Banfield Pet Hospital Reviews

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thankfully, my dog is healing slowly on his own. I will never take him back to Banfield. I called to cancel my Wellness Plan and was told that since I had procedures done (those vaccinations that would expire on 9/9/09) and physical exam, it would cost me $350 to cancel plan. The operator also informed me that Banfield renewed my plan 2 weeks before it expired. When I applied for this, they told me I could cancel at any time.

When I went to check out, I asked the price of this ointment, which was packaged as a prescription in a Blistex size tube. I was told $26, so I asked to see it. Turns out it was 15% mineral oil and 85% petrolatum, which you know as Vaseline. No inert ingredients, nothing. When I voiced my displeasure to the clerk, she replied, correctly so, that she doesn't set the prices. So I asked to see the vet again, the clerk checked, and I was told she was busy. So, of course, I tossed the box on the counter, told her that the price was "unethical," and checked out.

Watch out for these kinds of ripoffs. This tube was about .25 oz, making their price $104/oz. I figure that this is about a 10,000% profit margin.

Two days later, my dog had a large, purple, swollen lump so I returned to the Banfield. The doctor told me that it was abscessed and needed to be lanced, then proceeded to tell me that she had told the front desk girl to tell me this when they returned my dog to me at the original visit. Needless to say, no one told me anything and I believe that the vet was lying to cover a mistake and placing the blame on someone else. If the vet had seen a problem when she did the express, why didn't she talk to me then, address the problem and give a medical solution. I suspect that the vet was either to aggressive with the express, missed the problem completely or caused the problem herself.

At the second visit, I was told that the area would have to be lanced, putting my dog to sleep to do this. Dr. ** immediately offered to do this procedure at no charge which confirmed my suspicions of medical mistake. It was 9:30am and I had a business meeting an hour away so I left my dog. When I called at 4:30pm to check up on my dog, I was told he was just coming out of anesthesia which meant he sat in a cage for at least 6 hours in pain. When I picked him up, I was given 4 medications and was instructed to flush the wound and insert an ointment twice a day. This was so painful for my dog that he tried to bite me and I was forced to muzzle him to do this.

After several days, the wound was not closing and looked infected. I went to a new vet because I did not trust Dr. ** or Banfield with my dog. The new vet administered two antibiotic shots and instructed me to discontinue flushing the wound. I also showed the billing for the procedure to the new vet who stated that he could have done the same procedure for a little over $100 while Banfield would have charged $412. After the injections, my dog immediately began to look and act more like himself.

I called Banfield back requesting reimbursement for the new vet bill of $137. Dr. ** refused to reimburse me, would not get on the phone and showed no interest to follow up on a dog that she had done a surgical procedure on. I was instructed to call Banfield team services where a representative contacted Dr. ** directly. She told the liaison that I was welcome to sue her as she would not be doing anything more. I don't feel that I should be responsible for the new vet bills caused by Dr. **, and even worse to think that a vet would perform a surgical procedure and have no interest in following up on that animal is shameful and scary. It's been 19 days since the procedure and my dog’s incision is still not completely closed.

Number one, his surgery should have never been performed that late. Number two, the staff should have asked another staff member to carry my dog or asked my husband to come get him. Banfield also did not address two large masses in my dog's mouth while he was having his teeth cleaned. I had to take him to another vets two months later for another surgery. My dog is 13 years old and doesn't need to be put under anesthesia unnecessarily. I will never go to another Banfield clinic. They are a cookie cutter operation and only care about making money.

My point is that he should have just given her the $40 blood test if he suspected that she had lyme disease in the first place. So, I asked the doctor if I could pay for the antibiotics today and make a payment plan for the rest because I didn't expect to pay $300 for all this stuff. The doctor got real nasty and disrespectful with me and told me they don't do that and "Where have you heard you go take your animal where they take payment plans?" He refused to give me the medication unless I had all the money upfront.

After about half an hour, we finally saw the vet. She hardly listened to our description of the cat's symptoms, and immediately ordered an expensive round of blood and urine tests. She also told us to buy several medicines which would help our cat, regardless of what illness she had. When the vet said that she wanted to run some blood work, we imagined that she would draw blood there on the examining table. We had no idea what would be involved, or that it would shortly lead to the end of our kitty's life.

