Banfield Pet Hospital

THIS IS THE MOST AWFUL PLACE/​STAFF ! They do not care about your dog and the quality of care. Their main focus is up selling you on yearly insurance plans, products, procedures, and of course make up random fees for every little thing. Also they recommend for pets to be restrained during procedures for being «wild» before they have even tried the procedure (of course this has a fee as well)… When asked to clarify what restraining means they stated an additional person «sort of» forcefully bear hugs the dog down so the dog can’t move… Ridiculous place, rude staff all around, rude Doctors… All about the money they can charge you… not about the care…

Used their Microchip machine to help a stranded dog get back to her owner. Best service! I may go back for my own pets’ needs. :)

Been with Banfield since 2004 when we had both our puppies. Numerous issues with Santee Banfield since we moved from Oregon to here. Canceled our plan after 12 years!!! because of this hospital. My dog has health issues and they like to play games as far as giving your pet prescriptions, its about control, front staff cannot think «outside the box» and they DO NOT work with the client. And after years of still paying so much out of pocket even with the plan my husband and I are beyond exhausted! I’ve never been so angry with a business in my life as with this place. NO I would not recommend Santee Banfield, NO I would not recommend the Wellness plan and YES I’m taking my dog now to Cuyamaca Vet where the staff are competent, the doctors are amazing and I actually feel like they care about you as a pet owner. I’m done!

Although my dog mari pulled through her anal gland rupture with the care of this banfield hospital in Santee, I will NOT return here and I will NOT recommend them to anyone I know. Most of the front desk employees are rude and they didn’t even release my dog with written instruction on after care. They only briefed me on it verbally. I honestly had to call all day the next day with more questions on her after care when normally vet offices gives you written instructions. Yes they were kind enough to let me pay half of the bill then, and the other half of the $ 407 in two weeks, but when I took her back to get the stitches and drain removed both times they basically never got the note on my account and tried to say I owed more than I did. It took a while for them to realize that they were wrong and their eyes were rolling. How rude! Aside from the rudeness they are expensive. I will not be returning.

We receive excellent care here for our pooches. From vaccines to dental/​surgical care to advice on food, behaviors, etc these people know what they’re talking about! We love Vanessa and Dr Fields. Both super helpful and passionate about animals. We are grateful for your care to our pups!

A month later I get a letter from the Veterinarian saying he is sorry he screwed up. Dr. Sorrells do not let him ever touch your animal. Do not go to Banfield ever.

This corporation is made up of shysters. We had to put our 16 year old cat down two days ago, and when I tried to cancel her wellness plan today, I was told that I owe them money. My cat is dead… are you kidding me? I’ve never blurted the F-​bomb to anyone over the phone like I did today. I’m not proud of it, but it happened and I think it was warranted.
I have three pets on wellness plans, all of which I will let run out and not renew. I am currently looking for a new vet because I’m disgusted by this policy.
In this case I believe the scandalous nature of the company comes from the corporate office as I have received great care at the Santee Banfield location. I do have some reservations as follow:
— They always up sell. Does my dog need his anal glands extracted? Does my cat need a pedicure since she’s going under anesthesia anyway? Beware of the up sell because it will happen time and again. (I heard the receptionist ask every patient with a dog if they wanted their anal glands extracted one day when I was waiting in the lobby, so I’m sure it wasn’t just me.)
— They overbook patients so there is always a wait. They list the names of all of the wellness plan participants for the day on a white board. The last time we were there my husband counted 31 animals and two doctors. And these are just the animals on the plan, who knows how many clients there were. No wonder there’s a wait.
— There is nearly always something that needs to be paid for out of pocket. Even the dental, which is a big selling point for the wellness plan, isn’t covered entirely. You will still need to pay for the anesthesia (every time) and if extractions are needed, you’ll have to pay for those.
— Staff misrepresented the wellness plan to my husband when he took our new puppy in for her first shots. He asked specific questions about what was included and was told one thing but it wasn’t the case. I don’t believe this was done on purpose. I think whomever he talked to was simply misinformed; however, that doesn’t make it okay, especially since the information he received was the deciding factor for signing the dog up the plan. The plan seems like a good idea, but ultimately, it is a textbook example of fleecing, and if you do the math, you will find that you don’t save money. And, God forbid that your pet dies while on the plan, you’ll end up owing this awful corporation money.
When it comes down to the actual care my animals received, I think it was good care. I’ve seen every doctor there, and from my personal experience I would recommend Dr. Fields. She has been professional, caring, informed, and very helpful, as were the other doctors and staff. I would recommend them, but can’t recommend Banfield.
I’m writing this so others can make an informed decision about this company. Don’t be duped by the wellness plan, and if you sign up, don’t be surprised if you have to cancel and end up owing money, even when your pet has passed away. Scandalous.

