Banfield Pet Hospital

We love this office! The staff and Dr Turner are amazing! We’ve been going to this VET office for over a year and have had only positive experiences. Since our dog has had some major issues we have built an even more amazing relationship with the staff. They all know Loma and they all treat her as their own. Dr Turner takes her time to discuss all the options in detail… Dr Turner will also review records if you are seen by another VET in the office… I’m convinced that Loma is getting the best care when I take her to see Dr Turner

I’ve always thought banfield to be pricey but to my surprise they have very afordable plans available for our furry friends :) I got the wellness plan which includes the dental and both my pups now have bright smiles. The only thing I didn’t like is that on the day of their dentals at drop off I explained that my dad would be picking my dogs up since I was going to be at work. They asked if u wanted to authorize them on my account and I said no, he was only going to pick up that day. We went over payment estimates and I decided I didn’t want the heartworm preventative since I was paying out if pocket to get 5 of my dogs teeth removed (not included in dental plan) and I was on a tight budget. The tech then had me sign for what I had and hadn’t approved. Later that day I got home and my dogs were doing great but my brother told me they had offered him the heartworm medicine… I personally went to the office to see if there was anything we could do to return them since I had already said no previously and the tech said her manager wasn’t in but that she’d give me a call tomorrow… It’s been like 3 days and no call has been made: l

I have been to this vet clinic a few times so far for my shorkie puppy «Bear». The staff is really nice and takes the time to answer any questions I may have about Bear. My first exam visit was very informative and I appreciated knowing that I shouldn’t wash my dog 2 times a week. Bear loves to dance in his own poop! So I just took the advice of the vet and only wash his paws. Bear’s coat looks much better since the oils have returned to his fur. I like the plan I’m on which is Early Plus Wellness puppy plan, I think that’s the name. But, I like the structure and not having to go to multiple places to get vaccines or to get him neutered like my some of my friends. I understand its sometimes a deal to save money and get $ 8 vaccines at a vet bus but I feel my sanity is worth more. I like knowing all I have to do is take Bear in at this time and place and everything is done in ONE place. I have a toddler so time is of the essence. Bear loves the staff and they are so kind to us. The clinic is clean and looks nice inside vs the Banfield in the stores that looks like a total mess depending on where you go. I will be enrolling my other fur baby «Snickerdoodle» there as well under the same plan. It was easy to schedule an appointment. Oh and the office hours are a huge PLUS to me since I do work. I’d recommend this Banfield site to friends.

I recently switched to this banfield as my primary vet over the murphy canyon location for a few reasons. This is a stand alone vet, that means that is a little less hectic as all the animals coming in are here for the vet, and not just there to shop. Furthermore, this location is more conveniently located for those of us living south of the 8. The staff here is great and Dr. Turner has been nothing but great with my dogs. the waiting area is also way nicer than the other local banfield. They have a fancy «pod» coffee machine and some comfy green chairs.

I’ll keep this review as short as possible in order to not get upset all over again.
DO NOT TAKE YOUR PETS TO BANFIELD LET ALONE THIS LOCATION.
I had purchased the wellness plan for my cat in October 2014 and this October 2015, I took her in for her first yearly dental exam. I was nervous since they would be putting her under for the cleaning which is standard. I dropped her off for her appointment and got a call later saying they needed to charge me roughly $ 50 or so to sedate her in order to get her blood work before putting her under. They said she was being «difficult» which was understandable because she was at Banfield a month prior for three days dealing with a urinary tract infection. She’s a cat, of course this unknown environment stresses her out and she is a hisser when scared.
I agree to the extra fee and sedation and go on with my day. I get a voicemail from Banfield stating she’s done with her dental exam and resting in her carrier and can be picked up in two hours.
I show up right when the two hours had pasted and picked her up and noticed her fur on her chest looked wet but didn’t think much of it, I just wanted to get her home, which is less than a 5 minute drive. I get home and let her out of the carrier and notice she’s soaking wet in her own urine.
I call Banfield right away and ask how long she had been in her carrier for and the woman at the front desk said she would ask someone in the back, when the woman got back on the phone she told me that they had just put her in her carrier when I arrived to pick her up.
I got off the phone and tended to my cat. The next day listened to my voicemail from Banfield again and the person clearly stating my cat was resting in her CARRIER and to pick her up in two hours. I called back to get a clear answer as to why my cat was returned to me soaked in her own urine.
After talking to another person at the front desk, who was rude and incompetent, and the location’s manager… I got absolutely no where. They said they left her in her carrier because she had been difficult prior to the surgery and it is their protocol to leave those difficult animals in their carriers while they recover from being put under, rather than leaving her in the enclosed kennels where she would have had access to a litter box. When I told them I couldn’t trust them with my animal they offered to mark my chart saying I needed to be at the location for her to be seen, which makes it more inconvenient for me to not be able to use their drop off service. When I asked why they would leave her in her carrier for two hours after pumping her full of iv fluids and not check on her, they offered corporate’s number although admitted no changes could be made in their protocol. They asked me for my suggestion on how their protocol could be improved… how about check on all the animals in your care no matter how «difficult» they are being… after all you are the «professionals» with training on how to handle animals.
The doctor that saw Lana called and left a message a few days later, but I knew nothing good would come out of returning the call. I reached out to a vet I had seen prior to signing up for Banfield’s wellness plan. They stated they understood where Banfield was coming from in terms of putting her in the carrier, but pointed out they should have put a towel in her carrier and cleaned her when she soiled herself. They pointed out that she should have been returned to me in the same condition that I brought her in, NOT worse.
I immediately cancelled my plan the day of my wellness plan’s renewal date. They are affordable for a reason, they have a revolving door of staff which shows they can’t even keep the same vets, technicians, front desk, etc. I lost ALL trust and will never leave my beloved pet in their care ever again.
VISIT BANFIELD AT YOUR OWN RISK. It’s worth it spend more at a reputable vet!
Any research on Banfield shows countless bad reviews, they are there for a reason.