In retrospect, any good vet, any decent person, really would have recommended that we take our old cat home and try the medicines. Maybe in a couple of days, she would feel better; if not, then we would know that something major was wrong and we could make our choice from there. The vet could have said that the test will be more stressful than letting the illness run its course. Instead, she ordered the testing and we felt compelled to go along with it.

She put our cat inside a cage, in a room with other animals in cages and left us to wait. About 20 minutes later, we looked through the window of another room and saw a horrible sight. Our cat was lying on the floor, muzzled and surrounded by four or five employees, who were holding her down. Feeling somewhat upset by the sight, we waited anxiously for the vet to return. When she finally did, she said that they were unable to get a urine sample, and that the cat was a bit stressed out. They left her in that cage for another half hour to de-stress.

It turns out that the reason they couldn't get a urine sample was because they scared the cat so badly that she peed on herself. I can only guess how she ended up on the floor, or why it took four people to hold one de-clawed, old cat still. We had originally explained that the cat is 14 and she has pretty bad arthritis. A jump/fall from the operating table would have been quite rough on her. Sure enough, when we got her home, she couldn't put any weight on one leg. She can't crouch to eat, and she flops over instead of lying down normally. These are completely new symptoms, and when we called the vet to ask about them, she said it was probably a blood vessel that ruptured. I am fairly certain that is a lie.

Since her traumatic visit to Banfield, our cat has hardly gotten up to eat or use the litter box. We are planning to have her put to sleep tomorrow, but certainly not at Banfield. The people who work there are poorly trained and have no respect for the fact that people care about their pets a lot. Banfield just wants your money they don't care about your animals.

Imagine my surprise when I was told no. I called back twice and finally spoke to Dr. **, explained again what I wanted and still she was very reluctant. She kept going on about how he hadn't gotten his heartworm test there. I told her that was true, that he had 2 tests in South and North Carolina and that she certainly had seen that, but her staff did not record it. Finally, she said the note would be ready the next day. The next day, I called and was told she would not write it until she had the insurance company's number. Strange request, but I gave it to them. Another day, I called again and was told they can't find it and the doctor is gone.

By this time, I have had it and told them to cancel the order I had just placed for Lily's allergy medicine and I wanted nothing further to do with them. I have never gotten the letter. She seems very afraid of something and I have no idea what, but she is clearly hiding something. They also did not cancel the allergy med because when my new vet called to fill it, they were told Banfield had already requested a refill.

While we were getting the items we needed, we talked to the volunteers from Sad Sac, who told us about the KRM, which my book had recommended and about putting some Neosporin with pain relief on the inflamed area. The kitten was really coming around. She was eating like a pig and drinking her water. It was clear that she wasn't used to drinking out of a dish. She walked around and loved to be held, and even took her medicine without too much difficulty. She even groomed herself and used the litter box. On her follow up visit to the vet 4 days later, they wanted to do the labs for FIP and FLV, which I knew were costly, and could easily give a false positive or negative due to the kitten's age. They said she was doing well, and in that time had gained .2 lbs. We got more medicine for the coccidiosis, as they had not mentioned how easily it could recur, and the safety measures that needed to be taken.

In asking about the Neosporin use that seemed to be working, though slowly, the vet advised me to get some ointment used for diaper rash that contained zinc. We used cotton to apply it, once in the morning and once at night. The next day, the kitten seemed a bit distressed as she was wanting to be held more. She ate. But she didn't eat with her normal vigor. When I got up in the morning to get her, she was sprawled in her litter, gasping faintly for air. She was limp and her mouth was white. I tried to make sure nothing was in the airway. She looked at me, gasped, and then I saw her pupils blow. I tried CPR to revive her, but got nothing. I spent the majority of the morning crying, "Why?" I then looked at the tube of ointment that indicated that if it was ingested, call poison control. Then, I revisited the veterinary book I keep on hand and the internet, finding multiple warnings of zinc ointment toxicity to both cats and dogs, though cats are more likely to lick it off. This kitten was a little trooper, who would still be alive if not for the negligence of another Banfield vet.

They are the ones that got him used to getting a cookie before they do anything with him and this is the only reason he was backing away - he was looking for his cookie. This is the most sensitive, lovable, gentle lab/boxer mix who had been severely abused when we adopted him at 11 weeks. He's 2 and 1/2 now and he's never been aggressive with another person or animal - he will back away if he's scared. This whole muzzle act caused him to vomit for the next six hours as he was so stressed by the situation.