This corporation is scandalous. Avoid it at all costs and whatever you do, don’t sign up for anything. We’ve called to cancel multiple times and each time they say something else. This time they told us if we wanted to cancel, we’d have to pay a lump sum for each pet to cover the difference for the year. ($ 800)
Learn from my mistakes and never step foot in this place.

Yay, Banfield! They took my baby girl in when she was sick and we were a walk-​in. Three people saw my dog and when I left I felt like they really cared. At least now I know that she has allergies and so we have to watch what she eats and gets around. They totally put me at ease.
Thanks Again.

this review is more for the call center than for the actual hospital… WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE!!! I’ve called several times to cancel the plan and they keep offering me this and that which I stupidly accept. Finally I just can’t afford it anymore. I’m unemployed and I don’t even have medical insurance for myself. They refused to waive my last payment despite me explaining that we can barely put food on the table let alone pay another $ 40 for a service we haven’t used in at least 5 months. Seriously what’s $ 40 to them when they make hundreds of thousands a month or more?! Even the supervisor didn’t care and kept repeating herself like I was an idiot. I swear customer service now a days is just out the door because companies only care about their bottom line instead of the people they serve. I was planning on signing back up once I got a job but definitely will be taking my pup elsewhere after that.

Annoyingly slow EVERY TIME. Never on time for appointments, I am always waiting.

Dr Lonsky saved my Bulldogs life. I originally had both my dogs at the Aero Drive location for 5 years but when i noticed the vets there kept changing I decided to go to another location to ensure I got better care for my troubled bully. Two years ago My English Bulldog Oakely began vomitting and I brought him in to see Dr. Lonsky to find out the source. Originally I was given antinausea meds until the lab results were back. After some tests and an xray, Dr Lonsky informed me that something on his xray didnt look right and that he should have an ultrasound done. I sceduled an ultrasound and when the results came back it appeared that Oakley had a mass growing on his spleen. Dr Lonsky Reffered me to The VCA for emergency surgery where he would have 24 hour care that banfield could not provide. Because of her care I was able to get oakley the best chance at living. They removed the mass (non cancerous) and his spleen, biopsied his organs and it turned out he not only had a mass but IBD as well which was the source of his vommiting not the mass. I will continue to go to DR lonsky. She has been very honest and forward about how I should care for oakely and my other dog tink. Shes smart and caring and I love that she really dives into her work. She also removed oakely off a med that was prescribed to him a long time ago but actually had no purpose for him. He is now a healthy 7 ½ year old boy with tons of energy. Thanks to this Lady I get to enjoy my baby for a few more years I hope! People like her make me soo happy that they became vets. Smart and caring. Thank you for everything!
Love, Oakley, Tink, and momma.

The only good thing about this clinc is Keith at the front desk. Otherwise they don’t care about your pet, their super expensive and try to up-​sell you.

I’ve been taking both of my dogs to the Murphy canyon location for several years. We recently moved to Santee so I decided to give this one a try. The other location was becoming so busy and such a high turnover with front desk employees, I felt like every time I went it was such an ordeal!
My first and only experience thus far was a simple visit for my doggy who was experiencing an upset tummy. I wanted to be sure that nothing more serious was going on, so I took him in. I was seen quickly, and the vet seemed very thorough. She explained that my dog was due for his bloodwork, so we could do that just to be safe. (The visit and bloodwork were both covered in my plan). She made a few very simple suggestions, but didn’t push it. She actually encouraged me to wait it out and see if he felt better on his own. I appreciate her not being too pushy/​salesy.
I will most likely take my dogs to this location from now on. So far, so good!

I signed up for Banfield 3 years ago when my dog, Janis was a puppy. I recently cancelled my account because of the following reasons:
1. They try their best to «up-​sell» you on services and treatments you don’t need
2. I’m don’t want to worry about my partner getting hit on by the Vet
3. When I would go in for a specific illness or concern, they would try to sell me on something else and inevitably leave with a dog untreated for the reason I scheduled an appointment in the first place
4. I don’t want to risk inappropriate behavior towards my spouse by any Vet or professional working on my pet.
5. There prices are inflated so when you sign up for the plan it appears that you’re getting a deal
6. The fear of the medical professional over stepping their professional boundaries with my partner should I be unable to accompany my him and my pet during a visit
I hesitate to write low rated reviews unless I feel a compelling reason to do so. Aside from the poor sales pitch to me to purchase more than I need and end up walking out with an untreated dog, I would hope professionalism is something the company enforces and requires when hiring employees.
The desire to feel comfortable that your dog is being treated for the reasons you bring them in and not having to worry about inappropriate behavior from the Vet is a reasonable expectation. Unfortunately, I don’t feel that way with Banfield and their professionals. Especially now after reading other reviews from customers.
I’ve have yet to receive that «above and beyond» professional behavior and service. I’ve visited at least 3 locations. Janis has been seen by several Vet’s and through personal experience and collectively from friends who’ve used Banfield, I would NEVER recommend this place for dog vet services.
I doubt I’ll regret my decision of cancelling my monthly membership with this company.

