergies and I told her that three dogs with the same symptoms were too much of a coincidence. She shrugged and left. The doctor then came in and proceeded to check the ears and teeth even though I told him there was an itching problem. He never even asked to see my dogs’ belly or look at the bumps. He didn't even suggest a skin scraping to see what the problem might be. He turned to his computer, typed something about oatmeal shampoo, and gave me a prescription for allergy medicine.

I was charged $109 for pills, shampoo and topical spray, all this for symptoms but not treating the underlying cause. I was given instructions to bathe the dog(s) once per week and give the pills twice per day and to come back in two weeks for a follow-up. In the meantime, I started having the same symptoms as the dogs so I finally called my usual vet for an appointment on the 8th of December. I told her that my two dogs had been exposed to a dog with something that was causing him to itch terribly, and not only were my two dogs scratching but now I was having the same symptoms as the dogs. It took her and the tech about three minutes and two skin scrapings to diagnose sarcoptic mange which is highly contagious from animal to animal and people.

I saw the mites and eggs under the microscope myself. I told my vet about my experience with Banfield and she told me that she has heard of others like mine. If Banfield would have done the job correctly, I would not have gotten sarcoptic mange. It will be easier to treat and cure my dogs than me. I gladly paid the $210 bill because I had a confirmed diagnosis and medications to cure the problem.

Tito had a lesion on her leg, which we were concerned about. We were told by the vet that "she must have stepped in gum." They wanted us to vaccinate her for leukemia then, without giving her a leukemia test first. We asked what would happen if she was vaccinated and already had leukemia. The vet said it didn't matter but we weren't comfortable with this. We refused the vaccine without a leukemia test, as this was a stray who could very well have leukemia and we didn't want the vaccine possibly activating the disease.

The vet instructed the vet nurse to explain the Wellness plan to us and left the room. The vet nurse tried every trick in the book to get us to sign up for this plan and, when we refused, we were hurried out of the room. We paid $70 and left without so much as the weight of our kitten. The next day we took Tito to a real vet to be examined and vaccinated. Her new (real) vet did a proper, thorough examination on her. She was tested for leukemia prior to her vaccinations, to our relief. The "gum" on her foot ended up being a ringworm lesion. She had a bad case of ringworm which we ended up catching from her by the next day. This wonderful vet ran tests on her and made sure to let us know he was doing only necessary tests, to avoid hitting our pocketbook unnecessarily. The total bill from the real vet (including exam, tests, meds, etc.) was $82.

On April 18, the dog developed bloat and was euthanized by the Banfield vet that day. There was a charge of $194.39 that day and the $37.95 monthly charges have continued. I called to inquire if this could be cancelled or reassigned to my son's new Cocker puppy but was informed by Chris that it was a contract unaffected by the dog's death and could not be transferred. He did offer that if my son called and answered some of their questions, they would be able to non-renew in February 2010 (we had to request a non-renew for a dog they euthanized?). This is totally unconscionable and I would advise anyone to not deal with such a company but to find a professional vet in an independent practice. Oh yes, on the 19th day of each month, still I get the $37.95 Banfield reminder that the dog we so loved has died.

Obviously because of the delay, my cat was now much sicker than he was in the morning and would also require a multiple day hospitalization. I cannot afford a $800 lump sum bill right now. I asked them if there was any way we could negotiate the fees, work out a payment plan, etc. Their response was offering me a 14% interest credit card with fixed payments. They would not lower the fee and were making my cat wait until I got out of work to authorize anything before even attempting to give him care. His health was declining by the minute. When I asked for other options, they told me I could euthanize him, or surrender him for treatment. After they assured me he would be treated and once healthy could be adopted into a new home, I decided it was the best option for his health. I did not want to kill my cat for a treatable condition that Banfield was overcharging for.

