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| - So, the premise behind Banfield is awesome. It makes owning a pet and keeping it healthy financially accessible to those of us who aren't made of money. The reality of Banfield... well, it stinks. Worse than an infected anal gland on a Great Dane.
In the past few years, the hubs and I have accquired two exceedingly cute Miniature Schnauzers. In this time, we have been to 4 different Banfields, and with the exception of one (where a friend worked), we have had a terrible experiences.
Sure, you don't have to pay for office visits or vaccinations (except for the monthly fee... which is amazingly reasonable), but you they find something that isn't covered by the plan EVERY TIME. Seriously, it is like taking your car in for service. Oh, it needs power steering fluid? my clutch needs adjusting? and my brakes are at 10%? Well, crap, I thought I just needed to get my tires filled up with air.
Now, I might be a little bit bitter having just dropped a shiteload of money at Banfield because one of the little treasures ate some Aleve (Aleve=death to dogs). But during the course of his treatment, which I was told was very urgent, I was informed that I needed to leave the dog there (for a fee) because they were going to lunch and couldn't treat him at that moment. When I told them that I wanted to take the treatment one step at a time (instead of going in all guns blazing), I was treated with contempt. After I specifically told them I wanted to wait on a particular item, I can see the vet and the techs in the back performing that exact thing on my dog. My requests were ignored. When I had questions that required the vet's answers (not the uninformed "nurse"), they were ignored.
All in all, it was a terrible experience - and not the first terrible experience at Banfield, simply the most recent.
So, take your dogs to Banfield, but ONLY for vaccinations/yearly checkups. You are better off going to a "regular" vet for everything else.
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