WATCH OUT – Dr. Fields is a home-​wrecker (TRUE story).
My fiancée and I bought our precious puppy at 7 months. She hadn’t been spayed yet, and we felt spaying would be best before she gets any older.
We chose Banfield Hospital.
Dr. Barbara Fields operated on her. Our puppy’s stitching was completely uneven, and caused ugly scarring. Also, when explaining what medications to give her and when, she was really rude. She didn’t even make eye-​contact with me during conversation.
When our puppy’s yearly exam came, Dr. Fields called my fiancée late in the evening to give the results, which I thought was strange.
A few weeks later, Dr. Fields requested to be my fiancée’s friend on Facebook. I thought that was inappropriate. Personally, my primary care physician has never requested to «be friends» on facebook because it’s ethically wrong in the medical field. Why would this be different in the dog-​medical field?
Dr. Fields took advantage of her position as being my dog’s «doctor», and inappropriately pursued my fiancée.
Dr. Fields has stolen not only my fiancée, but my dog too.

Normally, I would give Banfield one star at best. It’s always super unprofessional, undertrained staff, and the wait time is about an hour on average. I bought the Wellness plan so I felt that I had to continue using this hospital until the due date was up. I was pleasantly surprised today in Santee. Dr. Fields was great. The wait time was around 5 minutes, the area was clean and new, and the staff was friendly. I have been to 4 other Banfields and this is the first time I would actually recommend their facility. It was worth the extra 10 minute drive from San Diego.

Finding a decent Vet that doesn’t rip you off is hard to find. I brought my pom here after spending and obscene amount of money at Bastet Veterinary Hospital paying for services and treatments that never happened. So after the great ear incident of 2013 my dog was still digging in her ears. The Vet explained how I got ripped of by the above mention vet and what the proper ear care for my dog. I was charged $ 35 for an ear cleaning and you could actually see results. This place is great and they really care about the babies aka our pets. I signed up for the insurance and had blood work, heart worm meds /​testing, ear flush, medication and other various work done to my baby. It only cost me with the sign up $ 205 out the door. I was please to see the results and my baby relieve of her ear pain. Honestly this place is worth every penny and the Vets and Technician’s care about out fur babies.

A friend of mine in Ohio takes her pugs to Banfield & she is always saying how much she love the care they get, so when we were changing vets I decided to give Banfield a try! Wow! What a great experience! We saw Dr. Lonsky & our pug loved her! Even after the «indiginity» of getting her temperature taken! lol Dr. Lonsky was very through & took her time talking to us about any concerns we had, explaining a vacine we weren’t familiar with… it wasn’t an «up-​sell» either, since we decide to purchase the care package… an HMO type plan for your dog. It covers office visits, all vacines, blood work, two wellness check ups a year (compare it to a «well baby check») all for a small enrollment fee & monthly premium.
Another thing that impressed me was there was no question that we could go in the exam room with our pug, in fact we were welcomed, unlike the last vet we saw, less than a mile from here on Cuyamaca… they wouldn’t allow us to go with our dog… we didn’t go there again!
Try Banfield if you are looking for a vet, you can even transfer to a new office if you move & if you get the care plan you can use it when you travel. We paid $ 120 today & that included the enrollment fee & first months premium (that took care of the office visit, blood tests, vacinations) we added 6mo. of Heartworm meds & a nail trim! Less than the price we were quoted at several offices for just the office visit & only 3 of the vacines!
Our pug was happy… as happy as you would expect after, shots blood test & nail trimming… not to mention that thermometer! The toy department in the attached PetSmart took care of any «attitude issues» she had! If you have a pug… you’ll understand the «attitude» ;)

Our neighbor recommended us to go here and get the puppy plan for our 3 month old Corgi, Meatball. It has been a great experience so far. The puppy plan was about $ 179.00 to start and $ 30.00 every month which includes all his shots, neutering/​spaying, and if anything happens we just take him there and they will take care of him.
The vet is very nice and treats our pet with love and care. I feel at ease to ask any questions or tell if I have any concerns.
I would definitely recommend this place to new pet owners with puppies to get the puppy plan. It seems expensive but it is probably the best deal I have ever heard about especially for all the services.