Banfield Pet Hospital Reviews

The issues were with her eyes and ears; when he went to look in her ears she was shaking her head. He called the vet tech in to hold her down which only made her more nervous. I told him that she would be fine if I just held her, and he said that he had too many people tell him that their dog won't do anything. I just couldn't deal with the situation anymore, so I told him that I am just not really happy with what was happening. He got up and walked out. The vet tech came in with some medications and started explaining how often to give them. I asked her if the doctor was coming back in and I really didn't get a response. I then relayed how upset I was about the whole situation, and she said basically that he had a hard day with a lot of surgeries. He never came back in to say anything. During the whole visit, all he said is that the best thing to do is to take all these skin tests or something for about $200-$300 and nothing about what he thought it was.

I brought all of my records with me. The manager Lindsey gave me a copy of their records and I told her that my dog was just seen here and what is going on. I gave her a copy of my records and come to find out that they had two different charts on my dog. She then told me, "Why do you come here with an attitude? Why don't you go to another place?" I couldn't believe this manager! She did not apologize, didn't even fill my medicine and she made it seem like I wasn't welcome there.

I wish I had insurance like what I have through work. When I go to my human doctor, I have to pay a copay of $25.00 every time I go even if it is just a follow up. My human doctor always wants me to have a lot of blood work every time. Thank goodness that I have an insurance or it would cost a lot! The Wellness Plan, although not an insurance, helps out a lot as well. I don't have to worry about paying an office visit and I get my 10% off. So, when I do have to pay out of pocket, it is cheaper than what it would be if I didn't have it.

Also, when Hazel was just a puppy, they told me how the Wellness plan would help me save money. They showed the cost of just walking in for just two vaccines with office visit and medical waste fee. That added up to be almost the same amount that I would pay with the Wellness Plan for one year and for the one-time membership fee. They also recommended that because she is healthy now, I should go online and look into getting a pet insurance for her because when you go to a vet hospital, you pay for everything out of pocket and the insurance company will pay you back a certain percentage. So, now that Hazel is older, she has really bad skin allergies every spring, summer and fall. If I didn't have the Wellness Plan and my other pet insurance, I wouldn't be able to take care of her.

I love my Banfield, they have helped me out a lot and when I am there. I see how other clients are cared for. They are always happy. Of course, you are going to have some people who you can't make happy no matter what or people who are looking to get it for free. Life isn't free. I knew that when I brought my puppy into my home. She is going to cost a lot of money to take care of her the right way and as she gets older. It's not cheap! Banfield helped me in the beginning to do the best things for her. So now, I can afford the things that she need because she is older. I can't say enough how happy I am with Banfield. I always call around just to see how much things would cost at a different vet hospital and the prices are about the same, if not more, because they don't have Banfield's Wellness Plan.

So, as you read what other people have to say bad about them, keep in mind that Banfield is nationwide and you can't make everyone happy, especially when the person doesn't want to listen to the other side and has set their own mind on how it should be. First, ask yourself, did they go to four years of college and four more years of vet school to be able to give their opinion on how things should be done? Why listen to someone else? Go with an open mind and judge for yourself!

Then the vet never shows face in my room. Always the vet assistant and they do all the work. I have only met the vet once and that’s only because the assistant was taking too long working with me, and one of the employees walked in the room and said the doctor needs you in another room. I thought that was very rude. My dog was just as much in need as the other dog. I mean she was actually sick. Other people were coming in for just checkups and what not.

When I always call to schedule an appointment, the receptionist is always nasty to me like I can’t bring my dog there if she’s sick. Lastly, when I call to talk to the vet, it’s always an issue. It just so happened no matter what time I call, whether it’s 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM, or 3:00 PM, the vet’s on lunch and I have to leave a message. Then they call me back at least 4 hours later.

It’s a weekday, you’re not that busy. People actually work during the day. When the vet called me back one time, she was nasty. I told her I didn’t get off until 6:00 PM and she goes well, I don’t know what to tell you because we close at 6:15 PM. So if you’re not here by then, we can’t see your dog. Like, wow, that was rude. I paid u and I didn’t even get to see your face and then you don’t care to see my dog. That was sweet of you to say.

