Banfield pet hospital

Hello. I wanted to post about my experience with my cats veto and spike. I paid for a wellness plan with Banfield and took my two cats for a routine dental cleaning. When I returned home, they failed to remove the catheter on spike and blood was gushing all over the floor. I had to rewrap his leg and veto was acting very lethargic. After multiple days of this and multiple calls, and being told this was normal, I took veto to an emergency vet. I was told there was a hole in his treache as a result of his dental surgery and there was air throughout his body. Two days later, after much pain and suffering, he was put to rest. He was only 11 years old. My poor veto died in pain and I was told they used the wrong size trachea causing a tear. The manager of Banfield called me and apologized and stated they were negligent and at fault. They also promised to pay the emergency room bill of $2100. This happened in September of 2014. It is now March of 2015 and they still have not paid. They say my veto was worth a minimal amount of money. Please don't take your animals to Banfield. They hurt our pets. Please help me because they are a large profit company that does not care for the pets

I am so sorry this happened.  I have heard a number of horror stories about Banfield.  I am sure there are some good vets that work for them, especially since there is actually an overage of vets in the U.S. but the general level of care isn't good.   Many of the good vets are really potentially good vets, people right out of school that will with experience be very good vets.

Thank you. Unfortunately I am at a loss of words. I feel the vet who was overseeing this should stand up and make this right. She didn't bother to do that either

I'm sorry that your cat died Have you filed a complaint with your state's veterinary medical board? If not, do that. I think most states require vets to be icensed and registered, too, so check with your state and file a complaint with the board of licensing and registration. You may find other helpful resources here: http://www.thetooncesproject.com/thetooncesproject.html

I am so very sorry for your loss, what a difficult thing to have to go through.  I agree that you should contact the state board and file a complaint. 

Hoping that you will be able to get this resolved soon. It's terrible to watch your pets suffer - sorry you had to endure that

The sad part of owning a pet in the US is he or she is still considered by law a piece of property and a pet's only value is it fair market worth so there is no threat to a vet who commits malpractice. I haven't had any bad experiences with Banfield for routine things. I would report the vet to the state board and file a complaint. This is clearly malpractice. They may cite the vet for negligence. I am so sorry for your Veto [emoji]128532[/emoji]

Where do you live apotte1?

Absolutely file a complaint with your state medical veterinary board. This is why they exist. They process many cases every year, and this wouldn't be just a case where a warning is warranted. They need a history of complaints to suspend a veterinary license.

Perforating a trachea takes extreme lack of skill and attention. Not noticing how little oxygen is getting to the patient, ignoring the vitals that are below normal with monitoring equipment and manual counts.

They tend to hire inexperienced assistants with no technical skill for restraint, anesthesia, venipuncture, or anatomy/physiology knowledge. Many vets that graduate start with Banfield or a VCA clinic as it's hard to find work at first and these corporate clinics are everywhere. They don't pay great, and they don't have a good mentor program for their inexperienced vets. Corporate to the core.

I work in emergency and see many Banfield patients from multiple cities. Sometimes they have a regular after hours emergency, unrelated to their regular veterinary care.  But, some are obvious kennel cough, or rodenticide toxicity, or GI obstruction, misdiagnosed and mistreated to the point of irreversible damage to the patient. This year alone I see 3 to 4 patients a week that are Banfield misdiagnoses or surgery error. They're not the only ones that do this, but they do it the most often.

It pains me, knowing my patients didn't have to endure this, because their owners sought medical care, as they should, and placed their trust in the wrong people.

Wow can you try taking your story to the paper or local TV, or write a letter to the editor? Try small claims court? Definitely report this and the sooner the better.

Yes. I did file a complaint with the board. in December. They have still not investigated, stating they do not have enough staff. sigh. 

Thank you. i know. sigh. 

Chicago. 

Omg! I am so sorry to hear that! I have been taking my cat to a Banfield near me for 2 years & the vet saved his life. Haven't had any bad experiences but that's terrible. Sending many prayers your way

PumpkinDee said:

Omg! I am so sorry to hear that! I have been taking my cat to a Banfield near me for 2 years & the vet saved his life. Haven't had any bad experiences but that's terrible. Sending many prayers your way

Click to expand...

I am sure there are some good vets at Banfield but I think they are in the minority.  If your vet leaves to go to  another clinic or open his own practice, which I think would be likely,  I would follow him.

I am forced to go to Banfield because I have too many kitties and their wellness plan is the only way I can afford to care for them. I haven't had any issues with the Vets there but they are good for only routine things. I have had multiple cat teeth cleanings with no issue. This is a tragedy caused by a clearly negligent vet that needs to be Reprimanded by the State and their employer. So sorry....