The office also pushed repeatedly to sell product - heartworm medication when I had just told them 3 weeks before (at the pet's regular checkup) that we didn't need more due to losing a dear friend - pet who was on the same medication. I even told them when I would need it again. Then came the push for prescription pet shampoo and some other product for his skin when I had just asked about his skin 3 weeks before and was told that "it was fine. He was a little dry but it's common and seasonal and would go away on its own."

Considering that this pet has been their patient for over two years, I'm shocked at the lack of accurate record keeping and general knowledge of my pet - to me, it's irresponsible and inappropriate. When I called to voice the complaint and request to cancel my 'enrollment' in their pet plan since they obviously do not agree with my opinion of their care, the only action I have seen is to hear them repeatedly say that: 1) they aren't canceling the plan (there are only two months left for a total of $32); 2) they maintain that they acted appropriately; 3) I could request and they could note on their file that I only see a certain doctor; and 4) I'm responsible for paying out the plan or they'll send me to a collection agency. This is the most unprofessional organization and they are clearly only out for the buck, not for your pet's best care.

When I called to speak with the manager, she expressed concern. So she went back and asked the reception if she had done this. When the manager came back, she had a whole different demeanor. She almost called me a liar. I told her there was a crowd and I was so upset and stunned I could hardly move, to which she said, "Yes, my employee says you wouldn’t leave." The doctor there ** also spoke with me and said if I continue to be difficult, they would not want my business anymore. I was to apologize to the manager and the reception would apologize to me but getting an apology from someone that doesn’t believe she said this doesn’t mean anything to me. And the doctors turned on me. It also was handled very unprofessionally as the whole office knew about this situation.

Well, my dog's appointment came up and we got a confirmation to come in but that I was not to come since I have frightened the whole staff. I told this doctor ** that I thought this was dead and forgotten; yet, he brought it all back up and he had an attitude with me. I now have found out this particular Banfield is probably doctor owned so that is why they both said they wouldn’t want our business anymore. My cat died on 3/7 and I don’t feel this staff cared enough about a sick cat. I will be taking my business elsewhere as soon as my dog's wellness plan is up. I don’t ever want to deal with such crazy, inconsiderate, and unprofessional people with no integrity. And that the fact I have scared the staff, this means they don’t belong in this field.

Another vet's office had no idea what PKD was when I asked, so I knew I was in the wrong place. My particular Banfield vet is awesome, as is most of his staff. I've never had a group work so well with me. I breed cats, so I'm at the vet's office for kitten shots, tests, etc. on a regular basis and good, affordable care isn't so easy to find. My recommendation would be that if you don't like the vet, staff or care at the Banfield you've gone to, don't think that's representative of the entire network. Larger cities have more than one location. Try another one, and make them aware of the problems you had at the other location.

After a six-day stay and over $1500 in hospital charges, she came home and has been fine ever since. Banfield called every day not to ask how she was, but to badger me for more money! After going through this for about three days, the manager at the time settled the payment and I paid what was agreed upon. I shouldn't have given them a penny, because I found this whole thing had been a result of negligence on Banfield's part failing to properly hydrate my cat during and after the procedure. Anyway, they have now placed a collection on my credit report. I am sure that hell will freeze over before they get another penny out of me. They are lucky I didn't sue them, but I just can't afford to.

Tomorrow, my pet will be sedated in order for her new, caring doctor to take the appropriate x-rays to determine the extent of damage and if/when my pet may have to have hip surgery. I will continue to pursue Banfield Pet Hospital in order that no other pet will have to go through what mine is going through right now. Banfield Pet Hospital does not care for your pet or for your feelings when your pet is injured by their negligence, ignorance, and stupidity.

In order to cancel the Wellness Plan (What an oxymoron!), I will have to pay $240. I actually cursed the lady on the phone this morning when she told me that! They want me to pay them for injuring my pet? What a load of crap! I will continue to spread the word regarding these facts and about why I hate Banfield Pet Hospital and why you should, too.

