My dog was having some urinary incontinence problems for a couple of weeks. At first I believed this was due to a behavior problem, but then realized it could be something else. I took him to Banfield Hospital in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA where he was seen by Dr. Mei-Chun Wu. She took an xray, and tried to convince me that my dog had prostate cancer and needed to begin chemo-treatments. I told her that I was NOT convinced that he has cancer just from an xray, and more testing should be done. She argued with me that she is experienced and KNOWS this is what he has. I still did not believe her, and took my dog to a different vet for a 2nd opinion. This new place is WONDERFUL, and NO MY DOG DOESNT HAVE CANCER! He is currently on simple daily medication to treat the incontinence - THATS IT. I feel Banfield would have either made my dog worse than he was, or possibly killed him. NEVER take your pets to these places, and if you absolutely must, ALWAYS get a 2nd opinion from another place. You may pay more, but it will save your pet's life.


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1. Written by Jennifer, on 23-02-2010 14:52

Taking your pet to banfeild is like shopping at wal-mart. They do not really care about the pets there, but they sure do like your money. I requested a thyroid test for my dog and they first told me no he more than likely has cancer not thyroid problems. I went and got a second oppinion and that was the first thing "my new vet" suggested. A thyroid test at banfield was $130, I only paid $60. Everyone do your pets a favor and do not take them to Banfeild! Their are much better vets in your city. Support local businesses and not large chains.

2. Written by Analisa, on 29-10-2009 19:02

Agreed, below is my Yelp review from the Banfield hospital in Richmond: 

 

Banfield gets one star because Dr. Murray and the nurse staff are really sweet and great. Unfortunately, that's the only star they get because they employee other vets who bring the average down. Especially Dr. Perpetuo. She's the worse doctor ever. I don't know why she's a vet, she doesn't really like animals. 

 

We've been going to Banfield for over a year now. I've always known how overpriced it was, but Dr. Murray was a great doctor and we went for her. Not Banfield. Above being expensive, it was extremely inefficient. And on the occasions Dr. Murray wasn't there, I wasn't a big fan of the doctors we received. 

 

So let me start with, last August (2008) we had a litter of 9 labrador puppies. We own mom and day and decided to hang on to two of the puppies. We took all nine puppies (plus mom and dad) for treatment at Banfield. When 6 weeks were up and they were adopted, we recommended Banfield to everyone-but only Dr. Murray. I'm saddened to think of the pups who didn't receive treatment from her. We had three of our four dogs on Wellness Plans, took our dogs in for shots all the time. The staff there loved them. We never complained and never caused problems. 

 

Last week our big dog (Cooper, the father) did something very stupid that ended up in a trip to the doggie ER in Berkeley. They wanted us to go in for a follow up test to check his blood in a few days. The doggie ER let us know that it would be about a $60-$100 test. They encouraged me to visit my regular vet since they were almost positive the visit would be cheaper than them. I scheduled an appointment with Banfield and unfortunately couldn't get Dr. Murray. When I sat in the examination room, I saw on the screen, Dr. Perpetuo. I immediately grabbed my Blackberry and read Patricia D.'s review. I hoped for the best, expected the worse. My hopes were shattered very quick. 

 

The nurse had said she was going to give us a quote before anything happened. Perpetuo came in, felt Cooper's body for all of 4 minutes and informed me I was in for a $280 test! My boyfriend came back and was asking her why the test would cost so much when they ER clinic had said it was only $60. She was very curt and rude with her answer and told us to go over to the ER clinic then. Then she tried charging us the full $45 for the office visit. When my boyfriend stated, "But we didn't do anything yet" she yelled, "I GAVE HIM A PHYSICAL, MY TIME IS WORTH MONEY!!!" and my boyfriend calmly said, "You spent four minutes with him. You were supposed to give us the quote beforehand." And she yelled, "YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN NOTHING BUT TROUBLE." Really? We have spent over $4,000 at Banfield in the past year and have gotten along with everyone in the office until her. I let her know we've never been trouble, we've had three dogs on plans and have always gotten along with everyone. Then she told us to just "GET OUT" so we did. 

 

Banfield just lost the business of four dogs. Again I say, in this economic climate I would think they would be more customer service oriented. Dr. Murray and the nurse staff was able to keep us going for a year, but I am done. I'm not risking the chance of ever getting Perpetuo again.

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