Over the two years that I took my dog to Banfield they were never able to call my dog by the appropriate gender. This may seem like a small thing, but when you entrust the health of your pet to someone it would be a comfort to know that they paid enough attention to know whether he was a boy or a girl. When my dog was diagnosed with insulinoma last year I was unfamiliar with the condition. I tried to learn what I could do to keep my dog healthy in the long-term and was essentially laughed at by the veterinarian for not realizing that insulinoma was most likely a death sentence. Finally, when the time came that I needed to schedule a euthanasia appointment they were completely indifferent and unsympathetic. It was hard enough coming to the decision that I had to end my beloved pet's life; but it was even worse to realize that the people I was asking to do it could not have cared less for him. I scheduled his appointment with another vet who showed some compassion for our situation. I will never take another pet to Banfield West.

We recently visited this "hospital" on the West side of Madison with our parakeet. He had a growth coming out of his back above his tail feathers which was diagnosed as a possible blocked or clogged oil gland or that there might be a tumor on or in the gland. The problem is this. The doctor removed the growth then informed us it would cost us an additional $87 to look at the growth under a microscope!!! She said that she would take off her exam fee if we wanted to have her look at it under the microscope. OMG!! $87 to look at something under a microscope that is IN the facility? We agreed as we were concerned for our bird. She said it looked to contain oil secretions and cells and then suggested we have the growth sent in to have it analyzed by a lab to see if it was malignant. Another $131.00!!! It came back as non-cancerous, but it was suggested that we put a salve on the area to hopefully reduce the growth of the tumor or cyst. The salve cost ANOTHER $31.00!! We showed the salve to our "human" pharmacist, and she informed us that she could've gotten the same salve for our bird in the same quantity for less than $4.00 and not the $31.00 we were charged by this clinic. I guess they "saw us coming" and their Dr. did her job to "maximized our outlay." Makes me wonder how much commission your doctors are paid when they "tack on" additional services. Suffice it to say that #1. I will NEVER AGAIN allow your hospitals to diagnose any of our pets. #2. I will tell (and have been telling) everyone I know about the costs we incurred and, to a person, they thought the charges and the way were led "down the garden path" was egregious!!! #3. I will be putting this story on any and all review sites I find for veterinarians, pet hospitals and pet facilities. Your bloated prices ($87 to LOOK at a sample under a microscope??? - $31 for $0.50 worth of salve) and the constant add-ons are a disgrace to your profession. Your practices bring back bad memories of the "dispensing doctor" that used to diagnose, treat and then sell the drugs until the AMA saw the conflict of interest and, for the most part, shut them down. I can only hope that practices like yours follow the same path and are shut down so that those of us who love our animals aren't gouged for their medical care. Did you noice that the reviews marked "excellent" got a response from Banfield while those of you (and now us) who posted bad reviews are totally ignored??? WOW!!! Talk about not caring if they have done something wrong!!!!

We brought our dog in and signed up for their wellness plan. Wow! what a deal & super friendly staff. They were great at calming down my little man who was incredibly nervous and explaining things to me. I felt very good about the service.

I guess the first warning sign was at one of our initial puppy appointments earlier this year when my pup was scratching her hindquarters fairly regularly -- fleas were ruled out -- and the doctor's answer to what was wrong was, "Well, I'm not an expert on puppy butts, so I'm not sure" My response should have been "Um, yes you are; thats why I'm paying you." I would have at least expected her to be more reassuring or tell me she would look into the issue. At the time I just brushed it off -- probably should have cancelled their wellness plan at that point and moved to a different vet. Next issue came when my puppy was spayed and there were charges to me that should have been included with the Puppy Wellness Plan. I asked/complained about the charges and corporate responded to me by telling me only the spay was included with the plan and this was detailed in the contract. At my next appointment, the charges I complained about were all credited back as being included with the plan, despite what the corporate rep told me. The issue that finalized my decision to choose a new vet clinic had to do with my puppy's state/county registration. As a new pet owner, this process concerned me and I wanted to make sure I made any deadlines for getting her registered. I asked the staff at one of her 1st appointments and they said registration would be after the rabies shot. So when we finally had her rabies shot done, I asked about the process again. The nurse on staff confidently told me that Banfield would send in all the registration paperwork for my pup and the state/county registration fee was already included with the cost of the rabies shot. I was so relieved that this was one less thing to worry about. Months later, I got a replacement rabies tag, as my pup had chewed hers up, and receptionist told me I needed to send in the updated paperwork. Since this was the second time we've swapped tags and nothing was mentioned the previous time, I asked if they had updated it before. The receptionist had no idea what I was talking about. She told me Banfield does not send in any registration for the animals they see at this clinic. So now, I find out my puppy is unregistered and there is a penalty/late fee. I explain this to the Banfield clinic, and they are less then helpful -- told me the nurse on staff the day of the rabies shot was no longer employed so there was no way to prove what was actually discussed, and I would have to talk to corporate. The issue isn't the cost, but the principle. I would have taken care of registration immediately had I known they were not handling it. Their employee told me state/county registration was handled by Banfield, and I feel they owe this to me for the misinformation -- they are supposed to be the experts... of course, that's not how Banfield sees it. I will definitely not be returning to this location or any other Banfield clinic once my yearly Wellness Plan expires. I encourage others to look at local vets that aren't associated with chains -- maybe the cost for her needed puppy care was slightly cheaper under the plan, but its definitely not worth the stress. I just hope my baby doesn't have any emergency care situations come up before the plan ends (I may not even wait that long to find a new clinic, just in case) -- I don't trust the staff at Banfield to be knowledgeable enough about anything pet-related to give her proper care.

Every time I bring my Cocker Spaniel in, or even just call, the staff is always happy to go the extra mile to help us out. Everyone from the vet assistants to the doctors, takes the time to explain what's going on with my dog and also the options I have. They are very upfront about costs, and have a wellness plan available that has already saved me hundreds of dollars since I got my new dog in July. The entire staff loves my dog and this morning when I discovered that he had fleas, they let me bring him in for the day while I fogged my apartment and was at work - for an extremely minimal charge (I think they just wanted to play with him all day - ha!). Back in May and June, when my old dog got very sick, the staff was again extremely compassionate and really took their time in explaining what was going on and what my options were. When I ended up having to put him down, I got a beautiful and heartfelt sympathy card. They really do care about you and your pet, and I feel that I have gotten a great value for the money, especially with the wellness plan. I would highly recommend Banfield!!!