I returned to Banfield the next morning and asked how my healthy cat became so sick, when the only change had been their "caring" for him. They could not explain. They said he must have an inner ear infection and they would need to run tests, etc., which are not covered by my wellness plan. They also wanted to shoot him up with more meds. I did not feel comfortable leaving my cat with them overnight and without my supervision because of what had happened with his ear. Later that evening, I noticed my cat had gotten worse. He could not get up from the floor without falling and his eyes were jumping back and forth rapidly. I brought him to the emergency vet who told me his eardrum had been punctured and there was "cleaning" fluid in his inner ear. She gave me some antibiotics and told me it may be 2-6 weeks before he gets better. She diagnosed him with ototoxicity, inner ear infection due to chemical poisoning. She also noted he had no evidence of ever having any kind of ear infection in the first place.

Bottom line, it has been 6 weeks. My cat now has permanent balancing and gait problems thanks to Dr. ** and the pet nurse at Daytona Beach Banfield. I have filed a formal complaint with Banfield. They offered to give me the $121.00 I paid for an emergency vet, but only if I signed a paper saying that they were not admitting guilt and were unable to treat him only because the emergency happened after hours. Did I not bring him back that morning and give them the opportunity to help? Also, they would not allow me to cancel the wellness plan, like I will ever bring my cat back to them. I am now out the charge for their "cleaning" of my cat's ear, the emergency room vet charge, the monthly fee for my wellness plan and future vet bills due to this situation. It isn't as much the money as it is the lack of honesty by these people in admitting they made a mistake.

The doctor would come in look at her for a few minutes, leave for 20 minutes, come back in, look at her for another couple of minutes, did a urinalysis, and proceeded to tell me that she needed to do more tests on her. When I asked her the result of the urinalysis, she told me she saw some bacteria but needed to do more tests. I asked if she could just give her an antibiotic to cure the urinary problem, but she refused since I wouldn't allow them to continue testing her. Seeing that I was upset, she offered some inflammatory pills to give her.

The following day, I took my dog to her regular vet who gave me an antibiotic based on the urinalysis they did. It is my considered opinion that these people at Banfield are nothing but charlatans looking to take advantage of people in a most pathetic way and should be put out of business.

I immediately contacted Banfield and a day later, Dr. ** contacted me, that he had spoken to an oncologist, but it wasn't very helpful. I then suggested that he contact the manufacturer. He did and that was also inconclusive. He told me that if the medicine works, it may outweigh the risks. I was appalled and stated that it is quite the opposite. Increasing my pet's risk of a recurrence of the cancer hardly outweighs the benefits of his allergy relief. I contacted Corporate on June 29, 2009, spoke to Duane and was advised I would be contacted in 3-5 days. I have not heard from anyone representing Banfield Hospital yet.

On multiple occasions, I have found the staff disorganized, always in a hurry and misinforming. I am requesting that I be withdrawn from the Wellness Plan from June 2009 to its expiration November 2009. I have absolutely no confidence in this facility. My pet has gone through multiple surgeries in an attempt to remove all affected tissues.

So, she told me to wait and someone will be with me shortly. Approx. 15 minutes later, she came back to me and told me to leave my pet with her and they will call me when she is ready for pick-up. I found this kind of odd because I had a one-on-one the first time I enrolled, and for me to leave my dog with them, I was not too comfortable. But she told me that being that Thursday was Wellness day, they are making an exception with my pet. So I proceeded to leave my pet and went on my way. They told me they will call me before they proceed with any shots - check-ups, etc. So I gave them my cell phone number.

They called me and told me that they were going to give my pet two out of three shots - a Distemper Parvo DAP Vaccine and a Leptospirosis 4-way Vaccine. I had mentioned to the physician on duty that she had an allergic reaction towards one of those shots last year. So I warned her beforehand. She proceeded to give my pet the two shots. I picked up my dog and went home. Around 5:50 p.m., I noticed that my dog's nose was swollen and I called the clinic. The physician was leaving for the day and they told me that I had to take my dog to the closest emergency clinic and said their goodbyes. I was left with my pet having this reaction and I found myself having to take her to emergency because your physician could not instruct me to do what I had to do for her. I took her to the Country Animal Clinic and was informed that she only needed to take Benadryl. This exam cost me $177.25 which I feel was unnecessary for me to pay, having just taken my pet to see your physician and sign up for another year.

