Banfield Pet Hospital
Reviews and Complaints

Banfield in Watchung NJ acted negligently in the care of my dog. The Doctor and staff departed from the conduct expected of a reasonably prudent person acting under similar circumstances. They misdiagnosed, mistreated, and mishandled my pet. Sending me away with over a hundred dollars in charges (above and beyond my wellness plan coverage) without treating my pet at all. I carried a sick animal, bleeding profusely all over himself and me out of Banfield and out of Petsmart without anyone seeming to notice. I took him to a private vet and found that with an infection, two open sores and a fever of over 105º he was near death.in fact the private vet wondered how he was still with us. Recently, after many calls to Banfield's customer advocacy team [protected] I was contacted by the NEW manager of the Watchung location. She was very pleasant and like everyone else I talked to she seemed sympathetic. She told me that there were so many problems/complaints about that location that corporate stepped in a took it over. I suppose they could see the negligence lawsuits coming and were trying to head them off.

Silly me, I thought I would give it one more try and went back to the original Banfield I had been with in Bridgewater NJ. I went after the infection/sores had healed and that was no longer a problem. My visit was a simple question of whether or not my dog had an eye infection. The Doctor who I liked up until this point was very brisk. She told me this had to be fast because she needed to pick her kid up from school. I asked about the eye and WITHOUT examining my dog or doing any tests she said ok its infected and told the tech to give me some drops. He came in and handed me a small container of drops and said that was going to cost over $40. I asked if that took into account my wellness discount. He confirmed it did. He then told me that it was the same medicine used by humans with pink eye and I could go to my neighborhood pharmacy to get it with a prescription from the Doctor. I called from the exam room and my pharmacist told me the drops would be $11. I asked if Banfield would match that price or at least lower their price some. No, we don't do that was the answer. I asked for the prescription so I could take it to the pharmacy. The tech said it would be no problem but the Doctor had already left and he would have it ready and waiting tomorrow morning. I didn't want to wait but since the Doctor didn't seem concerned about my dogs eye I figured a few hours wouldn't make a difference. I went to pick up the prescription and was told there would be a $15 fee for the Doctor to write one. I asked the woman at the front desk about the charge and she said very plainly that they make a lot of profit off the meds and if they can't sell me something they stock they loose money so charging for prescriptions is how they make up the difference. I had never heard of this and thought it very unfair. I told her to forget it and took my dog back to the private vet that very day.

The private vet did a few tests, looked at his eyes closely and then prescribed a completely different eye drop. She explained what was going on with his eyes and why she chose that particular medicine. I asked at that point if the medicine that the Banfield Doctor wanted to give me would have been effective. She said that in her professional opinion it was not the appropriate medicine for the problem. I prepared myself for another expensive eye drop but found to my delight that her price was very fair. How did I know that? I sat right there in the exam room and googled it on my smart phone. She was in line with most online pharmacies. She saw me looking up the prescription cost and asked if I would rather have a written prescription to take to my pharmacy. I said no I would take the drops from her. I did ask how much she charged for the service of getting a written prescription and she looked at me like I had two heads. She said she doesn't charge anything and she had never heard of a doctor that did charge.

It was at that moment that I realized I couldn't trust my pet to any of the Banfield pet hospitals and would switch to this private vet. I called the customer service center and asked to end my Wellness coverage. I was told that would be fine and I owed over $400, how would I like to pay. What? I have to pay to cancel? They explained that even though I had originally signed up for the plan in July (2004?) I had been switched to a higher cost plan in December so my dogs blood work would be covered. And since they had done hundreds of dollars of work on my pet since then I would have to pay the difference. I said I never saw the blood-work and more importantly the charges that they were asking me to pay were for negligent treatment of my pet. I explained in detail what had transpired and I establish that the failure of the Banfield Pet Hospital and its Doctors to act as reasonable medical professionals, not only didn't help my dog but actually caused him injury.

