Banfield Pet Hospital
Reviews and Complaints

People are so rude!

Yes, I have seen some very unclean Banfield Hospitals, and I wouldn't be surprised if that was the cause!

Fleas will be in a yard if there is wildlife (deer, squirrels, raccoons, etc) around you, duh. To be rude and say they are in this person's home, is absolutely ignorant. And if a pet is infested with them, they can bring them into the home, and they can live in the carpet, furniture, etc for up to 6mo! So I am sure you had quite a hassle to deal with, Meri!

And if your pet is allergic to the flea meds then it can take a year to get rid of them!

Usually if it takes that long to get rid of fleas it is because they are in your house or yard. Not a vet's fault if you don't spray your yard.

The flea stuff they sell isn't magic.

And what were you going to do with the blood results? Read them yourself?

If you wanted to take her somewhere else, you should have. Don't accuse a business of being a thief just because you didn't make a good decision.

If the dog was put under your account and your name, the clinic can only give those records to you. If you knew you were giving the dog to someone else you should have gotten copies of all her records to give to that person. I'm not sure why they couldn't explain that to you but that is most likely the reason that they would not give her the dogs records.

Banfield Pet Hospital is AWFUL! If I can help just one person stay away from them, it is worth it to me!

They don't care about your dog or your cat -- they truly do NOT. Trust me, I found out the hard way.

Your full of ***. Just because the nurse you had acted like she didnt care, doesnt mean anything. *** being ***

I was one of the new managers at Banfield hospital in CA, I can tell you how pushy managment is to bringing more pets in, they honeslty don't care about pets all they see is "$". All the employees are treated as just a number.

Training is horrible and nothing is structured here, please if you are reading this and thinking about applying for this company, go apply at Taco Bell before you apply here. :sigh

I used to work as a Pet Nurse at Banfield and I can explain why this happened. The software system Banfield uses has an exam screen that doctors are supposed to go through to mark abnormalities or concerns with the pet.

For instance, if a pet is having diarrhea, it should be marked by the doctor in the exam screen. However, the doctors at Banfield tend to be negligent and lazy and make the rest of the staff go through exam screens. Half the doctors I worked with never even touched the exam screens so it was up to me to make sure everything was correct.

Being a pet nurse can be overwhelming and I admit I made mistakes when marking the exam screens. It is supposed to be the doctors job anyways.

@Anonymous,

We hope your dog is doing well now. We'd actually like to help you directly.

If you call our Client Advocate Team, we can discuss what happened with you and obviously help where we can. Thank you and, again, hope you and your dog are doing well.

I agree with the class action suit! That is the only way to get through to them. Unless the Banfield works directly in accordance to headquarters, they will tend to give you the run around. Privately owned franchises do what they want, and I speak from experience.

I had a dog that I was signing up on a "Puppy Plan", but since she was over 6mo they decided to put her on an adult plan, without my knowledge! So, when it came time to spay her, we brought her in (which they had been saying was included in the plan every time it was mentioned) and they wanted us to sign the "predicted fee", which came to over $600! Absolutely absurd! A regular vet doesn't charge that much, nor does a shelter! So we decided not to go through with the procedure there.

We called up headquarters (and that was when they explained to us my previously mentioned statement regarding privately owned franchises) and because they were so dishonest, they agreed to transfer us to another location, waive 2 months of her plan fee (to rectify us having to pay $90 elsewhere for her spay!) And now we're at a good place!

I hope everything works out with your dog! And I would definitely call their headquarters and let them know what is going on!

Nice of you to let them correct thier mistake - hope everything turns out okay for your dog

They tried to save your pet because you couldn't afford it and you're mad at THEM?

They used their own time and money to try and fix your dog.. and maybe try to find a home for him that could afford to keep him healthy..

and youre mad at THEM?

I am sorry about your loss, but looks like you are blaming the wrong people. Look in a mirror.

Cata,

I am so sorry for the loss of your chihuahua. I know how hard it is to lose a member of your family, so my thoughts are with you.

On behalf of Banfield, I would like to refer you to the Client Advocate Team. This team will discuss what happened with you and help understand the situation better.

I hope you are doing well during this difficult time.

I'm very sorry to hear about your baby. I have to commend you though on giving him a chance and surrendering him.

I'm sorry they won't give you the details about what happened, but just know that you really did give him a chance. It's a hard thing realizing that your pet is so sick and it's not withing your means financially to fix him. However, you did what many people wouldn't. I work in a veterinary hospital, and unfortunately there have been situations where a client couldn't afford the care needed for their pet and when offered the chance of relinquishing their pet so that it could be provided with the appropriate care the clients adamantly declined this.

In most cases the pet was either euthanized later or passed away at home. However, in cases where the pet was given to us we always try to keep the previous owner aware of the condition of the pet up until the point that the pet is adopted. Most vets realize that this is a hard decision to make and is only done so that the pet will have a chance for a full and happy life.

Once the pet goes to its new home their is client confidentiality, but until then I don't see why the hospital couldn't keep you aware of your pets progress. Best of luck to you and thank you again for trying.

I am very sorry for your loss that is very sad and very much NOT banfield's fault.

I'm very sorry for your loss, but something doesn't add up here. Are you implying that your pet had a reaction to the flea medication?

Or some other drug? And if your pet did have a reaction, why are you saying that it is the doctor's fault? It seems to me that there could have been many reasons why your pet got sick, especially if it happened "after awhile." I have brought my pets to this hospital for years and the doctors and staff have always been fantastic.

Very competent and very compassionate. While I'm sure this was a traumatic situation one has to wonder why you are blaming the doctor and so anxious to be paid.

I am so sorry for your loss, reading this brought tears to my eyes, I pray you'll have some peace knowing your dog is in a better place now.

Anonymous,

I am very sorry that you had to lose such a close member of your family and hope you and your family are recovering well.

The accusations you refer to are taken very seriously by Banfield, and we would like the opportunity to discuss your experience with you. If you are comfortable calling us, you can reach our Client Advocate Team by calling 877-500-2288.

Thank you, and sorry again for your loss.

I'm very sorry for your loss...

while the story was very moving could you please give more information (what was the medication and what was said between the two of you)

Thanks

If it was just gastroenteritis or anorexia then the meds and supportive therapy at home would be all that was needed. However, if there was hidden disease process, than treatment would possibly help but not cure the underlying condition.

The disease could have been aggressive and prolonging additional treatment might have lead to a more serious prognosis. Bloodwork is the first step usually in finding out what is going on inside the body. On physical exam you cannot view the organs and cavities. A CBC and chem panel can give us an idea, urinalysis and xrays if needed.

This is what you PCP would do for you.

The doctor was offering the best diagnostic care available to reach for a timely and accurate treatment. As for your daughter, death is not a dirty word.

Glad that your cat recovered from her issue with a simple treatment of antibiotic. However, it doesn't seem like the vet did anything wrong. Sounds like she was following standard of care. Your cat was ill and no obvious reason for it. Options would be conservative (just treating with medications, which you opted for) or advanced recommended care (bloodwork, xrays).

I'm sorry that you and your daughter were upset by the doctors possible reasons for your cats illness, but I think they would have been negligent in not telling you all the possible reasons/outcomes of your cats illness.

Your doctor shouldn't be chastised for recommending bloodwork. Who knows what could have been the reason for his illness. You lucked out at this point because he seems to be feeling better, but you don't know why he felt sick and without proper diagnostics you won't. Hopefully it was a simple gastrointestinal problem, but it could be much more than that.

If your cat suddenly takes a turn for the worst, don't blame the doctors that recommended the diagnostics that you declined.

best of luck