My experience at this Banfield hospital has been similar to other reviews I have seen below.
On the positive side: very clean, nice facility. The staff is very friendly, prompt, and attentive. My dog is pretty skiddish and he does really well with all of the staff, who seem to truly and genuinely care about animals. In short, I feel really comfortable with the care I receive here, because the staff are knowledgeable and seem to care about my dog almost as much as I do.
On the negative side: the sales-​pitch is a little aggressive for me. I’ve been in two times and have been offered services that I declined during both visits. Each time I declined services, the staff was pretty pushy in asking for my «rationale» for declining certain services. I don’t feel that I should have to explain myself and my choices for my dog to other people, and I don’t think it is appropriate for them to ask this and keep pushing when I say I don’t want something for my pet.
In total — without the aggressive sales pitch, my review for this hospital would definitely be 5-​stars. I don’t mind being offered additional services, but would appreciate not being badgered when I say «no.» Just my $ 0.02.

So I honestly believe this place is more concerned about selling their «Wellness Plan» I am very savvy when it comes to business and to tell you the truth I know a hustle when I see one. If you save the same amount you would pay them for their monthly plan in a savings account you would have more then enough to cover all expenses and still save yourself money. This place does exaggerate how sick your pet is as sort of a scare tactic to make you want to buy their wellness plan.
Long story short
Membership based business
Good marketing
Bad for the customer
Put your money in a pet savings account for a rainy day.

This location is GREAT! We just moved back from Tennessee so we chose this location for the fur babies, the staff is great, the facility is welcoming and very clean however it is a bit small. It’s nice that it is not inside of a Pet Smart like the often are.
The appointment setting was easy and they are very accommodating. We spent little time in the waiting room and the vet was super sweet and thorough. I would recommend this location (and already have).

Great place. Just do it. They really care and try to work with you on pricing, really laying out all of the options.

Their office is clean and modern. Everybody is nice, but they are very persistent with «offering» their extra services. It feels like they want to milk as much money out of you as they can. They also seem to exaggerate symptoms to make you feel concerned for your pet. My dog had one bout of incontinence and when i declined an extensive urine analysis, they pushed for it during the appointment and then called back a few hours after to inquire again. Then, another technician called me to ask if I changed my mind. The receptionist even asked me when I checked in for my next appointment. THEN they asked again during the appointment. Honestly, it was completely unnecessary and my dog was fine. I wish I never signed up for that wellness plan.