I graciously requested that I would like to cancel my wellness plan without penalty and in return I would not pursue reimbursement for all the private vet costs that I incurred correcting the mistakes that were made by Banfield. I received no response except that the request would be addressed and if nothing happens in three days it would be moved up to a higher level person. So ever week or so I'd call and they would say "Oh no one called? We'll move the complaint up to the next level." Now it's been over a month and I called today only to be told that my case had been closed due to non-response on my part. I told them that I had been waiting for them to get back to me with their "higher level person". They reinstated the case and now I'm back to waiting.in the meantime I am getting Banfield Wellness Plan bills and I'm sure the next thing will be collections. I am very frustrated and the next step will have to be getting some legal advice.
The photos are after a couple days of healing

I took my dog Kuki to Banfield pet hospital to get one of her teeth cleaned. I dropped her off at 8am and expected to bring her back in a couple of hours. Around 11am I received a call saying that Kuki had gone into cardiac arrest for 10 minutes after receiving an anesthetic shot and then went into a coma. They said they didn't know what caused her to go into a coma and Kuki was transferred to a larger, better organized, pet hospital.

She was in a coma for about one day and passed away on 1/19/2012. After Kuki passed away my family and I received a message from them saying that she had a heart disease and gave an under-dose of an anesthetic. Before she was murdered, Banfield said that she perfectly healthy. Also, they refused to pay the $1500+ hospital fee that they caused. Kuki was only 3.5 years old when she was murdered and could have lived much longer had Banfield of been more careful and cautious in there procedures.

TO ALL READERS, DON'T GO TO BANFIELD! THEY WILL COERCE YOU INTO BELIEVING THEY ARE THE BEST AND CARE ABOUT YOUR PET. THEY DON'T! THEY ONLY WANT TO EARN MONEY AND THEY DO NOT CARE WHETHER YOUR PET LIVES OR DIES UNDER THEIR CARE!
Additional information: The doctor that Kuki was treated by is Dr. Waters. On Rochester Rd.in Rochester, Michigan.

I made an appointment for cat neuter and set it up as tentative without telling me. I got no call the day before his surgery so called the local number from 7-8 AM that day. The pet hospital told me I had to call the 800 phone number that was on my receipt (that was 3 months ago) and that pressing 7 when calling Petsmart doesn't work until the store opened (I guess the answering machine should tell the caller that), They hadn't called as the appointment was tentative and they said they would get him in as long as I was there. The manager was unapologenic and acted like I was stupid. My local vets will get my business from now on. Amateur business and not customer service oriented.

On 6 Dec 2011 I sent the following letter to Banfield's corporate office. To date, I have not received a response.
Below is my letter:
I am writing to express my extreme dissatisfaction with the treatment received at your Parker, Colorado location.

My cats Neko-San and Charlie have been enrolled in your Optimum Wellness Plan since March 2010. On 21 November 2011 at approximately 7:10 AM I delivered them to the Banfield location in Parker, Colorado for a health checkup and annual dental cleaning. I signed the usual treatment consent forms, and a separate form regarding their dental cleanings. I authorized extractions up to $ 50 per cat. I inquired as to the cost of an extraction and was advised by the receptionist that it would be between $ 10 and $ 20 per tooth.
At approximately 1 PM I received a phone call from Dr. Laraio. He told me that Neko would require 11 extractions, and that the cost would be in the $ 1, 000 range, plus about $ 300 – 400 for medications. I did not authorize the procedure for several reasons. Neko is 13 years old, and I feared that losing 11 teeth would not only cause him severe pain, but would also adversely affect his quality of life. Less than two hours later, I received a second phone call from Dr. Laraio advising me that Charlie needed between 3 and 5 extractions. Again, I did not authorize the procedure. As a retired senior on a limited income, I can ill afford to spend close to $ 2000 on pet care, in addition to monthly wellness plan premiums of $ 62.90.
I picked the cats up from Banfield shortly after 4:30 pm. Both appeared a little drowsy. The necessity of the extractions was again emphasized by Dr. Laraio and a vet tech. I was not informed of any other potential health problems.
I telephoned my previous veterinarian who retired several years ago and discussed the the cats’ dental health with him. He referred me to his family’s veterinarian whom I consulted on 26 November 2011. I had downloaded the lab test results and treatment history of both cats from the Banfield website. After examining the cats and the lab results, he told me that he saw no reason or need for the extreme procedures recommended by Dr. Laraio.
I no longer have any confidence in the Banfield staff and will not return there for my cats’ care. I request that the cats’ Wellness Plans be terminated effective at the end of November 2011. I will share my experience with my friends and advise them to consider alternatives to Banfield.