Unfortunately, his health had declined so much throughout the day that I was scared to take him anywhere else. When I got to the vet to say goodbye and to sign over rights, I was informed that I couldn't be notified of his future health, whereabouts, or anything of the like. He was so lethargic and had glassy eyes that I did what I felt was best at the time. I wish I had found this forum before I made the emergency trip to the vet, as I am now certain that I could have gotten him better care elsewhere and he could be back home with me.

I will never trust Banfield again with my pet care. I fully blame them for the loss of my pet, and the emotional spiral caused by both my guilt and anger over the situation. Yes, I recognize that my budget shortcomings are not their fault, but they also had control over giving me an opportunity to pay, reducing their fee, etc, as I had always kept current with them in the past. My other cat is now lost and is alone. All for something that could have been avoided had they allowed me an opportunity or given me another option to keep my cat. Instead, they are still footing the bill (with no payment) and now have my cat. They told me they would not euthanize him unless medically necessary but not knowing exactly what is going on, I'm doubting I can trust that either. My only consolation is that if he was put down, at least I don't have to worry about him getting sick from this chronic condition again. My poor baby.

I received a phone call a few hours later and they said she was doing fine. They wanted to do some blood work and run some tests on her. They gave me an estimate of approximately $187.00. I asked about the lump. They said the doctor would discuss it with me when I picked her up. I called a couple hours later, getting concerned since they would be closing soon, and was told that her blood work indicated she was dehydrated and they needed to give her fluids. This increased my estimate to approximately $222.00.

When I picked her up, I was told by Mallory that the problem was that Chynna was constipated and backed up, that they had given her some laxatives. I was surprised and told her that I had never seen an issue with her using the litter box, she goes regularly. The nurse came out and told me that if Chynna wasn't feeling better the next day to bring her back in. Mallory told me I had to bring her back the next day, so I made an appointment. I asked the nurse again about the lump on her throat and she said the doctor would be out to speak to me about it.

When the doctor came out to speak with me, he asked me why she was so dehydrated. I told him I wasn't sure. I had brought her in because she hadn't eaten and had been vomiting. He was surprised by this and told me he didn't know she had been vomiting. I was surprised that he didn't know about the vomiting since I had written it on the form when I dropped her off and told Mallory when I came in. I asked him about the lump and he told me it was just a lymph node, not a cyst. Before I left he told me to bring her back in three days if she wasn't feeling better. I told him that the nurse and Mallory had told me one day and again he seemed confused. He told me to wait for a minute and he would check. He came back and told me not one day, but three days.

At this point I had received three different stories from three different people. I was given no medication to stimulate her appetite, no instructions on what to do if she still wasn't eating. If I had waited three days as the doctor suggested, she would have been on the brink of starvation. The only good thing Mallory did was to waive the office visit charge for me bringing my grand total down to $187.43. When Chynna still was not eating the next day, I decided I could not trust the Banfield Hospital to take care of her. The doctor seemed confused and they had done nothing to actually help her other than the fluids.

I took her to her regular primary vet and he immediately said that given her age, weight, heart rate and breathing along with the vomiting and lack of appetite that she probably had a thyroid condition. He also examined the lump on her throat and said that it was definitely not a lymph node. My vet requested copies of the bloodworm Banfield had done and found that they didn't even run a Thyroid test despite the fact that it was clearly indicated. I spent another $137.00 at that vet to learn that Chynna has a hyperactive thyroid. With proper care and medication, she is now gaining weight and eating on her own again.

I spoke with Carrie, the manager of the Banfield where I took Chynna. She sent Chynna's records over to her medical director and they don't feel that there was anything they did wrong, and that I was in the wrong for not bringing her back the next day (the records don't indicate what the doctor told me, they only indicate what the nurse told me). I have a very big problem with a decision on whether my cat received appropriate care being based solely on records that are incomplete and incorrect based on what actually transpired that day.

I am not asking that all of my money be refunded. But I do feel that $187.00 is exorbitant considering all they did was give her fluids and tell me to bring her back if she wasn't feeling better. I am hoping that someone there will please look into this situation. Maybe they had my cat confused with another one, I don't know. But they certainly did not help solve the overall problem.