Banfield The Pet Hospital? - Woodbridge

I have been a Banfield client for a few years now. But just last week it proved to me while not every DOCTOR gives that special attention to animals that come in there, DR. H is a GREAT doctor. I rushed my little Ruby to Banfield because she had a hard time breathing one morning. When I came into the office, the receptionist Marlaina (who by the way is the one to go to if you need anything, very knowledgeable of her job, and VERY compassioate), she grabbed my dog and rushed her to the back where Dr. H took immediate action on her. I must say that Dr. H has always been a wonderful Dr. to my other girls as well, but this just proved to me that I would not let any other Dr. look at my dogs except for Dr. H. She is truly great and knowledgeable of her profession. If you truly want to go to people who care about your animals go to Banfield and see the receptionist Marlaina and the Great Dr. H. You will surely be grateful for the attention your animals gets there.

Posted 01/20/09 | Report Abuse

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I have never really had an issue with this hospital. They have put my dog under anestesia twice. Once to fix her (she's a female maltese) and another time to pull a tooth. I am on the wellness plan and the only cost I pay is for my dogs heartguard pills (which is not an every month thing). I get reminder cards in the mail each year for her vaccinations. She also receives her very own birthday card and coupon from them yearly. We are usually in and out when she needs to be seen. I had one issue where they charged my wellness plan, yet charged my mother again for it when she brought the dog in saying it was "unpaid." I spoke with corporate and the issue was taken care of right away. I was offered an extremely generous offer due to their mistake and was left completely satisfied. I would recommend them to anyone.

Posted 01/07/09 | Report Abuse

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I signed up for their Wellness Plan at $30.95 a month for a year. You have to go to the Banfield Hospital you pick when you sign up. I moved and could not go to a Banfield Vet close to my home and had to drive almost an hour to this facility. The plan I got for my dog was for 2 comprehensive exams a year. I took her in to get her shots and they did not perform all the tests that is included in their plan. I took her back for her second comprehensive, which included her teeth cleaning. All they do is what you tell them to do, and not what's listed on the comprehensive exam unless you tell them that's what you want done. When I walked in with my dog, I had to sign a form saying I would have to pay $28. for an antibiotic for my dog in case she got an infection from the teeth cleaning. When they were finished with my dog, they said she did well and her teeth were in great shape, they didn't have to pull any, etc. When I went up to check out, the woman told me it would be $59. for the antibiotic for the infection. I told her I wasn't paying it, and the paper I signed was only for $28. She obviously was mad about this and stormed off to the back and having a very bad attitude about this. She brought the assistant to talk with me and I told her I could get an antibiotic for less than $10. for myself and wasn't paying that high a price for an antibiotic when my dog didn't have any problems w/her teeth. She left for a bit and came back and told me the vet said my dog didn't have to take any antibiotic, that she would be fine. They make money off of the clients by pushing medications on the animals when they don't need it and charging outrageous prices for them. They do not let you know when it's time to vaccinate your dog. All the other clinics send out a reminder when it's time to vaccinate your dog. You have already paid for the vaccinations if you're on their Wellness Plan, and if you forget to bring your animal in, they make even more money off of you, so why should they remind you?

I think this Wellness Plan and the way they handle their business at Banfield Vet is really bad business. They don't operate with integrity and I was never so happy to see my year contract with them expire. (By the way you need to call them to cancel before the year is up or your contract automatically renews with them. This is another way to get your money.) I feel this vet and this Wellness Plan are greedy and just trying to make money off of people. Please check into other plans for your vet and find a vet that really cares about the health of your pet and not just concerned with making money off of you.

A Concerned Pet Owner

Posted 06/23/08 | Report Abuse

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We have a six month old maltese names sophie. she has been going to banfield since the second day we got her. They are very caring people. When she turned 5 month old we had her spayed. The tech held my pups paw until she came out of the anethesia. The stiches healed beauitfully.

We would never take her anywhere else

Posted 03/12/08 | Report Abuse

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My husband and I adopted a dog last month. Just fours days after adopting her we took her to Banfield and explain our concern that we thought she might be pregnant (it turns out at the time she was already a month into pregnancy) all the vet did was check her nipples and gave us a definite "no". While there the vet also suggested we get one of her teeth pulled because it was terribly damaged and needed to come out. So the week after we took her in, she was placed under anesthesia and instead of extracting the tooth as originally decided they merely cleaned it and left it without discussing it with us until it was over. Even worse, our girl Pearl surprised us Wednesday morning at 2 am with six beautiful little puppies. Had those "vets" told us she were pregnant we could've better prepared. Today we woke up to four dead puppies at no fault to their mother who has been nothing but attentative and loving since their birth. We're currently in the process of determining if the anesthesia was the cause of their deaths or created other problems that could have led to it. DO NOT BRING YOU PETS HERE! I have four dead puppies on my hands because that idiot woman refused to do an ultrasound. The will be hearing from me very shortly.

Posted 10/25/07 | Report Abuse

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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This "hospital" performed an unauthorized surgery which resulted in my cat's death. The cat was operated on the first time to remove an infection caused by an animal bite. He almost died the first time from the anesthetic, but miraculously recovered and was doing wonderfully. A small section of the incision started to open (clearly as a result of the vet's failure to place an elizabethean collar on the cat to prevent licking) so we brought him in a day before the staples were to be removed SOLELY for the small opening to be patched up. We were told they were too busy to attend to him, so we should leave him overnight. The next day we were told he was put under anesthetic again and reopened - without our knowlege or permission -and that he was now dying! The incompentent vet on duty who thought it was a good idea to put him under anesthetic again after almost dying from it the first time clearly did not review his chart or was completely lacking in common sense. In sum, we brought in a happy cat who was healing nicely and were told the next day that he was dying as the result of an UNAUTHORIZED PROCEDURE! Although no amount of money will ever bring our pet back, we were told by the hospital that they will not refund our $1000 because it was for the first operation and we were not charged for the second unauthorized operation that resulted in his death. The doctors and staff at this hospital are ignorant, incompetent, and rude. If a human was treated in this fashion, it would be criminal.

Posted 08/27/07 | Report Abuse

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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My experiences with these people have been really good. The team is smart and can really get your pets get going. They are pretty high on the charge, but that is still less when compared to the service. I would recommend anyone who has any problems with his/her pets.

PROS: nice and caring
CONS: price little high

Posted 11/15/05 | Report Abuse

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Over all my experinces have been very good with Dr. Debecke and his staff. As someone with a kitten with bad allergies, I have to go in pretty often. Dr. Debecke is someone that loves animals and has great compassion. My first experience with him was when my best friends cat was very sick. It was decided he should be put to sleep. Dr. Debecke was beyind compassioante and treated Keanu as though it were his own cat. A week late, I adopted my little kitten and knew I would never trust anyone else with him. The only thing I have negative to say is that on a few occassions, some of the people at the desk have been a bit nasty and once I was misquoted a price for a procedure. When I confronted the person who quoted me the price one week and when I got the bill it was $75 more, he went to get Dr. McRae who proceeded to come out and get in my face, yelling in front of her whole staff AND customers of both the hospital and Petsmart. She acted unprofessionally and I will never make appointments when she is working- unless it's an emergency!

PROS: Dr. Debecke is very compassionate
CONS: Lack of professionalism on a few occasions by certain staff members

Posted 10/21/05 | Report Abuse

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