I called to talk to the vet again today. It has been about 2 hours since I called and I still haven’t gotten a callback. You need to hire vets that care about our animals because they’re like our kids. I think they’re rude and I feel if I’m paying $100 a visit, I should be able to speak to a vet.

So, I get to pay an upfront big, chunk "start-up" fee, plus a recurring monthly fee, all for the privilege of being treated as less important than a common walk-in, even when I have an appointment, and the privilege of paying $1000 more for the same surgery than I would at another veterinarian in town, where I would actually see the same doctor every visit and get personalized care. Hmmm, decisions, decisions.

The comments were inappropriate and made you feel like you didn't care about the animal. I would have stopped the treatment when the first comment came out of her mouth, if she had not been cutting the nails. I have visited this store before and never been treated like this. Maybe she should think how she comes across to the person who is paying the bill. As of now, I don't think I will revisit this vet (Not that you probably care). What a waste of time and money.

Samson is okay now, but I truly thought we were going to lose him!

Today is 09/13/2011. I accidentally stepped on my kitty to where runny feces had come out of her. I was devastated! I called Banfield and told them of my emergency. They gave me an appointment for two hours later, nothing sooner! I rushed my kitten to a local vet, and they saw her right away. They did a physical exam, and said it felt like she had had stomach problems for a while. I did not hurt her in the incident, thank goodness! The vet said after the fecal exam that she has giardia! Banfield should have picked that up! The emergency vet said that her ears looked like she may have had mites when she was younger, and her ears weren't cleaned afterwards. Banfield had said that her ears were clean and odor free! I feel bad for stepping on my kitten, but I am glad that I learned that she has a nasty virus that needs to be treated promptly! I do not recommend Banfield to anyone.

In July 2011, Maxie began having symptoms of back problems. She began walking as if too much weight was forced on her back. We brought her back to Banfield and Dr. Hurry examined her once again. He mentioned that Maxie had back problems and that it was very common in beagles. Her back pain became so severe that Maxie could take no more than 1 or 2 steps at a time and would have to sit or lay down. We brought her back in to Banfield and Dr. Hurry prescribed her prednisone. Prednisone, a steroid, made no improvement on Maxie's problem. Not once did Banfield make any recommendations to do x-rays, blood work, or any further exams.

Days later, Maxie began salivating and coughing a lot. We brought her back to Banfield and Dr. Hurry stated that she had an infection that was causing her cough, and he placed her on antibiotics. Maxie's health worsened and we took her to a local veterinarian who was recommended to us by a relative. They immediately ran several tests such as x-rays and blood work. Her blood work came out normal for the most part but the x-rays showed a large mass inside her abdomen. This mass turned out to be a large tumor. The tumor was so large that it was causing her organs to be pushed to her sides, explaining the left mass on her left abdomen.

Dr. Craft was the vet who examined Maxie and he gave us two options. The first option was euthanasia because the tumor was so large and it was causing too many complications to Maxie's health. Due to the size of the tumor, it seemed very hopeless for a chance of survival. The second option was to undergo surgery to determine if the tumor was benign or malignant, but it would be a high-risk surgery with the potential for Maxie to die as soon as she receives anesthesia. I decided to move forward with the operation because I remained hopeful in that she would come out okay and she would get the chance to continue living.

Dr. Craft performed the surgery and found the large tumor to be benign. He removed it and Maxie survived the surgery in stable condition. Dr. Craft showed us the tumor. I almost fainted when I saw it. It turned out to be a 4-lb. tumor resting inside her abdomen. He recommended for Maxie to stay in his clinic overnight for further observation. He asked us to call him the following morning to see if Maxie improves.

We called the next day and he advised that Maxie was doing much better and was ready to go home. We were ecstatic and we picked her up a couple of hours later. Dr. Craft mentioned that due to the large size of the tumor, it caused complications to her lungs which were the reason why she salivated and had a chronic cough. There were fluids in her lungs and the prednisone that Banfield prescribed took a toll on her ability to properly recover. We took Maxie home and she seemed to be doing well, aside from being fragile and not being able to walk due to the 6-inch incision that was made on her abdomen.