I am giving this Banfield Pet Hospital 2 stars.
The place seemed nice and clean. The front office staff was polite.
Now… for the bad news…
I signed up online and got a free exam coupon for being a new client.
I called the hospital to inquire about this free coupon.
I expressed in detail that I am quite positive my dog has an ear infection and that I am not able to put any topical medication in her ears myself.
Knowing that with an ear infection usually comes oral and topical medication and sometimes a steroid injection, I specifically asked what the charge would be if I had to come back to the hospital each day for (most likely 7 days) to have a tech administer the topical into my dog’s ears.
I have had to do this before at a different vet down the street who understood my difficulty and were more than happy to administer the topical into my dog’s ears (takes 1 minute) at no extra charge.
The person on the phone said I would have to come in for the exam and ask the Dr. this question. Yesterday I went in for the exam, and sure enough my dog has an ear infection.
As I knew, an oral antibiotic and topical medication were necessary. I was told they would charge me $ 20 per day to have a tech administer the topical into my dogs ears.
$ 20 per day x 7 days = $ 140 … just to apply medication that I would have bought from this hospital. This honestly sounds like such an erroneous charge.
I declined all services and medication and will have to take my dog elsewhere.
This sounds a little unethical that the hospital was looking to charge me $ 140 for 7 minutes extra of a tech’s time… due to this outrageous charge my dog did not get treated that day.
I was a little frustrated that I wasted my time sitting through the whole exam when the person on the phone could have just told me about that outrageous fee to begin with and I would have avoided this place altogether and made an appointment at a different hospital.
This place seems to be about money and not about the wellness of pets.
Again, my situation is a bit unique.
Given my situation and in comparison with other vets in the area, I am very disappointed in Banfield, to say the least.
I was excited to try a new vet since I had heard good things about this Banfield from my community’s other dog owners, sadly I will not be able to pass on the positive word of mouth.
I may consider returning to this vet in the future for vaccines etc„ but again, if it involves daily topically medicating my pet… the $ 20/​day extra charge seems a bit outlandish.

Such irony was involved in me taking my dog, Coco, here.
3pm — I received an email from our old vet — Dr Peterson from Friar’s Pet Hospital — saying to watch out for FOXTAILS. I had no idea what that is so i googled it and saw pictures of tall green plants, so i thought to myself «oh, psh. I can easily see those and make Coco avoid them.»
330pm — I walked my dog. She kind of went off the beaten path and went into some bushes to do her business. After she got outta there, I had to pick all these circular plants off of her and noticed she was shaking her head quite a bit. I kind of brushed that off and left the house.
5pm — I came back home and noticed that something’s obviously wrong with Coco. She was shaking her head profusely and walking with her head drooped to the left. When I tried to take a look into her ear, she Unilocaled and ran away Unilocaling. (it totally broke my heart) So i franticly called Dr Peterson’s office and they told me that they were all booked for that afternoon but referred us to several other places.
535pm — After getting turned away from two other vet clinics, I called Banfield and spoke with Will. I explained my pet’s current state with him and was told that they’re all booked for that night too. I almost broke down crying but Will kindly said «it’s okay, we will squeeze her in.»
615pm — With tears of joy i bolted down to Banfield and was seen right away! Dr Turner was a bit rushed with me considering she had scheduled patients waiting for her, but she took her time with coco and took her in the back to try and see what’s going on. Guess what — it’s stinking FOXTAILS!
In any case, if I weren’t moving out of San Diego i would’ve totally bought the Banfield package.

Got excellent advice from Dr Andrea Fanter about our old pet. The reason I met Dr Fanter was because, a few days earlier, I had entered the clinic — which is only 4 doors from Vons — asking their prices for certain procedures. The very nice receptionist (I believe Leandra is her name) sounded so professional and was so helpful that later on I decided to have an appointment with a vet regarding a difficult problem with our pet. I recommend this clinic.

After being with the Santee Banfield for 4+ years (with Dr. Lonsky) we made the change to this location when our vet transferred to another location. Service had dropped so significantly that I was concerned we’d never find another vet like her BUT we did. Everyone at this location was so genuine and kind. They put our concerns to rest and took excellent care of our dogs. I would highly recommend this location.

The staff was nice, went in for my dog’s ear infection. I felt uncomfortable here because all of the things they were trying to sell me on. The entire time they were trying to sell me the pet insurance, which wasnt even going to cover much of his initial visit. They asked for a followup and an additional $ 40 office visit for the followup. I realize they have sales goals and numbers to hit, but my pet is my concern and his problems should be addressed before anything is going to get sold to me. Walked out spending over $ 200, went to Pet Hospital of La Mesa, got my dog surgery, medications, numerous shots, ear cleaner, nail trimming, and more for $ 320. Ps. I was supposed to get a ‘care call’ the next day after our visit at Banfield, but no one ever called except for the followup (a day late) from the receptionist who said my and my dogs name wrong. Not impressed, sorry. Not sorry.

My dog Kali recently had some eye problems (laceration on her eye). I intially went to Banfield only because of the free exam, as a dog mom I know how expensive things get with vets. However, once i heard about the Optimal health plans, and saw the way the staff and the doctors cared, I bought in. We definitely have found our new primary vet. Kali loves them, and everyone is so friendly and professional. The facilty is beautiful and VERY clean (doesn’t even have that sterile «vet hospital» smell!) Now I’m preaching their clinic to anyone who will listen. Definitely getting my other pup enrolled in a plan, and hope to continue being lucky to have happy healthy fur babies for a long long time to come! these guys!