I took my pet home and monitored her as the physician from the Country Animal Clinic instructed me. Sunday came along and my pet was vomiting throughout the day. My husband called the Banfield clinic and they informed him that he has to take the pet back to the emergency room because they were closing. Now, I am not satisfied with the service you have provided me and I would like to discontinue the 2009 - 2010 contract and my $177.25. You push the customer to sign the contract and the service that you provide when an emergency occurs does not meet my expectations. Thank you.

Second, I'll respond to Jacqueline of San Clemente, CA's comment on June 12, 2009. Jacky stated: "First of all, there are over 700 Banfield Pet Hospitals in the United States. You can not judge every clinic based off of one bad experience. Banfield veterinarians are just as good as a 'real vet.' That's because they are real vets."

Jacky, Banfield Pet Hospitals are a chain. Because of this, they all have the same codes, same hiring practices, same training, same procedures, and the exact same treatment plans. You absolutely can judge all of them from a bad experience at one. If you get a hamburger from McDonald’s that you don't like, you can say, "I don't like hamburger X from McDonalds," not just, "I don't like hamburger X from McDonald’s at this address with this person making it." That's foolish. They carry the name and a mark on one is a mark on all - as it should be.

Also, you're right, there are "real vets" at Banfield. But, they are the bottom of the barrel. With 700 locations and a company with thousands of owners, the dollar is the bottom line. Their vets are not the top of the class, they are sub-par, and Banfield is where you end up after vet school if you have no other options. In sum, a mark on one should be a mark on all when dealing with a massive corporation that is uniform throughout. Also, they are out to make money, not to make your pets better. They will upcharge where they can and they will not give you the help you need for your loved one when you need it most, as the vast majority of the accounts here have shown. Also, with hundreds of negative reviews, many of them devastatingly tragic, from all over the country, how is it that you can even think of saying something along the lines of, "You haven't brought your pets to all 700 locations, so don't judge”? Foolish.

We waited about another 25 minutes because we got an estimate on the blood work cost. They told us we needed to leave the cat because the blood work would take awhile. We were told that around 8:30 p.m. we could pick him up. They never called us, so we called and they said the cat was okay, but they were running one more test. I was already on the way to pick up my cat. When I got there, the vet told me he had a fatal virus and there was no cure. We knew that cat was old and he was not drinking or eating and we did not want him to suffer anymore, so we put him to sleep. It was about 9:00 and the store was closing, so my cat had to wait until the morning to be put to sleep.

What really upset me was, why the vet did not complete the blood work and why they were telling us the cat was okay and also giving him an antibiotic injection for his paw when he was dying anyway. I feel they just tried to drain for any money they could get. My bill was $565 to put him asleep and the blood work. There are over $100 in expenses that would should have not occurred. We are people hearts. To put my cat through this really stinks. They are overpriced.

I stayed for the visit which they tried to get me to sign up for the wellness plan but I never made a final decision that day. The vet told me that Morgan had an ear infection and prescribed medication for about three different things. He told me the total for the meds came to 122 dollars. When I went to pay for the meds, I realized they prescribed a medication that Morgan was already using so she discarded it and was about to charge the same amount. I asked why the price would be the same if I'm not purchasing one of the items any longer, so she made the proper deductions. When I got home and looked at the invoice, I noticed that I was also charged an office visit that was supposed to be complimentary for the first visit.

When I called, I was connected to Mimi who said she is the supervisor and her title is a Maryland field trainer. While explaining to Mimi the situation, she interrupted and told me there's nothing they could do and that I should have checked my invoice. She also said that the visit is free for healthy pets. I asked why wasn't I told that before the visit and she said, "I'm not the one who processed you." She told me that I shouldn't have signed for the doctor to treat Morgan.

They lied to me to get my money and I don't believe the diagnosis is right either. I lost $86.38 for a visit that did not solve the problem. Morgan had to be seen once again by a vet to get the right diagnosis. This has been too expensive and time consuming.

I have since taken my dog to a private vet who is much better and cheaper. Banfield claims that those services were $251 if ala carte. My vet charged $75 for a proper exam, by a doctor, and shots. I was unable to cancel the contract so far. They make it impossible, on purpose, giving you the "choice" of paying the trumped up "ala carte" charges for initial service or paying the entire year contract, which is roughly the same - $25.91 monthly charge from your credit card for a year whether you use them ever again or not (I never did). They then tell you to file a written complaint, but no one knows how that would be done. It is just a time-consuming runaround.