Sofie was one and a half years old when we began taking her to Banfield Pet Hospital in Bel Air Maryland. We purchased a preventative healthcare plan for Sofie that included two complete blood work panels and one urinalysis per year among other things such as fecal exams and vaccinations. Banfield provides these plans in order to catch any illnesses the dog may come down with in the early stages of development.

Sofie’s first comprehensive appointment was on 4/20/2009 and she was seen by Dr. Jill McLaughlin. At this appointment Sofie was given a blood test as part of the plan. Upon picking Sofie up from her appointment, Sofie was brought out to me by Dr. McLaughlin and I was told that she everything was fine with her. I expected this news because Sofie seemed to be a relatively healthy dog and was only going there for a check up, not because she was sick. Sofie was taken back to the vet for a dental cleaning 7/7/2009 and was seen again by Dr. McLaughlin. At this appointment Sofie had another blood work panel run as well as a urinalysis. When I picked Sofie up from her appointment, I was told again that everything was ok with her.in May, Sofie was taken to the vets to get the Lyme vaccine and no blood work was performed at that time.in October, Sofie was taken to the vets for a routine comprehensive exam and did not have any blood work or urinalysis performed during that visit because all of the tests from the plan had been used between April and July.

Sofie’s next round of blood work and urinalysis occurred on 4/28/10 and she was seen by Dr. McLaughlin. When I picked Sofie up from her appointment I was told as always that she looked great and everything was fine. Sofie had her second round of blood work that year 11/1/10 and she was seen by Dr. Jessica McGallidner. When Sofie was given back to me I was told everything was ok, however, when I got home and looked at the summary report that is typically given to me when I leave the appointments, there was a comment about Sofie’s “kidney enyzems” and that Sofie was slightly dehydrated that day. I assumed this could be possible since she never was a big drinker and since no one ever commented about her blood work before, I figured I didn’t have anything to worry about.

Sofie’s next round of blood work was on 4/30/11 when she was taken in for a dental cleaning. This time Sofie was seen by Dr. Sheri Sprague. I received a phone call from Dr. Sprague stating that Sofie’s BUN’s (blood urea nitrogen, kidney enzyme) was quite high which alarmed her. Thinking that Sofie may be dehydrated and that could be causing the elevated results, Dr. Sprague administered fluids to Sofie and repeated the blood test. Her BUN’s had come down a bit after the fluids but they were still out of range high. Since by this time Sofie was only 3 years old, this caused Dr. Sprague to investigate further. When I went in to pick Sofie up, Dr. Sprague sat me down and stated that after looking through Sofie’s blood work history, she has had elevated BUN’s for 2 years, while her CREA’s (creatinine, another kidney enzyme) had steadily been increasing and though they were in range, they were at the upper end. Dr. Sprague wanted to put Sofie on a low protein diet immediately and have her blood tested again to see if that brought down the values.