Later that evening, Maxie's cough worsened and she began breathing heavily while she slept. We immediately took her to the nearest animal hospital. She arrived without breathing and without a pulse. The doctors immediately performed CPR and revived her. The doctors mentioned that she had gone too long without sufficient oxygen to her brain, meaning she was brain dead. There was nothing they could do for her. As a result, we had to euthanize Maxie. I would like for Banfield to assume responsibility for not properly diagnosing our beloved pet and causing her so much pain and suffering, including us, her family.

During the past month, especially this past weekend, we have incurred a total amount of $2,500.00. I would like for Banfield to take responsibility for what they did and cover the costs that we had to incur as a result of Banfield not properly diagnosing Maxie. I have done some research on Banfield to see if there are other cases similar to Maxie's and I found thousands of cases like ours. I would like for Banfield to be investigated and to put a stop to their careless practices. Thousands of pets have wrongly died a slow and painful death due to Banfield's negligence and I want this to stop so that no more defenseless animals have to experience what we experienced with this organization.

We discussed veterinarians, and I told her that (which was also noted on my application) I intended to use a veterinarian close to my home, who came as a reference. I was told I would be able to bring her home on Tuesday or Wednesday. I received a call from Banfield on the day I was told I could bring the pet home. I was told there would be a $45.00 adoption fee, and I would be required to enroll the kitten in Banfield Wellness Plan for a total of $450.00.

This totally contradicted what I was told, and had discussed. I don’t need a membership fee or financing (monthly payments) to care for a kitten. I am quite capable of paying cash. I never intended to use Banfield, and I stated this upfront. Banfield pulled a bait and switch which gives legitimate organizations trying to place animals in homes a bad reputation. I would never use a company which turns on a loving home for a profit. Shame on them!

My dog became so sick that I had to rush her to the Emergency Animal Hospital of Northwest Austin (which had a very caring staff and was amazing). She had to be put on fluids and is still in the hospital three days later. She has liver damage because of them pressuring me to vaccinate her. To be fair, I am aware that vaccines can have adverse reactions. But if she had been in better health, the reaction would not have been life threatening. They are money hungry. The only good thing with this clinic is that you can go shopping while waiting.

I took her to another vet and she was diagnosed with a cancerous growth on her kidney, causing her to be so sick. They said it was inoperable and she had to be put down. If Banfield had diagnosed her properly in the first place, her life may have been able to be saved.

Also, when she needed vaccinations, they gave her 5 at once, almost killing her. This may have let to her getting sick, as she was sick for a week and never seemed to be quite as healthy as she was before the shots.

Upon placement in an exam room, I found myself waffling back and forth for twenty minutes or so with a vet tech who kept searching for information on the computer. Her lack of familiarity with my dog's medical history and the medicine I was asking for (Remicin) was apparent. She would say things like, "I don't see that." The vet tech also insisted on an ear swab test for my dog, which I contested as unnecessary. After my frustration with the situation grew, I requested that she simply complete the blood draw for the levothyroxine--I would wait to talk to the vet. She took my dog into the back office, not returning for 30 minutes. When the vet finally appeared with my dog, I asked why a simple blood draw took so long. She said that she examined him in the back room.

I have never had an animal examined outside of my presence at any other Banfield or other veterinary hospitals. I do not understand how this is an acceptable practice. I also question the thoroughness of the exam because I know that my dog has plaque on his upper molars, something that every vet, seen in the last two years, has brought to my attention. The vet did not mention this obvious medical situation during the conversation that followed. As I did with the vet tech, I told the vet that I was familiar with what was needed, given the long history I've had with my dog, specifying both medicines. The vet also said that she would like to test the dog's ears, just to be sure of what type of infection the dog had, stating that certain medicines are better for certain infections. The vet talked me into allowing this $31 test.

