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Freddy was exactly one year old when i took him into Banfield in Midtown, Miami to get neutered. I picked him up after his surgery, and the doctor told me that during surgery, his heart rate went a little low but she brought it back up and finished surgery.

One week later, he had a pretty bad infection around his ball skin. It looked like his skin was falling off and things just did NOT look good. I took him back in right away and they told me surgery to remove the skin is the best option. I told them about his heart rate issue and they said they were aware.

I trusted them to go ahead and do the surgery. I get a phone call during surgery to get over to the hospital immediately. i did. They then came in the room after trying to revive him and told me he didn't make it.

They had no idea why. There was no explanation. They said they did all the steps for resuscitation but nothing worked. It sounded like they were looking at a book to read step-by-step instructions.

I am going to sue. I had the best, healthiest and happiest dog and they took him away from me. For no reason at all.

A simple procedure killed my dog. They DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING.

Monetary Loss: $500.

Location: Miami, Florida

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Guest

I'm very sorry for your loss.

First, why did you let his skin get that bad before seeking treatment? That skin is necrotic, which means dead.

That isn't something that happens overnight.

Second, unfortunately anesthesia is never 100% safe and things can happen that are beyond anyone's control.

Third, yes, they were aware of his heart rate dropping during the Neuter since they performed the surgery & I'm sure this time, they took every precaution to make sure it didn't happen again.

Yes, it is risky to put him under again. However, since his infection was so bad, the pros of doing the surgery outweighed the risks. The only way to remove necrotic tissue is surgery and it does need to be removed, otherwise it can be fatal for a pet.

Obviously the second surgery proved to be fatal and again, I'm very sorry.

But they did absolutely nothing wrong according to what you've written. I'm just going to say that good luck suing. As I said, from what you've written there's nothing that was done wrong on their end. Anesthesia is never risk free, especially if the pet has had a problem with anesthesia prior.

I worked for Banfield for almost 6yrs. They notate every single thing, especially when it comes to surgery.

The pre meds given and how much was given, every type of monitoring done, bloodwork, IV catheter (where it was placed, what gauge etc), etc. Every little thing.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1193042

It's says you live in California, this person lives in Florida. While reading through comments I've noticed that this vet office is nationwide. That being the case not all vets will operate the same or always follow the rules.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1216684

Amen Anonymous! That person who supposedly worked for Banfield for 6 years is a liar!

That is an employee of the Mars corporation, yes the candy people, who is paid to Troll the internet and look for negative comments about Banfield and try to make the unhappy consumer look negligent, unintelligent or just plain wrong! I think TROLL is a great name for them!

I bet they don't take their pet to Banfield! And If they do just remember what goes around always comes back around cause karma is a Bit**!

Andrea Ahw

Animals, like humans, can have bad surgical experiences. Any time anesthesia is used there is a risk.

You had to sign papers before the surgery accepting this risk. I am sorry about your dog, but if your dog had a reaction to the sedation, that would have happened no matter who did the surgery.

Guest

I'm surprised at a few comments, especially the comment with regard to the pet owner waiting a week to take her dog back to Banfield. First of all, there can be a great deal of swelling and irritation after a dog is neutered.

I'm sure the owner was told to keep the dog from licking the sutures and keep the incision area clean & dry, and the owner most likely did. As for an infection, it would be very difficult for most pet owners to visually notice an infection unless the owner noticed puss oozing from the incision and it would take 72 hours or longer for an infection oozing puss to be able to be noticed. I would have thought Banfield would have prescribed a pill form antibiotic i.e Amoxi, Cephaloxin for the to be given for at least 10 days after the surgery. In most cases it takes a good 14 days after neutering/spaying for any swelling, redness and irritation to dissipate.

And no doubt the pet owner was told not to be concerned with redness or swelling in the area for the first 10 days after the neutering procedure. So, how was the owner to even know or assume there was an infection?

Guest

Sue them. if they're going to charge such high prices for veterinary care then a veterinary should know what they are doing.

we pay very high prices for animals yet one day you come in and they say they are gone. this is ridiculous this dog should have had all the tests done before his surgery blood tests x-rays whatever is needed to find something unusual before surgery especially since his heart rate drop during the first surgery she should have suggested and documented she suggested that you have other tests regarding this matter to make sure he is a healthy little dog.even if you don't sue or you do it doesn't matter because you won't get your dog back it is a shame that they cannot admit responsibility because that's probably all you want from them is an apology but the day and age is that they cannot admit or apologize for anything any wrongdoing or they are liable.my Rottweiler had cancer and they were so sure that if they removed her leg she would live I agreed and the next day she was gone I was so pissed because she would have had more time.

the only reason I didn't say was because I had insurance but if they had just said here's your money back and we are so sorry we reassured you we thought we could save her but we couldn't I would have continued going to them and they would have had much more business from me and made much more money but because of that I tell people to avoid them and I feel so guilty about my dog even though I know it wasn't my fault I tried to make the best decision based on their education and knowledge and experience. I'm sorry for you for your loss

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1059966

Wow. You are so uneducated it's not even funny.