Needless to say, every time I went after that, I had to pay for something beside the fee for the heartworm treatment. There was always something wrong every time I went. To make a long story short. I've paid about $1500 to Banfield from February '09 to June '09. I took my dog to get sprayed on June 18, 2009. On June 19, 2009, I found my precious dog dead in my backyard. I was told she probably threw a clot or it may have been from heat exhaustion. I called to cancel the plan because I have already paid an extreme amount of money in such a short time. I was told I could not cancel until February 2009 even though my baby is gone and I can no longer attend anymore of her doctor visits. Please do not take your dog to Banfield unless you are prepared to lose to them.

I called Banfield Corporate Office to cancel my Wellness Plan, the representative told me I owed them $325.00 because my Wellness Plan had renewed on the 12th of May, and my cat had received services, therefore I am responsible for the difference between the discount fee and regular fee. I explained that my cat was deceased, and did not understand why you would force pet owners to pay for deceased pets. She said she would send me the contract to prove that I agreed to the terms and conditions.

At the time I signed the contract, I was approached in PetSmart and told about this great contract. I was told about the savings and nothing about if your pet die or you cancel the Wellness Plan, they will hold you obligated to pay. Banfield is a true rip-off and I encourage everyone to use a regular vet, do not sign a contract with this company. There are some good vets, but the corporate office is there to steal your money and take advantage of pet owners. I would be happy to speak to an attorney or participate in a class action suit. Banfield is deceptive and dishonest. I believe Banfield is engaging in consumer fraud.

The doctor and assistant at Banfield’s acted like he was breathing fine and it was his weight that was the culprit. I specifically asked about x-rays on his lungs. They suggested blood work and said they could find out more that way. Being in a position to do what ever it took to help him, I agreed, though I was surprised that’s how they wanted to move forward. I had the blood work done and waited by the phone to get the results, to my dismay. I received a follow up call from someone completely different that wanted to know how Coby’s vomiting and diarrhea were doing. He never had these symptoms to begin with, so obviously their means of health intake are skewed and unreliable.

Finally, I get some results from the doctor stating that he had a urinary tract infection and special food, along with oral meds were necessary. I went directly there to pick up the supplies and paid $136.00 on top of the $322.00 I had just paid for the blood work and exam. Coby graciously took the pills and ate what food his body would permit the next two days.

Waiting to hear results from further testing at Banfield, I watched my precious little guy fade before my eyes. Not seeing time to wait any longer, I frantically searched for nearby veterinarians I could get him to in emergency. Luckily, I found the best vet in Houston closest to me, but it was too late at this point. The new doctor checked his pulse, tapped his side twice and wrapped him in a towel to rush him back to ICU, which is down the hall a few steps from the exam room.

His words were, “This cat is in critical condition. We need x-rays stat!” I lost composure as he showed me the condition of Coby's lungs. 20% lung capacity at that point was all he had to his advantage. Unfortunately, that was not enough to sustain life any longer. Coby passed away in the ICU at the new vet, which I will return to as long as I reside in Bellaire. The point of all of this is to make pet owners aware that Banfield may be good enough to take your pet for grooming or getting their claws trimmed, but never ever depend on their experts to save the life of a beloved pet. Don't let the time come that you urgently need to seek help for your pet. Find a real good family doctor as if you were taking your children. I can not have babies so my pets are my family and I have learned a very hard lesson with the loss of my beautiful Coby.

Even though she stood dripping blood onto their floor, they refused to treat her or even check her out to see if she was okay to walk home. They initially claimed it was because they were too busy dealing with another emergency. That emergency turned out to be a constipated cat. But as I sat there and waited, the assistant came out and told the young woman who was waiting for the cat that the cat was using the litter pan and would be okay. So clearly, they were not too busy to at least look at Sunshine and there were no other people or patients waiting at the time. After they refused several times to even look at her, we left, but Sunshine was bleeding so badly on the walk home that I went back and begged them to look at her.

They then took her in back for a few seconds and returned with her stating that she might need stitches and that might take too long so they weren’t willing to help her. This is from a company that boasts about legendary client service. I ended up walking all the way home with Sunshine and then driving her to the University Small Animal Hospital for care.