Upon return, she offered me several medicinal option for my dog's ears, the first of which was the exact medicine I stated that he needed in the first place. Then the vet indicates that the medicine would have been the first recommended medicine with many of the different types of infection. Essentially, after an hour and a half that it took for a pre-scheduled basic vet visit, I feel that I was duped into paying $31 for an ear swab test that was unnecessary. I paid a $35.95 fee for an exam that, as far as I know, either didn't happen or, at best, was less than thorough. Not including a full prescription for levothyroxine, the cost of this horrible experience totaled to $157. I essentially believe that the amount should have been $66.95 less. Specifically, $31 less for the swab test that should not have occurred and $35.95 less for an exam that was not held in front of me (and very well could have not happened at all).

I have serious concern over the practice Banfield has; coercing customers to have their pets tested unnecessarily in an apparent attempt to increase customer charges, and the apparent practice of examining an animal outside of the owner's immediate presence. I request that the amount of $66.95 be refunded to me as a Banfield credit that I would be allowed to use at any Banfield location.

It is malpractice to routinely offer antibiotics to every pet after surgery. A routine spay/neuter or tumor removal absolutely does not need antibiotics. It is a different story if there is already an evidence of an infection being present. Of course, if there is evidence of an infection being present, antibiotics are warranted; otherwise, it is malpractice.

If your pet has an allergic reaction to a vaccination or heartworm injection, that is not anyone's fault. Nothing was done incorrectly. Is it anyone's fault if you have an allergic reaction to a bee sting and end up in the hospital because of it? Why should the doctor have to pay for something where no malpractice was committed? It makes no sense.

If you decide to cancel your Wellness Plan but use $500 worth of services on Day 1 of the Wellness Plan (and only pay $80 toward the monthly payments before you decide to cancel), why should you be allowed to cancel your Wellness Plan without paying the difference? You are ripping off Banfield by doing this. Think about it, people.

Also, when you come in as a walk-in, your pet is not an emergency, yet you refused to drop-off your pet and the hospital is busy, how can you expect that you won't be waiting for hours to see a doctor? What is wrong with these people?

Any company as big as Banfield will have numerous complaints on websites. You can't please everyone. The only reason why your neighborhood's non-Banfield vet does not have as many complaints online is because they are only one facility in one town. Of course, every business will have occasional complaints. Now, multiply this by 800 hospitals in the country!

On Saturday of August 27, 2011, the check in went well. In the check-in sheet, I listed the reasons I was bringing Bailey in. I listed that I thought he might be in pain (potentially his hips), and he needed to be checked out. I also listed that he was overdue for his heartworm medication, and when the intake specialist sneezed, it reminded me that Bailey had been sneezing also, so I asked for that to be checked, as well. I received a call from Dr. ** at 1: 35 PM advising me that she has checked Bailey out and he will need to x-ray him to determine the condition of his hips. She indicated that there were some concerns, and she could not accurately diagnose him without x-rays.

She indicated the x-rays would need to be done under anesthesia, and it is not covered under my current Wellness Plan which, by the way, was scheduled to be paid off on Wednesday. During the call, the staff was researching plans that would accommodate the services she recommended were needed. Also, during this call she said that the only plan that would fit was the neutering plan. She said that Bailey is not a breedable dog and needed to be neutered. She went on to tell me how I could be punished legally should I attempt to breed Bailey due to his congenital disorders. She advised me of the Lemon Law; which would penalize me (as much as $1,500.00 per puppy), if Bailey father any puppies. This issue was mentioned several times during the conversation-- how I could be held liable for Bailey breaking loose and mating.

For the record, Bailey has never mated. I did not want the responsibility of him mating, nor any damages resulting in him mating, such as puppies of which I may be responsible for should another owner not want any puppies. Based on what Dr. ** said about the necessity of the medical care that was needed, I agreed to the upgraded plan. To me that it was implied that Dr. ** was more interested in neutering Bailey, and trying to deter me from breeding him. I do not believe that she was concentrating on his hip issues. She was eager to proceed with the neutering process stating that she could do it today, and I could pick him up at 6:00. Dr. ** never mentioned what she thought was wrong with his hips, only the fact that he needed to be neutered.

