Banfield Pet Hospital

They did an excellent job taking care of my Bear throughout his life 💙. I really appreciate the warmth and love that he got. I'm sad he's gone now but for the 11 years he was with me they provided great service.

posted: 05/20/2023

I've had a somewhat mixed experience with Banfield that unfortunately isn't ending on the best note, but I've had some good interactions with them! I first went to Banfield when I adopted my cat and he was not keeping down his food. They recommended expensive tests and X-rays which as a naive new pet owner I said yes to, and ended up in the hole moneywise for a bit. My cat ended up just fine after a few days of adjusting and did not need those tests. After that I signed up for a wellness plan which I'm not 100% sure is worth it, but could be great to take in pets worry-free with no appointment costs. My cat was well taken care of for pretty much this whole time. He doesn't have many issues, so I eventually canceled my wellness plan because it wasn't making sense for us to have it anymore. I called to make one last appointment to get up to date on vaccines and get medication for traveling long-distance before a big move. Even though I told Banfield I would only be in town for 2 more weeks, they told me they were understaffed and that I should see a different vet. I understand not having enough vets is currently making things difficult, but I was a bit disappointed when I'd been going to them for about 5 years and had to quickly research and set up an appointment with a brand new vet clinic in the area right before moving.

posted: 07/11/2023

We went to Banfield for 11 years. Within the last year I paid over $500 for their wellness plan just for them to draw her blood! She did not fully have her comprehensive exams and she did not have her dental cleaning. When they drew her blood they found her liver levels to be elevated. They made us take her to the U of I to get more extensive testing before they’d continue care. That cost us about $1000 for the U of I to tell us they were not that elevated and it was normal for her age. Another time within the last year they found a heart murmur and made us take her to the U of I before they’d continue care. Again the U of I said it was absolutely nothing concerning. That cost was about another $1000. So overall in the last year we paid about $2500 for them to draw her blood. Also, if your dog is overweight or you don’t brush their teeth daily, they will talk to you like you’re a small child and make you feel that you don’t care for your dogs well being. I had to listen to a five minute lecture (no joke, it could have even been longer) just because I asked how much a procedure would cost. They assumed I wouldn’t do it if it cost too much. I emailed them about how they’ve made me feel like I’m a bad person and got no response! We moved our dog over to the Animal Hospital at the Crossing and the staff are amazing. Not only that, but even they knew the heart murmur and liver levels were not an issue. They did their own testing to be double sure and she was fine. Plus it was a lot less money! They didn’t shame us for her having bad teeth or being overweight. Everyone I’ve told about Banfield that had used them before have also said they had bad experiences. I will say the techs are great at Banfield but the doctors can kiss off.

posted: 04/27/2023

They always take great care of my pet when they actually get into the office but getting my pet into the office is the hard part. Appointments are almost always weeks out when I try to book (I’m comparing this to my Chicago PetSmart which I feel was always busier but always managed to book me in a few days at most), and there have been a few times where I’ve booked an appointment only to be called a few days later to be told that appointment is already booked. Wouldn’t be a kinda annoying problem if the appointments weren’t always for something concerning.

posted: 04/10/2023

Dr. Garcia is absolutely fantastic! He genuinely cares about the well being of your pets. He takes his time and is very personable. Would 100% recommend!

posted: 05/15/2023