Sofie was restricted to this prescription Hill’s K/D low protein diet immediately.in the meantime I requested that I receive copies of all of Sofie’s medical history from Banfield because whenever you pick up a pet from this hospital, they send you home with a summary of things performed that day but they do not give you the specific lab work results. When I got home and analyzed the blood work and urinalysis’ I was horrified at what I saw. Sofie’s BUN’s had been out of range high since 4/20/2009, never falling within the normal range limits and her CREA were steadily increasing with each test. Her urinalysis had also shown abnormalities and should have raised red flags that something may be wrong but again, nothing was ever said to me when I picked her up from these appointments nor was anything written on the summary papers that I went home with. I called Dr. McLaughlin because she was the one who saw Sofie the most whenever she had her blood tests and urinalysis’ performed and asked her why this was ignored. I was very upset because I know what elevated BUN’s and CREA’s mean; it means an issue with the kidneys, and kidney damage can not be reversed. Dr. McLaughlin’s response to me was that I shouldn’t look at a dogs blood work the same way as I would look at a humans blood work and she did not seem at all concerned, meanwhile I had Dr. Sprague telling me that I should be very concerned for Sofie!

After Sofie had been on the special low protein diet, we had her blood retested by Dr. Sprauge on 7/28/2011. Her BUN and CREA were now both out of range high and I followed Dr. Sprague’s advice and took Sofie to see an internal medicine vet. I took Sofie to see Dr. Meredith Miller at the VCA in Newark Delaware. Dr. Miller had gone through all of Sofie’s medical history form Banfield and diagnosed her as having chronic kidney disease. Dr. Miller also ran her own blood work, urinalysis, urine protein/creatinine ratio test and a urine culture. Sofie’s blood work still showed elevated BUN and CREA values, her urinalysis was negative for bacteria, and her urine protein/creatinine ratio value was an 8 (normal is 0.5, cause for concern is 1). Because of the enormous amount of protein going through Sofie’s kidneys, Sofie was prescribed medications and was on them for 10 weeks. Sofie’s blood work after the medication was worse than ever and Dr. Miller suggested that we put her on subcutaneous fluid treatments. Before I could make my appointment with Sofie to learn how to do the fluid treatments at home, Sofie started to act sick on Thursday December 22. I was very alarmed and took her right in to see Dr. Miller. We started the fluid treatment everyday but Sofie did not improve, she only got worse. Sofie was sleeping most of the day beginning Thursday December 22, she stopped eating, and she could not drink. My husband and I tried feeding Sofie and giving her water through an oral syringe to buy us time to allow the fluids to start working and flush out Sofie’s system of the toxins that were building up from her failing kidneys. Sofie vomited everything that we tried to give her. On Monday December 26, Sofie woke up from a nap and started acting very strange. She was flicking her tongue in and out of her mouth violently and rubbing her face in her paws while doing so. When I looked at her tongue, it was turning black and was ulcerated which is why she couldn’t drink the water she so desperately wanted. By this day, Sofie could barely keep her eyes open and when she did wake up, she would slowly walk with a hunched back over to the water bowl and try to drink but because of her tongue she couldn’t drink the water she so desperately wanted. We discovered that a blackening tongue is a sign of uremia which is the build up of waste in the blood caused by the kidneys shutting down very quickly. Sofie had also been losing weight and large amounts of fur due to her not eating. We decided that Sofie did not deserve to suffer another day in pain, misery, and thirst. We had to put our beloved Sofie to sleep that evening. She was only 4 years and one month old.

Below (and attached) is a summary of the neglected blood tests and urinalysis results that were obtained by Dr. McLaughlin over the past 2 years and never mentioned to me when I picked Sofie up from her appointments:

Blood work done on Sofie at the VCA in Newark DE 2/13/2009:
BUN 23mg/dL (normal reference range set at 6-25mg/dL)
CREA 0.8mg/dL (normal reference range set at 0.5-1.6mg/dL)

Blood work history from Banfield:

BUN normal reference range set at 7.0-27.0mg/dL
CREA normal reference range set at 0.5-1.8mg/dL

4/20/09 BUN 43mg/dL, CREA 0.9mg/dL (nothing was said about high BUN)