When I arrived to pick up Bailey, I was called into a conference room. I was advised that Bailey had a fractured hip. At this point, the conversation revolved around money. Dr. ** showed me the x-rays that were taken. She advised that Bailey had a fracture and that his joints were not in the sockets properly on both hips. She further stated that they were rubbing and not clicking--that was a problem. She stated the fracture does not heal on its own; that he would require a $1,700 worth of surgical procedure, and it could not be done at Banfield.

She recommended that I keep Bailey in a cage for five weeks, so the fracture would heal on its own. Meanwhile, my poor dog has a cone on his head, stitches in his groin and is going to be forced to remain in a cage for five weeks. I asked what other options we had. She answered a surgery that will cost $1700, which is described as a FHO (Femoral Head & Neck Ostectomy). She wrote the name down on a piece of paper for my record. I feel that the fracture should have been addressed first. I was now on a neutering plan; neutering could be done any time after the hip issue is resolved. This is cruel to the dog and me. I don’t mind keeping him in a crate for five weeks, but not with a cone on his head that increases his anxiety. Dr. ** was interrupted by a staff at least twice for what appeared to be non urgent concerns regarding other pets.

On my way home, I called Banfield back because I was still not sure of how the hip problem related to Bailey being neutered. A young lady came to the phone and was very rude. She told me how expensive the x-rays and anesthesia would have been in my current Wellness Plan, and the only other option was to upgrade my plan. She stated those (x-ray & aesthesia) services were not covered under the current plan. She reiterated Bailey needed to be neutered because of all of the legal issue that I would face if I bred him. She then ran down my cost for violating the law; the Lemon Law that I could be charged with, and the penalty for each puppy that was born. She was very rude; this call did not make matters any better.

At approximately 8:45 PM, I received a call from Dr. **, who was following up from my previous call, as I am certain the young lady expressed how concerned I was. Again, Dr. ** talked about money; if she had to do x-rays with my current plan how much my out pocket expense would be. She then stated that the neutering plan was the best plan to cover the hip x-rays she felt was needed to determine his hip problem. Again, she added how important it was for him to be neutered because of the Lemon Laws, and how I could be penalized if he had puppies.

I was still not satisfied with Dr. ** response. I was more concerned how she implied that I would mate Bailey; thus, neutering him. After discussing with her that I was so close to paying off my Wellness Plan, she said that it will no longer apply. I have a new Wellness Plan, and the monthly premium has increased. Again, I was in disbelief of how my visit to Banfield has resulted.

Now I am faced with my poor dog in a kennel and with a cone on his head. The kennel was suggested to reduce movement, so the hip fracture would heal. He is uncomfortable adjusting to the cone and is aggressively trying to get the cone off. This causes him to move more which is likely to cause a delay with the healing of his hip fracture. He was prescribed gloclosimine conjoint, which will not be available until sometime next week. I was not given the option of the heartworm medication that was prescribed. On his last visit, he was given the flea prevention medication that included the heartworm prevention. I advised that I did not want that medication. Worm Shield (Hannah Pharmaceuticals) was prescribed by Dr. ** in January of this year. This medication was more cost effective for me, and Bailey was well adjusted to it.

Dr. ** stated that Trifexis is what she is giving her kids, and she strongly recommends it. Well, if this is the same medication he got last month, he had a vomiting reaction. So, I spoke to someone at Banfield and was told that if his vomiting episode was one hour after taking the pill, he would be fine. This never happened on the other medication.

This was not my first visit with Dr. **. Previously, she indicated that Bailey had crystals in his urine. She prescribed dog food that would reduce the crystals in his urine. I asked her how long he would be on the special food. She said for the rest of his life. However true this was, I did not feel comfortable with her treatment; I called back several times to inquire about her diagnosis and prognosis. During this visit, she did not say anything about this issue, nor during our conference did she have knowledge of his history described above.

In addition to the concerns noted above, Bailey was recently groomed at Petsmart. After he had been groomed, he was to be taken to Banfield for his vaccination and heartworm medication. When I arrived to pick him up at Banfield, it was suggested that I try the heartworm medication that includes the flea protection. I advised at that time that I don’t think this option will fit my budget, but I tried it.