Yes, the dogs heart rate dropped a little during the neuter. That happens sometimes whether it was the pre anesthetic drug or the anesthesia itself. Nothing a vet did wrong. My own pet stopped breathing as we were extenuating him after his dental.

We got hiM breathing again (thankfully banfield requires IV catheters for all procedures which alot of places don't. So thy had access to his vein right away). It was NOTHING my vets or techs did wrong. My pet had a collapsing trachea.

Pre anesthetic bloodwork should always be done, and it IS required to be done at banfields, but it doesn't always show a problem.

There are always risks to any anesthetic procedure. Again, even if the bloodwork is perfect, that doesn't mean there aren't risks. Nor does it mean it was the vets fault

Banfield documents every little thing. If a pet passes away at the hospital or during anesthesia they are required to do a necropsy.

The infection was obviously really bad if it required surgery. So why did the owner wait a week to take him in?

Why didn't the pet have a cone on to prevent them licking?

Guest

There's always a risk with any surgical procedure that involves the use of drug induced sedation whether human or animal.

I'm sorry for the loss of your beloved pet and if you truly think and can prove your pet passed due to a mistake made by a Doctor while your pet was in their care. You can file a civil suit yourself in your local circuit court without the need of an attorney.

Just make sure you have solid factual proof prior to taking any legal action or you might find yourself being hit with a counter suit.

Guest

Oh my lord. Mm I am sorry to hear about your dog.

Banfield in Royal Palm had me arrested because I was not aware the didn't take payment arrangements after being a customer for 3 years. Told them I would be in Friday to pay balance in full. They told me they were sending me to collections and the next day the police came to my house.

Banfield had me arrested for a $28 tube of ointment that I was going in to pay for on Friday. This place needs to be "SHUT DOWN"

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1011593

Wow. I have been on the search for lawyers to help me with a civil suit.

But in Florida animals have no rights.

I am going to continue working on my original plan to shut it down. Need to think of a different way

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1011593

It is illegal in this country to have someone arrested due to an overdue bill. Not telling the truth here.

Did you write a check?

That was returned by the bank? Only way you could be arrested.

Guest

There are so many small vet clinics ... Staffed by intelligent people with a practical compassion for animals. We don't need Banfield in our community.

Daris Xut

Look up the vets on line.... Some of Banfield's vet have had their license revoked.

Most of their vets went to school outside the US. I took one of my cats there once and swore I would never do that again.

Guest

I belive it I won't trust them

Michelle M Las

Aww. so sorry about your doggie.

Banfield in Deptford, NJ KILLED my 6 year old Pomeranian, Missy on Nov, 25th, 2014. They dont know what they are doing. All they know how to do is rack up charges to bill you for. I hate them so much and am completely devasted that they put her through *** that day by stressing her out, and by robbing us of our time left with her.

We only had her for 6 months, but I couldnt have loved that dog more if I had given birth to her myself. She was a family member to us, not just a replaceable dog. I STILL cry my eyes out every day!

Dont let them get away with what they did to your dog.

Start a website telling your dog's story, then advertise your site all over the place! I started a website for Missy. You can read her whole sad story at banfieldkilledmissy.com

Its getting quite a lot of views. Dont pay any attention to all of the negative comments the Banfield employees write on her.

We all KNOW they are full of ***!

Good luck! I hope you get justice for your dog.

Guest

Farmers neuter cattle without such complications. I would have to agree that the doctor was incompetent.

Guest

Why did you let it get so bad before you took him back?I am sorry but you are partly to blame here I am sure the vet told you what to watch for and if you would have listened you would have brought him back right away and he could have gotten some antibiotics. You would have had to be pretty blind to not see what was happening.That pic was pretty bad so you had to know.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-905484

I took him in right away as fast as i could. They didnt need to put him under sergury.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-922403

You did not bring him in as fast as you could. You waited a WEEK.

You obviously have no clue about veterinary medicine. If an infection is really bad, they DO need to be put under anesthesia. It looks like necrotic (dead) tissue on the sac, which needs to be surgically removed.

You obviously didn't keep a cone on him 24/7.

Im truly sorry for your loss but Nothing about this sounds like vet negligence. What it sounds like is someone looking to blame someone, other than themselves for their pet passing away.

Guest

Unfortunately that is a risk with any surgery, even routine. This would have been stated on the consent forms you signed before the procedure and probably explained to you by a member of staff.

I am a little surprised that the complication on the original surgery site was allowed to get so bad before taking the dog back in, that probably didn't help as he was already weakened from the first surgery, and then also from a progressive infection.

It's very sad, but the fact is there's always a risk of a bad reaction or even death from surgery or medicines, just like in human medicine. This could have happened with any veterinary hospital.

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