7/7/09 BUN 56mg/dL, CREA 0.9mg/dL, urinalysis showed protein in the urine with a value of 300 (range 0.0-30.0), urine appearance was abnormal, comments were that the urine was cloudy, urine was positive for white blood cells, urine was positive for epithelial cells with the comments of debris in urine, urine bacteria was positive with the comments of few cocci. (nothing was said about high BUN or abnormal urinalysis results)

4/28/10 BUN 79mg/dL, CREA 1.3mg/dL, urinalysis showed protein in the urine with a value of 100 9range 0.0-30.0), pH was 8 9range 5.0-7.5), urine positive for white blood cells, urine positive for crystals. (nothing was said about high BUN or abnormal urinalysis results, or the increase in CREA from 0.9 to 1.3)

11/1/10 BUN 73mg/dL, CREA 1.3mg/dL (a note was written on summary sheet about Sofie being slightly dehydrated by McGallidner but no cause for concern noted).

4/30/11 BUN 67mg/dL, CREA 1.8mg/dL (finally, Dr. Sprague noticed the trend and history and brought it to my attention).

It wasn’t until 2 years later that we were told that Sofie’s blood work was indicating that she had a possible issue with her kidneys. With Sofie’s BUN’s constantly being out of range high for 2 years, I just can not understand why someone didn’t take notice for 2 years. Whenever a kidney issue is suspected, the first course of action is typically to start the dog on a low protein diet because a diet high in protein can aggravate an already present genetic issue with an animals’ kidneys. I can not help but wonder that I might have had a chance at slowing the progression of Sofie’s kidney disease had someone been paying attention to the fact that her BUN’s were high, and that her CREA, although still within normal limits, were steadily climbing. I might still have Sofie here with me today had I been given the opportunity to change her diet 2 years ago when her blood work was clearly indicating that something was going on with her kidneys even though she herself was not symptomatic until the end stages

I brought my five month old, 6 lb Maltese to the Banfield Hospital in Petsmart for the first time on Nov. 30th, 2011. My puppy had an ear infection previously so she is wiggly when you try to look at her ears. The "nurse” held her forcibly but did not hurt her to do so. But when the vet came in, alone, (Leonard A Candela DVM) he said" I heard this was a tough one” and grabbed her by her scruff and with his other hand he struggled with her to hold her down on the table, she resisted of course and he got rougher and she started to yelp and pee on the table, all the while he was saying "I will win”. My 8 year old daughter was witnessing this and she started to cry. I grabbed the puppy and said “you are not taking care of my dog!” and got out of there, he followed me out yelling that my PUPPY needs obedience training, and that I better pay the bill. When I told him he was abusive, he told me to get out of the store! I shopped at Petsmart for al my dogs needs but if they allow this I cant ever shop there again.

Warning! Don't ever take your pets to Banfield, The Pet Hospital located inside Petsmart. Do Not sign up for their Optimum Wellness Plan

After having a problem with our 7 year old cat on a Sunday morning we found that the Banfield pet hospital was open and saw the vet there within 30mins of calling the store. She (Dr. Long) was lovely and treated our cat, put our minds at rest and sent us home happy and we had an appointment for a follow up check a week later. Again we saw Dr Long, she gave our cat another check over and suggested we took out the health plan which we did, our cat was vaccinated given his rabies shots and we came away very satisfied with the overall cost.
Unfortunately, several weeks later our cat had the same problem again, we called straight away as we knew the quicker we got him treated the better, but we were told that there were no appointments available until the next evening by a very stroppy receptionist who was not a bit interested. When we also asked to see the same vet we were also told that she was not there anymore, that she was at another hospital! Eventually we did see another vet but did not have the same happy experience. After over four hours of checking over our cat and doing tests they came to the same conclusion as the previous time and our bill was astronomical! We are upset to say the least!
Why can't we see the same vet each time? It is important that you and your pet trust and feel happy also that a relationship developes between the pet owners and their vet. Please Banfield do something about this and keep US and OUR PETS HAPPY!