After we have arrived home, I noticed Bailey was acting a bit differently. About an hour after giving him the new heartworm and flea medication, he began to vomit. I immediately called Banfield and was advised that he would be fine. He continued to act differently, so I picked him up. I discovered that he had been cut on his penis and testicles during his grooming session. A few days following, I received a courtesy call from their grooming department, and I advised the caller of my discovery of Bailey’s penis and testicles being cut and all. They offered was an apology. They told me to put Neosporin on the irritated areas, and they asked if I sought medical attention with a Veterinarian. I advised I didn’t know I could do that, but I did tell the gentlemen that Bailey was walked over to Banfield after he was groomed. I was totally surprised that this was not noted by Banfield, as a fecal exam was done for the heartworm check. I have pictures of the injuries.

This ordeal had implications that I wanted to breed my dog; not only was it not recommended by Dr. Merkel, but she took matters into her own hands. I am hoping that we can come to a mutual agreement to resolve to the aforementioned issues. Here, are a few of my recommendations:

1. Any issues with his hips should be paid for in full because of him being placed in a crate, with a cone for two of the five weeks he was required to remain inside the crate to heal, and the medication suggested to help in the healing will not be available until Monday or Tuesday of the upcoming week.

2. This should be a training issue, so that no other customer has to bear the emotional and physical effects of the above referenced ordeal.

3. A better communication approach regarding the Wellness Plan should be provided.

Luckily, I took Foozer to another vet (Sumter County Animal Hospital, who I would highly recommend) to get a second opinion, and I was told that my dog did not have heartworms.

I told the people at Banfield about my findings, so they wanted to test him again to confirm what I had told them over the phone. I brought him back to Banfield and Dr. ** tested my dog in front of me and found that he tested negative for heartworms.

Needless to say, I voiced my concerns over how and why this happened, and I was not given a straight answer. Not only did this business provide false information to me about my dog, but I just about spent a huge amount of money and put my dog through hell for nothing. I cancelled my Wellness Plan, and I am still receiving letters and phone calls on a regular basis. The letters continue to show monthly fees piling up and the company has threatened to report past due amounts to the credit bureau. One would think that Banfield would cut their losses with me and hope that this story did not get out, but it appears that they would rather continue squeezing me for money.

I wonder how many other pet owners have been told by Banfield Hospital that their pets tested positive for heartworms when the truth is that their pets were worm-free. The pet owners would never know the truth unless they got a second opinion.

I dropped my dog in the afternoon and was asked to pick up the dog around 7 p.m. When I returned to pick up my dog, I met Mr. ** who told me that the dog is ready and he'll bring her out. When he came back, he had a dog in his arms, which I thought was dying. The dog was all wet, the dog's eyes were all red and were like gonna pop out of the dog's head. The dog was ballooned up and seemed to be in severe pain and I was sure that's not my dog.

I immediately told Mr. ** that this is not my dog and his reply was no, this is your dog and told me that I was wrong but when I changed my tone with him, he said that he got the dog from the cage where my dog was supposed to be resting. He said that he'll see what's going on and went back to the back room and I followed him to see that what's going on.

While I was following Mr. **, another associate, Ms. Tania came running after me and started shouting why am I near the door. I told her what happened earlier and she kept yelling that I can't be standing here and I can't follow Mr. **. Again I tried to explain that I am worried about my dog and wanted to find out what was the issue and she kept yelling at me, move out of here and so on.

Two things: first, I was very much concerned about my dog and secondly, I felt so embarrassed that this lady Ms.Tania was yelling at me for no reason and has no professionalism. After few agonizing minutes, Mr. ** came back with my dog and told me that she was in another cage. At this point I remembered the first dog and his condition and started to think that I hope they didn't give the wrong vaccination to the wrong dog, which would be absolutely heart breaking.

I hope that poor little fella is OK and no more Banfield Pet Hospital for us.