Why did Banfield behave this way? When I’d bring my dogs in to Banfield for care, they would always pressure me to leave them at the clinic, no matter how minor the problem. This allowed them to charge double because they’d charge for both the visit and the stay. They could also then fit additional appointments in to what should have been my 15 minute appointment. I eventually started to question this practice (other area vets don’t do this) which was unnecessarily expensive and very stressful for my dogs. I also didn’t like one of the vets, who had recommended $700 worth of x-rays for an allergy problem. They were unhappy that I voiced my concerns about these and other issues, and I believe the vet in charge that day was being vindictive because of this.

We currently have a health insurance plan through Banfield in order for Princess to receive her annual examination. We chose Banfield since we purchased Princess when she was only a kitten through PetSmart. During their adoption period, which we already built our trust with PetSmart, it was not a difficult choice to choose Banfield Pet Hospital as her primary care facility due to its affiliation with PetSmart. As of Friday, May 29, 2009, Princess passed away in the early morning. Her caused of death was unknown due to Banfield's veterinarians in Oxnard neglecting to assist her further on Thursday, May 28, 2009, when my father brought her in. The only way they were going to perform the examination was to charge my father with a $300 bill. This cost would have put a financial strain on my father as he is on a limited budget income. My father did inform Ms. Susan ** of this financial strain, but she was unwilling to help without my father agreeing to pay the $300 examination fee. Her neglect caused our pet cat Princess's chance of survival.

Prior to the Banfield Pet Hospital visit in Oxnard, my father performed his own physical examination of Princess, but he was unable to locate any visible cause of her ailments. No bug, spider and other animal bites, no open wounds, etc. In addition, Princess was a house cat so we never had her roam outside, not even on the patio or in the back and/or front yard. Princess was not a cat that would also run outside when the door was open. So in conclusion, Princess was not eating for an approximate of 5 days, no bowel movements, no vomiting and sluggish physical movements prior to the pet hospital visit on May 28, 2009. She died early morning on Friday, May 29, 2009. Her last physical examination with Banfield Pet Hospital in Oxnard, CA was on March 19, 2009.

I feel this neglect is an inhumane treatment to any animal, especially at a time when she really needed urgent medical care. If this is a facility whose main reason of business is to treat and care for these animals, then the procedure to assist Princess would have never been neglected. It should not have been the deciding factor if my father was able to pay for the cost of $300 or not in order to treat Princess's illness. I feel their company took advantage of my father and put him in a position to choose over his financial strain or pay $300 in hopes your pet hospital would be able to help her, which there was no guarantee. If their facility follows and believes the main reason of business, then perhaps Princess would still be alive today. No doctors and/or staffs should be working at any of these facilities where care and treatment for these animals is a priority and if these people are only working in these careers just for income purposes and they don't have the passion and belief in caring for these animals in order to save them.

An examination cost at any amount should not be placed as an obstacle in order to make the right decision to treat an animal with urgent medical care. Their facilities require extensive training for all staffs including office managers to perform their actions in a humane way and be reminded that they are hired to care and treat these animals, not as disposable items but with respect, compassion and understanding. Your company should not hire anyone just because they have a certification and license, but mainly because of their desire and passion to work, care and treat all types of animals in general.

In the past, when we have taken "Princess" in for her annual exam, we recalled on one occasion that she was returned to us with some parts of her body covered in her own vomit and feces. We spoke to one of your staffs, which they responded that they had no knowledge this occurred and was apologetic although this incident should have never occurred if they only took better care of her. We specifically informed them to omit from feeding her wet food and milk products. But we had no proven facts if they did or not. The health insurance plan cost my father $16.95 per month, which was being deducted from his bankcard. He has been a customer with Banfield Wellness Plan for a few years. If your company hired adequate people who really cared for these animals, then "Princess" would possibly still be alive and they would not have lost a customer.

Father is requesting to cancel the monthly Health Insurance Bill of $16.95 commencing as of Friday, May 29, 2009. Please apply this request immediately. I have already contacted the corporate office located in Portland, Oregon on Thursday, June 04, 2009, and spoke to one of their representatives, Janell, who stated that I would need to forward a correspondence requesting to cancel the insurance in order to stop receiving the monthly bill. She said they will apply it as soon as they receive the request. Our pet cat "Princess" died due to the neglectful actions from Banfield, The Pet Hospital in Oxnard, CA.

Additionally, Banfield doesn't offer "pet insurance," they offer "wellness plans" and the contract that you sign when you sign up for one tells you exactly that, in addition to the services and discounts included. If you have a problem with the way the contract is written, maybe you should read important documents before you sign the dotted line.