It appears that Banfield likes lying to callers that they will get back to them within 48 hours with how something was handled and through my investigation of complaints with this not being so most of the time I told them until they got back with me I would continue to post this until they did so and I guess they don't believe me or don't care.

I called your customer advocate # and spoke with a fellow named Dwayne. My report to him is as follows. My wife and I approached your pet desk at the Florence Kentucky Petsmart location on Sept 3, 2011 for information on a surgery for both our cats. The 2 girls working at the desk were only somewhat knowledgable about one thing. Just attempting to shove a wellness program down our throats. They sure didn't have any answers to our questions. I assume this is what you train them to do more than be knowledgable about your services. We set an appointment to come in on the 8th to have our cat's bloodwork done and a LASER declaw. You noticed I Capitalized Laser. The girls at the desk did not know what the vets would do on Wednesday for sure. We arrived at 8:13 am for our 9:00 appointment and called inside to make them aware that we were in the parking lot; due to traffic we arrived early but since they were opening the doors for drop offs we had assumed they might let us sit inside instead of in the car. They said they opened at 9:00; that was another uncaring flag for me. We made our 9:00 appointment at the front desk and were met by one of the original unknowledgable girls we'd spoken with before. Her first respones when she saw our appointment was, "you're here for a declaw and the wellness program." I told her no we are not. We are here to speak with a Vet before we do anything. The cats were weighed and we were placed in a waiting room the size of miniature bathroom, as one had to stand for lack of seating for more than one. At this point another lady came in and took our adoption shot and vaccine information to the back and later returned to ask us if we were joining the wellness program. Must be some bonus for who gets you to sign up for this program. I said no. We want to speak with a Vet before we make any decisions. Well, in comes the Female Vet with the last name of Lambert. She informed us that "the Surgery was actually not Laser but similiar. We use a form of vibrations and waves." I ask why the paperwork specifically states it is laser surgery and that an additional charge of $55.00 per cat is added for the Laser surgery. She stated that is was similiar. The next reply was that the had had a Laser machine, but it had broken down. They'd replaced it with a similar machine, which was not a laser machine. I think, DO WHAT? What an ignorant response. My wife asked, what about the pain of this surgery compared to Laser. Lambert's reply was that with all the declawing surgeries the pain is about the same. I looked at her and told her that was not true.in our opinion based on what we read on Laser surgery in prior investigation she told us a bare face lie just to get our money. I told her I was taking our 2 cats and leaving. I also told the young lady at the desk on the way out you do not even offer Laser surgery here. Dwayne said he would be looking into this at that location and would let me know what they did. I have heard nothing at this point and don't really expect to hear from him, as I have read the public forums complaints on the internet about your company and see that most don't get anywhere with anything. If I had it to do over again I should have signed the paper, let them do the Laser surgery that is not really laser but similiar, and then followed it up with 2 lawsuits, one for each Cat. I am copying this message and saving it to post on every comment board I can find unless I hear from your company on how this has been handled. We have been to numerous Vets and animal hospitals over the past 30 years and have never met with any as unknowledgable regarding office work or a Vet that has lied to us.

I called prior to my appointment to verify the cost of certain vaccinations I wanted to purchase for my two pugs. Bordetella, rabies, ect. Once I arrived for the appointment, we waited 40 minutes to be seen. Once in the exam room, I reviewed with the veterinary staff the purpose of the appointment; wanting certain vaccinations. They requested I leave the dogs with them for a time period. I agreed, but regretted doing so ever since. My appointment was at 1030 am, I was notified to pick up the pugs at 3pm. Upon my return at 430pm they presented me with a bill for $1, 700, but stated I could join their membership for $40.00 a month to avoid the outrageous onetime fee. I reluctantly took the documents home to consider what I should do. Please know there were several various sales pitches throughout the appointment for intensive procedures such as dental care and blood work for the creation of an allergy enzyme! (All this during a period of time in which I did not have healthcare, another story) About one week later I returned with the pugs for a booster to witness staff wipe urine up off the floor with a paper towel, (without spraying the area down). They did not wash their hands, and then proceeded to ask me if I wanted something to drink. I witnessed two staff members absorb urine off of the floor with a paper towel, without the use of any sterilization. My dogs, among others were walking all over that floor-picking up the bacteria from unpicked up urine. Should you choose to get healthcare services through Banfield be prepared to be a lifelong member, have appointments last the entire day, be the recipient of several sales pitches, and expose yourself and your dogs to an unclean environment.