While she went to inform the vet, another customer told me that she thought it was also unnecessary to have to keep renewing the Rx. We discussed Royal Canin food that we used and how she had decided to keep her pet on the Rx food, as I have these past years. They told me, at the time, that he was at risk for recurrence of the original problem if I didn't. She was quite polite and we had a nice discussion. At this point, I was put in a room to wait for the vet. Before he came in to speak with me, I saw him pass by and then heard him speaking to the woman in the waiting room I had spoken to.

Unbelievably, he was reprimanding her for "creating customer dissent." He was there several minutes. Of course, this customer was offended. I heard her tell him, also politely, that she has a right to her opinion and that he was out of line for speaking to her that way. He continued to berate her for speaking to me. I sat waiting and became angry when I heard this happening. He then came in and told me that he couldn't renew my pet's food (Rx) without a visit. "It's policy." I said that I understood but I didn't see the need to bring my cat in because he is doing well. I explained that I needed this food that they prescribed as I was nearly out and he was putting my pet at risk. He reiterated that it was the policy. I let him know that his lack of compassion was unacceptable and he said that I could think that if I wanted.

Upon leaving, the other customer waited for me to get my contact information because she was livid about how she was treated and spoken to. She also informed me about some private health information the vet mentioned to her about my pet. She knew that it was unprofessional and unethical. We agreed that we would both be sending a complaint to Banfield.

To add to my horror, I took my pet to another vet to get a new Rx and went back to PetSmart to get the food. I nearly imploded when they told me that I needed to take that Rx to Banfield to get a prescription card so I would be able to purchase. I refused and they sold it anyway. I am not finished sending complaints to any and all parties involved with Banfield and/or PetSmart. From receptionist to doctor, this place has zero compassion or willingness to help. I have nothing good to say about this location in Modesto, CA.

They gave fecal checks (negative), shots that the animals didn't need, heartworm checks, you name it. What a crock of **. I worked for a veterinarian for four years and I unloaded on the nurse and the doctor. They simply said, "We found a flea on your dog; therefore, we must do these tests. Also, the cats need to be tested for FeLuk." They are indoor adult cats and they are perfectly healthy. Then, they noted my certification. I almost got denied to get into the Bahamas (that my dog had parasites) just because of one presumed flea. I told them, "I was in PetSmart, you idiots. Do you not think the flea jumped on him here?" I hate this place.

My veterinarian said that it takes a minimum of twenty minutes for it to be absorbed; that is if the dog was very dehydrated and up to two hours for the fluid therapy to be totally absorbed. Anyhow, how would I prove that the dog didn't receive the treatment?

As more of an inside perspective, I can say that Banfield's reputation is exactly correct, they are all about money! They will not treat your pet like family and you will be overcharged for unnecessary procedures/products. I have seen things in the past four years that have kept me up at night. I have witnessed a doctor hitting an animal during an exam, several different times. The same doctor instructed me to place an emergency bite wound dog into a kennel so that our scheduled appointments would be taken cared of first. While the doctor saw his scheduled appointments, I sat with the small dog while he was bleeding in his cage and crying from the pain; all I could do was cry.

I was only a vet assistant with no other experience and I thought my only option was to obey what the doctor said. The small Schnauzer died that night because his intestines were punctured. I wish that I could say this was location specific but I've worked at three different locations. I've seen a doctor admit that a patient does not need a specific service but charge the client anyway.

As an employee, I am treated terrible also, 8am till 8 pm schedule while getting paid crap! And sitting down at any point during those hours was a big no! I will never bring my animal to this awful place again, nor will I ever be associated with this place! This is only a small example of the negligent crap that I've seen in the past years! And finally, Firstshield flea prevention sucks! It's like water! Advantix is so much better! I worked with doctors who refused to put that crap on their own dogs because it does not work!

My plan is expiring at the end of this month and today (the 19th) I took my dog to get his vaccine. Well, they could not give it to him unless I renew the plan for another year, even though it has not expired yet, or else, the cost will be about $100.

It's unbelievable. I can't believe that I have spent so much time and money with these people.

I took him in for his follow-up appointment ($130) and the vet told me the site has abscessed so they will have to do another surgery ($500). All of this could have been avoided had the vet prescribed antibiotics ($50) in the first place. My dog is having the surgery today but I have little confidence and won't be surprised if I will be picking up a dead dog.

