The vets, vet techs and other service reps provide great service for my beloved pug at the North Seattle location. The staff are always excited to see him and genuinely care about his well-being. Getting in for an appointment is never a problem, and the location is perfect. The hours are great benefit, too. When I first got my dog, it had been 15 years since I had been responsible for any type of pet. Buying the wellness plan gave me a peace of mind knowing that every little thing that I might be afraid of could be inspected at a moment's notice. It also reduces the overall cost of care and makes the cost more predictable. The Wellness-Plan became important when I discovered a lump on his bottom. The vets and nurses kept me aware of his condition throughout the procedure to remove his mass cell tumor. They even recommended that I combine it with a dental cleaning in order to cover the cost of anesthesia. Some people have complained about it being a chain. To me this is a wonderful advantage. His medical records are on-line, and if I'm traveling or my dog is being boarded, I know that there will be a Banfield Pet Hospital nearby.

I can't agree with any of the negative comments that folks have posted here. Maintaining your pet's health costs money. I've never paid more than $80 for a visit to Banfield, and the cost was only that high because I need to purchase antibiotics and/or minor surgical procedures (e.g., to figure out if a lump on my dog's paw was an embedded grass seed, infected, or something else). I've never had any issues with the customer service there and have always been able to get any questions I've had answered without difficulty. The only negative experience that I've had was a communication break down with the preparation of my pet's international health certificate; however, some of this is due to poor information regarding the required documentation when crossing the US-Mexico border by land (there are no health certificates to enter Mexico unless you are flying in to the country), and the USDA failing to post clear guidance (you do need a health certificate to bring your pet back into the US with you, but the information is not easy to find or consistent). The fact that they are a "chain" veterinary clinic should not matter at all. Having a friend who was a professor at a prominent veterinary school back on the east coast, I've been told several times how difficult it is for a veterinarian to keep their doors open due to the costs of the school and the business. If nothing else, this should be an indicator that these people have done such a good job doing what they do to be able to scale their business model up (which reduces the cost to the consumer). More importantly, there are tons of people who cannot afford regular veterinary care and wait until their pet is on the verge of dying before having them seen by anyone. So putting clinics in prominent pet-owner locations makes it easier for folks to access the pet care that they need for their pets. It is truly unfortunate that a few folks have had negative experiences with this location, but I would say that is generally not the case. I would also suggest that some people consider what it is that they are complaining about (e.g., if you don't know what an "ear prep kit" is you should ask - this is your responsibility as a human paying money for a service and will provide you with the information that you need to be informed in the future [and ear mite treatment is not a vaccine so if the dog's ears became infested again you might want to consider cleaning the area(s) where your dog spends the majority of it's time], if you aren't aware of the risks of vaccines/shots you should also ask [it is horrible that one woman's cat died, but the supplies do need to be paid for and the staff needs to be compensated for their time], etc...). It may seem like an unnecessary thing, but get the health plan. I'd rather spend $30/month to ensure I can walk in and have a vet check out my dog if I think something is wrong and find out she's fine than waiting until I know something is wrong and it costs several thousand dollars to fix it.

I took my cat to banfield for a ear problem, they washed her ears and charged me an enormous price also wanted $`1000 fpr cleaning her teeth, pushed the insurance plan. I was to return a week later to check the ears so of course another office call. They then told me i needed to get a rabies shot altho I did not want to get it. In 2 days after the shot she stopped eating and went into liver failure so I went to a different vet but he was unable to save my cat. I read later that sometimes the rabies shot can cause organ failure . I asked for a reduction in my bill since they killed my cat but they refused to even talk about it . I will now dispute my charges on my credit card and make a claim with the Better Business of Seattle. Do not go to these people they are just in it for the money.

Banfield is basically made for the wellness plan. It has saved us thousands of dollars for our 3 cats and with the plan most of the things they do are free. We lived in San Diego and had them on the plan there, then moved up here and have never had a problem.

They will pad your bill with ridiculous items. They sound like they are cheap but start adding stuff until you just can't take it anymore. I found out that doing shots over again after they have already been done is NOT good for your puppy but they insisted on repeating shots the breeder had done. My dog caught ear mites at a year. The bill for ear mites was $130. and included weird stuff like "Ear prep kit". What the h*ll is a ear prep kit? You grab the ear, shoot some ear mite remedy in which sells for $8. and you're done! Total rip off! The next time he caught ear mites, again(!) I went back to the breeder and she did it for FREE!!!