I got the advatisment by US mail that is saying free consaltation. I took my 10ys Dog for check up also I had something worry about my dog's paw.
They starts recomended for Wellness Plan and give me the all fee will be about $500-. I though that is too much and she said that is why the plan is better. I had to rush to go work she said I can leave my dog. So I said OK I will join the plan. But when I picked up my dog they don't give to me him and I had to pay Totla almost $600 and I have to keep payment $28.95 for 12 month. That is really over price and scam. I did not get any free consaltation I got 10% off Total $279.70- stupit medicines, sprays. I will try to cancel menmber and I don't want pay this bill. Please give me the good answer!

My daughter took our cat in because she was vomiting and losing weight. They did blood work and said she was fine. She gradually got worse and when I took her to another vet she was diagnosed with cancer. They said it was inoperable and she had to be put down. We feel if they had caught it when they saw her, she could have been saved.
Also she was given 5 vaccinations at once and was sick for a week. She was never the same after that. Then she slowly got sicker and sicker and had to be put down.

Went in for a comp exam and when I showed up my pet was not scheduled. 2 women came out to help one was in training nad the other woman I had never seen there before was looking at the computer. The ususal girl that is there walked by me and would not help. The 2 women went back to the hospital and something happened that the training girl left and told us that someone would be out to help us and apologized for the inconvenience. the woman left! I have seen a lot of drama in that place and not sure I will be coming back.

I had the most bizarre, offensive customer-service experience of my life at my local Banfield. I am almost 60 years old, so that is saying something.

The vet saw one of my pets, prescribed meds, and we went home. The pet died almost immediately, before I had a chance to use the meds. I called and asked if I could return them. They said no, use them for another of your pets, and besides, your pet was under warranty, so just get a new one.

I was disgusted by their cavalier attitude and complained to the corporate office. The corporate office instructed the Banfield office to give me a refund. The manager called me, apologized, and refunded my money in full. I was impressed with her kindness, and I decided I wanted to keep taking my other pets to Banfield.

About a month later, I called inquiring for some prescription refills for other pets. I was told they were back-ordered. Every time I called, the meds were unavailable. I would leave messages, but nobody ever called me back. This went on for several weeks.

About six weeks after I first called about the meds, I received a fat, plain white envelope from the postman by Certified Mail. I couldn't imagine who it was from, there was no return address. When I opened it, I was shocked to find it was my pets' records, with a letter from Banfield, basically telling me to get lost.

I called the corporate office again. I wanted to tell them that I understood that they no longer wanted me as a customer, which was fine, but that they did not have to resort to these childish methods, lying to me, pretending they were going to call me back, then ambushing me with a letter in a plain white envelope — were they afraid I would not sign for it if they put their return address on it? It was like some stupid playground game concocted by 9-year-olds.

I was told that the District Manager had APPROVED the letter and APPROVED the method used to send me the kiss-off letter, and that nobody would be calling me back.

I posted about this on another board and was mocked for it.

Having had time to think about it, I still think their behavior is outrageous and unprofessional. If this is how MANAGEMENT acts, what can you expect from the front-office people?

