Former employee here. I highly recommend staying away from Banfield (corporate medicine) in general. As an employee and as a client for this hospital, when I was faced with an emergency that would either need emergency surgery to save my dogs life or he would need to be euthanized (my dog had a splenic tumor that was previously diagnosed due to it bleeding, we scheduled him for surgery at the TO clinic but the splenic tumor began to bleed again days before surgery), I could not get anyone at this hospital to pick up the phone. I was scheduled to work and was unsure if I should go straight to an emergency clinic or if I bring him to work with me. I decided to show up at work with my pet, when I did arrive and notified the staff of the pet’s sudden onset of symptoms (refused food that morning, lethargic, pale gums) which all pointed to another internal bleed from the tumor, both doctors on staff and the three other technicians did not respond to the patient appropriately. Although we spoke, and the history of his splenic tumor was brought up, the pet was not treated like an emergency in anyway. The pet was not triaged as soon as possible and he was made to wait to be seen by a doctor while she examined two other healthy, stable patients who were dropped off for preventative care services. Luckily, being a technician myself, I began recording the pet’s vital signs, collected blood and began a PCV test then called other associate veterinarians to help assist me interpret the lab results and guide me through the next steps. Eventually one of the associate vets I was consulting with came in to the clinic to assess my pet, and ended up euthanizing him.
There was an instance where I have witnessed a doctor and technicians attempt to place an IV catheter in an elderly dog 12 times - I voiced my concern over how many times they attempted an IV on his collapsed veins but was dismissed. This pet was hospitalized at a local ER the night before and was scheduled to go under anesthesia for a routine dental cleaning as a preventative care service and the pet had barely any build up and did not need extractions. This was for revenue.
I witnessed 5 technicians attempt to forcefully hold down a pit-bull after an ear swab broke off in its ear (shaking during swab) because they couldn’t get it out. It got to the point where the pet began mouthing, almost bite like movements, but he was not outwardly aggressive. He had 5 full grown humans jump on him one by one until it was literally a dog pile, that dog was a saint. It wasn’t until I yelled “Enough” and gave them an earful, took the dog from them and recommended they call the owner for sedation that the overseeing doctor and those 5 technicians stopped how they were treating that pet and changed course.
I witnessed a doctor recommended an owner have us continue with their pet’s routine dental cleaning instead of postponing to run a bile acids test because the pet had abnormally high liver enzymes on its pre-anesthetic bloodwork which resulted in death of that pet due to the liver shunt. This course of action was also revenue driven.
I witnessed Mars Corporation (they own Banfield) degrade the quality of supplies (tape for IV catheters, syringes, vaccines, etc.) in our hospitals all while increasing the costs for clients and then go spend money on ridiculous things like advertisements on NASCARS for the brand.
I witnessed this company try to have us enforce Benadryl injections to all pets prior to vaccines, which is an additional cost to the owner to increase revenue. If you are familiar with their Wellness Plans, I have also witnessed this company require us to charge for exams like neuro exam, extremities/lameness exam, etc. on top of the normal exam fee and do this specifically to wellness plan clients whose office exams are covered for a year by their plan.
Do yourself, your pet and the veterinary community a favor by spending your time and hard-earned money at a veterinary practice that has integrity.