It guilted me into having Adequan injections for supposable horrible arthritis (one injection caused her to have a seizure in the car while driving on I-40) and they acted as if me not giving in to their recommendations made me a poor owner. They also told me that the out of nowhere ear "wax" that was clogging up her ears daily was just normal and I just needed to clean them more often even though I was already scraping this junk out on a daily basis. All of these things continued to get worse and I was ignored and they continued to say she didn't have an ear infection, her skin sores were from allergies even though she'd been on their food for months, and her mobility was the arthritis that she was receiving weekly injections for.

At the point of her yelping in pain when just laying still, I took her on Tuesday afternoon, June 21st, to Northeast Veterinary and found out she doesn't have arthritis at all and the wax and scabs all over her skin were due to a bacterial infection that Banfield claimed was normal wax buildup. Her ears were clear within two days of being on the appropriate antibiotics and ear medication, her skin lesions have almost completely healed, and her mobility is back to almost 100%.

On a side note, the past several times I've dropped her off at Banfield at 8am and I came back between 5:30-6:00pm (this particular day was on May 24th 2011), I was told that they had other emergencies to attend to and had not looked at her yet and for me to come back in 45 minutes or so. This would be after I've worked all day and my poor dog had sat in a small crate for the past ten hours with no food, water, or bathroom break.

I could go on and on about the rudeness, medical neglect, and incompetence they have shown but I think I've proven my point. I feel it is time their inadequacies have been brought to life and people should be informed and stand up to this company.

.

When I called back to complain, they simply hung up on me. The fact that I had an emergency situation with my pet clearly meant nothing to them. It would be a huge mistake for anyone to consider Banfield Pet Hospital.

When I came to pick her up they handed me the bill. It was for far more than what I was quoted. On the signed agreement, they hand wrote the extra treatment they had performed that had nothing to do with heartworm. I told them I was not going to pay for that not simply because of our agreement but because I did not have those funds available to me. They told me they could not release my dog to me unless I paid. I told them then they could keep my dog and I started to walk away. The vet then said...."no...take your dog but we never want to see you again." I said that was fine.....because I can not trust a vet who would authorize treatment I had not agreed to (in writing none the less) and had been up front regarding what I could pay for.

Requested for him to return within 30 days to see how this diet is helping his levels. Came back July 9th for his follow up visit, they gave him a physical check up in front of me and then proceeded to take him into the back room where their lab is to take more blood work $$$$. His levels continue to stay high. We were recommended to continue the prescription diet. Once, we got home with our pet we noticed a huge change in his behavior. He was lethargic, began to shake, cry, not eating or drinking or moving his bowls. How could there be such a drastic change after a visit to the vet? Because of this, I did not feel comfortable bringing him back to Banfield so I took him to the emergency care pet hospital near my home and after they did blood test, told me my dog has severe pancreas illness and could die. Banfield never told me or noted on my invoices from the day of the blood test or the day after that he had a pancreas problem.

The doctor at Banfield said it is documented in the computer on his medical records that I was informed of the "possibility" of a pancreas problem. No one told me or I would have acted on it, nor did they note the invoices they gave me that I was advised or list this concern about the pancreas. This was not only unprofessional but also neglectful for not informing me and more important not treating my pet for the problem. Oh yes, the medical records say "possibility". What does that mean??? They do not have the capability to run an accurate test to know for sure? I now have a new vet now and they requested his medical records from Banfield which I now have copies.

Now, my recent experience with this clinic is my dog’s cleaning teeth. He had an appointment and, all of a sudden, they called me to tell me that they had to cancel. When I paid my monthly bill, I feel that they care less about it. They did not reschedule it or called me or anything. I had to call to reschedule and they gave a bunch of excuses. I feel tired already since it's always me who had to call and find out when my dog’s appointment is –and that is not my job.

I will not put up with them anymore. This needs to be fixed ASAP. I am wasting my money, time and energy with these people. Please help me, thanks.

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.