My cat and dog have two different vets at Banfield and they are both amazing individuals that I trust completely with my beloved pets. They are both extremely intelligent men with excellent bedside manner. I'm not saying that some of you haven't had horrible experiences, but you are generalizing too much to be fair.

Both dogs were signed up for the Banfield Wellness Plan on January 15, 2008. After moving out of the area in April of this year, I took Meg to a local veterinary clinic, where she was diagnosed as having a thyroid imbalance. The thought of the years of discomfort Meg has gone through because of poor medical attention misdiagnosis and becoming dissatisfied with their service and moving, I decided to cancel the Banfield Plan. When I called the home office to cancel the plan, I was told the plan could only be placed on a "non- renewable" status until a $400.00 balance was paid. When I requested a written statement explaining the balance, I was told this was not possible. At this point, I advise anyone considering the Banfield Wellness Plan to be very careful and do much research.

I am unemployed right now. I got laid off. I said, "Let's start with an x-ray first to see what we are dealing with." This whole time no one has told me about toads being poisonous. I found out on my own through the internet research. The vet prescribed Carafate and Probotic Powder and their prescription food. I did everything she told me. He seemed to be getting better through the week and the diarrhea was gone. Then as days went on, it seemed he was not feeling well. He was still eating and drinking water so I thought he was still recovering from the extreme bout of diarrhea. He was now down to 5.1 lbs from 12lbs. Into the fourth week, he was breathing as though he was going to heave up a fur ball but he never did. Other than that, he seemed okay.

By beginning of June, he was still breathing this way so I was taking him back to the vet, where on the way to the vet, he started acting as though he was choking and no sound was coming out or air. I immediately opened his carrier where I felt him to see if he was breathing, he was not. Once I arrived at the vet, the man vet pronounced him DOA. When I spoke with Dr. ** , he sure could do the spinning talk.

My complaint was that they made me wait that day and that no one, even the vet C. **, knew all toads were poisonous. The manager vet and the other man vet knew. Maybe if she had be trained properly, maybe she could have tried to induce vomiting or given him something to help absorb the toxin. But she did not. Dr. ** went on and on and on about how much training they go through and how they close down every Friday for one and a half hours for meetings, for training. Dr. ** kept dancing around that he would have animals dying everyday if they had eaten a toad. He said it just does not happen.

Since then, my husband and I have spoken to many people we know and many of them had bad experiences with Banfield vets as a whole. I do not usually have the need for a vet because my cats stay indoors and are not exposed to other animals. This toad got into the house after a rain storm. I made it very clear that I would tell as many people as possible to stay away from Banfield vets. And since Petsmart sponsors them under their roof, I told the assistant manager Michelle, that I would no longer be shopping at their store.

After two days, he seemed worse. I brought him to my regular vet and the vet found he has a back problem (thru x-rays and a physical exam) and was flabbergasted that he had been diagnosed with pancreatitis because he did not have any of the classic symptoms. I am livid that my dog suffered for two more days because of a bad diagnosis. My paperwork states that at Banfield, he exhibited normal behavior and no physical complaints which was obviously wrong because if you touched my dog anywhere on the back, he yelped! I want a refund and an explanation. I am going to go back to Banfield to complain and if nothing is done, I am writing the company.

It makes me so mad and sick to my stomach to find out that this seems to be a major problem for Banfield. That was $345 down the drain, a waste of time, misdiagnosis, 2 more days of pain for my dog, 3 hours of my time. I could have brought my dog to an emergency vet and most likely found comfort for my dog.

Along with the sedation and muzzle, in addition to the weakness from being ill, she was in no shape, and did not offer much resistance to anything that was done. We were there during the complete and total time that she was there. Physically with her at all times. Most control of her was done by myself, my husband & our son. They said she needed x-rays but their machine was down and they would call me as soon as it was functioning.

I got no call to return for x-rays. No other tests or procedures were done other than described above. I was given a receipt for services that were not performed at all. I wasn't charged for all services that they had listed but they were supposedly done - they were not. The list is too long to go into but I would be more than happy to talk with an attorney if deemed worthy. The worst thing about all of this mess was that, I am now having to take my pet to a private vet and time has been wasted to what damage to my baby is yet to be seen.