For starters, I have been taking my dog here for years & although the service quality tends to vary with each visit, I have had no major complaints up until this point.
For about a week or so, my Po... Read More
For starters, I have been taking my dog here for years & although the service quality tends to vary with each visit, I have had no major complaints up until this point.
For about a week or so, my Pomeranian has been struggling to walk or put any weight on her front leg. She's been tilting her head to the side and wining more frequently than usual - as a 15 year old, this is not entirely uncommon. However, I scheduled an appointment with the Vet just to get it checked out.
I dropped my dog off at Banfield at 7:30 am and advised that I would be back to pick her up around 5:15 pm. Around 5:00 pm when I was getting ready to head that way, I decided to call Banfield as I had not yet received a call regarding the status of my pet. At that time, they advised the Vet had not yet had an opportunity to see her and she would likely be completed around 6:00 pm.
I continued to wait & around 6:30, when I had still not received a call regarding my pet, I called back & they advised that the vet had STILL not seen my pet. I asked them if they had fed my dog at all since they had her kenneled for 11 hours at that point to which they responded 'No'.
That was when I told the receptionist that I would be heading that way to receive my dog.
When I got to Banfield about 15-20 minutes later, they appeared to be very busy so I was slightly less frustrated by the entire situation - although I do think that a Pet Hospital should know to feed a pet that they have had the entire day..
After about 30 minutes of waiting there, I finally got an opportunity to speak with the vet, who didn't even go look at my dog until I was already there. She can't have been with my pet for more than 5 minutes & when she came out, she advised that she couldn't find anything wrong with her legs. I asked if she had found any issues with her neck since she had been tilting it frequently to which the Vet responded 'That's a good idea! I'll go check'. She disappeared for about 1 minute and came back and declared that she had found nothing wrong with her neck either. (Keep in mind, the service I was paying for was for her to check my dog to attempt to identify the cause of the pain in her leg & her neck!)
She then stated that she would prescribe my pet to some pain medication that they store in the back & they would return shortly. When she returned she handed me the pills & told me to have a good day. I asked how many I should give her - last time I received pain meds for my 6 pound dog, they quartered the pills & told me only to give her 1-2 a day. 'Oh, they quarter them?' she said and then proceeded to break the pills up on the front desk counter - failing miserably at it, I might add. She even had to ask one of the receptionists to assist her. The receptionist seemed to be just as appalled as I was that this 'doctor' was breaking up medication on a common surface that was likely not cleaned the entire day!
I am not typically a person to write negative reviews, however, I was so put off by this experience that I will now be looking for a superior alternative. I do not recommend this location for anyone who values professionalism from their pet's care providers.
Although the Banfield staff is typically very friendly, I would personally prefer if they were better educated on proper animal care techniques. Considering I had to request that the Vet look at my dogs neck (a problem area that I mentioned when dropping her off) & had to tell her the correct medication dosage for my pet, I am not entirely sure what 'service' I was required to pay for.
Ultimately, I found this location to be a disappointment. Read Less