My dog has hot spots, unfortunately it is a problem some Golden Retrievers have. I had taken my dog to Banfield for years and have been on their wellness program paying for 2 dogs monthly. I went on vacation to Wisconsin and my dog got a hot spot. I called the vets in Algonquin and they are closed until they find a new vet for that location. They refered me to the one in Crystal Lake. I called and they had problems giving me the name of the product they prescribed. (I have it at home on my shelf - I didn't bring it with me because I forgot it) They told me to go get a triple antibiotic ointment and apply it to the area. It got worse! The vet is out sick today and I asked when the vet returns to call me. She said she wasn't sure when the vet would be back in because they are really sick. I am sorry the vet is sick. I am paying 21.95 per month and when I need their assistance they offer me nothing. It is a waste of money to use the Wellness program in our area. The Algonquin store can not keep a vet on staff and the Crystal Lake office doesn't want to help the Algonquin office patients. I thought I would let everyone know what I am going through with this situation. I would have NO DOUBT that this is not an uncommon problem between these 2 stores and the type of service they are offering!

I was told to call and make an appointment at this banfield because they do international health certificates when you travel with your pet so I called and asked when I should make an appointment if we are going to be traveling in August. The women on the phone told me I should make my appointment for as soon as possible. So I made an appointment. They called the day before to confirm and I asked if they could find out if the certificate would expire. The women on the phone has no clue and said she would ask the doctor but he was busy. I asked her if she could call me back and let me know... she never did.. By the time I realized she hadn't called me back they were closed. I went there the next morning on my way to work to drop my dog off and asked the women about the certificate expiring.. she said "oh ya.. it expires in 10 days so I would get in the week before you go to Canada... sorry." WHAT THE HECK.. Why couldn't they have told me that when I had called the 3 previous times. Idiots. I was so mad I had to drive all the way back home to drop off my dog and they drive to work. They do not communicate well there.. All the women had to do was ask a coworker and actually call me back. I pay for a monthly plan and every time I go into a banfield I wait forever and they don't give a crap about you. I think I deserve some better customer service. Never going back.

I recently brought my puppy to banfield and signed up for the puppy program. I was never told any details about the plan other than what was in the brochure. I ended up not keeping the puppy and went back to un enroll and get my $139 sign up fee back. I was told to call corporate. Corporate told me I couldn't have my sign up fee back and on top of it I was going to be charged another $111 for the full retail price of the services because I had missed the cut off by 3 days!

I left a message for a supervisor who never called me back! Nothing was explained to me before I gave them my ATM information and I didn't receive the packet of information explaining these rules until after I had actually signed up and given them my banking information. I don't mind paying for the services that were used but to keep the sign up fee and then charge me full retail after keeping the sign up fee is totally wrong.

Took my Greyhound there because I suspected ringworm. My usual vet didn't have any appts available that day which is why I ended up there. Let me just say the receptionists are super friendly and helpful. When we were taken into the exam room, my husband and I first noticed the room was not clean like we are used to from our typical vet. To be honest, I was disgusted. The nurse had a major attitude problem which I most certainly did not appreciate. I spoke with several other vets that day (because I called many trying to find a location with an available appt for that day) and they all told me what type of testing would be done on our dog to test for ringworm however, Banfield did not do those tests at all. They did two other tests which were quite pricey and one of which took two weeks for results. Nearly three weeks later, after still not having test results from them, I called and they told me they didn't know anything but more than likely it was ringworm. What a joke! I wasted my time and when they took my dog for the tests, I could hear her yelping and whining in the back. They told us she would be back in ten minutes, then they left my husband and I sitting for thirty minutes! When the nurse came back she took us up front and had us pay before giving us back our dog! Also, on the phone they told me they accepted care credit however, when I tried to use it, the receptionist said there was a $250.00 minimum. This place is dirty and the nurse and doctor who took care of us or rather didn't take care of us were no help and not friendly. I wouldn't take me dog back there if it were the last vet on earth! Also, they said they were Greyhound knowledgable but in fact... They are not!