Banfield Pet Hospital — Local services in Fairfax

I don’t really know where to begin. The front desk staff is nice but really seem to lack experience and/or have no direction/systems in place to handle check-ins and check-outs. This is problematic because it’s really the biggest responsibility that reception/intake has. They are inefficient and constantly running behind. We have taken our puppy there twice and will not be returning.

They used the term “curbside” for our follow up appointment and that was very misleading. They apparently don’t do “curbside” appointments and don’t let you into their exam rooms. It’s wild that they would use the term curbside when that is not an option whatsoever - why not just call it an appointment and avoid the confusion. So misleading. They somehow forgot to explain this to us when we booked the initial appointment and also when they called to confirm the appointment. In fact, they still used the term “curbside” in the appointment confirmation call.

They also take your pet to be held in a kennel before being seen by a vet and then put back in the kennel to wait to be picked up. This is just worrisome and so impersonal. It made us feel like our puppy was just not being cared for as an individual - it seems like pets are just a number for them and they crank out as many appointments as possible in a day. This was also explained to us right before he was taken back. We’re also pretty sure they gave some type of sedative/Benadryl to our dog without consent or informing us. We picked him up and they made a comment about how upset he was to be in a kennel and he literally slept for 8 hours straight after the appointment - only getting up to take a sleepy walk - and he always has the “zoomies” at night before bedtime. He wasn’t even interested in eating dinner. Thankfully, whatever it was seems to have worn off now. It’s just wild because they charged us ~$30 our first visit to give him Benadryl because they thought “he might have an allergic reaction to the vaccines.” ??? But he was totally fine after that visit and not drowsy at all. He was also covered in a thin layer of some kind of dust or dirt when we picked him up. Assuming it was from being put in a kennel that had not been sanitized or wiped down before putting him in. But how would I know? They don’t let you into the exam room so you’d never know what or if they did anything. You don’t know the condition of the holding kennels or exam rooms.

You also never get to actually talk to the vet that saw your pet. You talk to a vet tech that gives you generic answers for everything. It’s super sketchy and frustrating. They also seemed more interested in selling us a monthly “wellness package” that really doesn’t cover anything except the office visit fee (~$70/visit) than actually checking him in for his appointment.

I am just completely blown away by this entire experience. There are a few other things that were really troubling but this review is already long enough as is. As a pet owner of 20+ years, this is the worst vet experience I’ve ever had. Truly disappointed and shocked. Maybe it was just this location but seriously - take your pet...

UPDATE: Their response was empty words - I emailed the email address and received the same response that our "balance" was $400 for the remainder 10 months of wellness and preventive services we obviously can't use because my dog sadly passed away.

TLDR: Don't sign up for the wellness plan unless you are okay with being billed for it for nearly a year in the event your pet dies. This company lacks compassion and basic decency.

Banfield Pet Hospital was the place we took Max his entire life for routine veterinary care. Over 9 years ago, we signed up for their "Optimum Wellness Plan" which covered preventive visits, vaccines, and offered a discount on other services/ products. We paid roughly $40 per month over the course of his lifetime, plus thousands of additional dollars in non-preventive care. When we contacted Banfield to cancel, we were told our monthly payments would extend an additional 10 months, "As you know, the Optimum Wellness Plans are affordable packages of recommended preventive care that can save you money and deliver care to your pet. There service can be used anytime during your plan year and cost of package in split into twelve monthly installments."

As I know ? No, I did not know I would continue to pay for a plan that covered preventive medicine for a pet that has died. I did not think to ask when I took my puppy into the vet nearly a decade ago and they sold me their plan if I would continue to pay each month for a "Wellness Plan" for nearly a year after he died. I'm sure it is in the fine print somewhere of an agreement signed long ago and forgotten. This cruel detail was no where to be found on their FAQ page about wellness plans.

Banfield provided the option of paying the remaining $400 balance all at once or continuing to pay each month in installments.

I reviewed my financial software to discover over the course of his life I had paid nearly $6,500 for vet services from Banfield. I had also recommended them to several family and friends.

Google "Banfield charging you after your dog dies" and you will find many articles of grieving pet parents discovering their policy of billing after the pet passes away. The kicker is once local news is involved most of the articles state that they waived the rest of the "balance".

Here's what I know after the last interaction with them and this policy: I will never bring another pet to them or recommend them to anyone else. It hurts that the place I trusted to take care of my dog for his whole life did not show any compassion at its end. I think this policy is not only cruel, I don't think it makes any...

Usually I don’t write reviews but since I had my 3rd and the most terrible experience I felt like I have to say something. 6 months ago I took my dog there for nail trimming, they told me they were not able to cut it so they offered to give him tradozone, after giving him tradozone I took him back there and they were still not able to cut his nails. They higher the dose and wanted me to come back. However, they still weren’t able to cut his nails with a higher dose of tradozone. Last week I called to make an appointment and on the phone I specifically told them that probably he needs anesthesia for them to be able to cut his nails, cuz calming down medicine basically is not working on my dog. He told me to bring him there at 8 am, we get there exactly at 8 am and the doctor told me that they will try sedation, I said he needs to be fully asleep based on to do anything with his paws. She said he will be almost fully asleep so it should be fine and the total cost would be 250$. They called me at 5 pm saying that they were not able to cut his nails at all cuz sedation didn’t work on him and next time it would be ideal to do anesthesia (which that’s what I asked for when I was making an appointment) and the total cost was still 250$ even tho I didn’t get the service that I went for. So, not just they tried to charge me 250$ they also kept my anxious dog there from 8 am until 5 pm in a cage at the back side! I tried to talk with them saying that it’s not fair at all, after talking with them and the manager they decided to charge me only for the doctor visit which was 86$. It was such a horrible experience, especially for my baby boy. Never ever going back there...