Banfield Pet Hospital

4 stars for affordable dog care, I signed my labradoodles up for the pet plan as puppies years ago and have been happy, they can go to any Banfield hospital in the country which is great if you travel often like me. Yes, with the plan my dogs seem to get more shots and doctor visits than they might really need but visits are quick, they don’t try to sell you unnecessary vitamins, pills, etc you don’t need. Dr. Alfaro is a great vet as well.

I’ve had some good experiences and some really, really horrible ones at this location. Dr. Alfaro is great with my 4 year old pit and always very helpful/​informative. She’s the only reason I still attend.
The biggest reason not to come here is that you can’t get an appointment until weeks out and so the front office staff sends you to walk in but that’s always over crowded. You should always expect to wait while you’re here.
The worst experiences I’ve had are with Dr. Franchini. She’s pretty inattentive, doesn’t provide much info and has been borderline rude at times. I tried to avoid her after my first experience but the dog ended up with a very deep cut on her foot. We brought her in and Franchini put a bandage on and then did not give her a cone, even when we asked because she didn’t think my dog would bite at a large bandage on her foot… she also provided no warning about keeping it dry and naturally the bandage came off (due to poor placement), my dogs foot got a mild skin infection bc she didn’t tell us how important it was to keep it dry. Worst of all, the next doctor ended up putting in 4 stitches. Including two internally and four on the outside. Franchini never even mentioned needing stitches, we had to buy a larger cones and make a bunch of extra trips out there. I would never allow such an irresponsible doctor to treat my dog again.

A few weeks ago I got a puppy from someone I knew and just recently he was due to get updated on vaccinations. We were in the Baltimore area and we had to choose between two Banfields — Townson or Hanover location. I called both locations and asked about walk ins, Townson seemed more open to that, so we choose Townson. We got there around 12 and even though we were a walk in we were seen in a reasonable time. We had Dr. Stellato and she was such great help! We had some many questions and concerns and she answered all of them for us ! The staff was extremely nice and patient with us ! We will definitely be back.

I normally don’t write reviews but I feel as though this is warranted and I want to share my experience with other Unilocalers or at least let the corporate offices know of my experience without going through a million hoops.
I have been taking my dog here since he was a puppy and he is now 1.5 my first few experiences were pretty decent. Not much to complain about everyone was friendly and helpful. The last few times have been very lackluster. My visit prior to my last visit, I had an appointment (which they stress that you make, otherwise you can just walk in for the same services, doesn’t really make sense if you still have a wait time with an appointment but okay) and I waited with an appointment for over an hour. Well what is the point of making an appointment if you have to wait over an hour to be seen.
My last visit didn’t go well either, I was called on the phone (in may) to be reminded that I need to bring my dog in for shots. Being that I was literally just walking off of the plane, I asked the person if I could call back to make the appointment but before I did I asked when specifically did his immunizations run out. I was told January! So my first question is why is this the first call that I am receiving about this? I was told she didn’t know. So i then asked if this service could be performed as a walk in and was told Yes. Because I never plan to make another appointment if I have to wait longer than if I didn’t have an appointment again.
Fast Forward to the day of the visit, I go in around 4pm and the staff had somewhat of an attitude. I’m thinking maybe because my dog needed all of his shots and I was a walk in. I don’t know, but it was empty and they weren’t busy so I didn’t see an issue. I have a wellness plan and it appears to be that it works for somethings but they try to up sell you on everything. They asked about flea treatment, which my dog has and can be purchased over the counter anywhere. They asked about heart-​worm medicine which can be ordered online from websites and for significantly less than Banfield charges. The Dr was very nonchalant about giving me specifics when recommending outside purchasing. But did mention that heart-​worm disease was fatal, so I guess I am just to say forget the medicine and risk my dogs life. I think not. I will just order from a different source. I was then told that there was a yeast in my dogs ears and he has an infection. Recommended medicine and ear wash/​cleaner. I accepted the 30.00 antibiotics and declined the 20.00 ear cleaner which I ended up purchasing in the regular pet store for less than 10.00
I now have a prescription which doesn’t specify how long specifically I need to use the medicine for other than to use it twice daily and I wasn’t recommended to bring my dog back for a follow up appointment. So after getting home last night and realizing that the length of time to use the medicine isn’t on the label or instructions, I have to call back again and get this information, along with having petmeds send them a request to fax over a prescription for me to get heart-​worm medicine.
My visit yesterday left a really bad taste in my mouth, hence my reason for writing this long review. I have called other vets to price other services like dental work and just basics and will probably use them to do this.
I am usually weary of writing reviews for receiving backlash but I really want Banfield to know that if a person has a wellness plan and a pet, I understand the recommended products, but don’t push the products when the same things are significantly cheaper at other places.

After emailing the customer advocate team, I quickly heard from Jen of Banfield Towson. She resolved my issue of double payment, told me they have a preferred provider system now where each pet sees a specific vet unless an emergency and that vet is out of town, and she also apologized for the way I was treated during my pet sickness visit Saturday and that it is almost an entirely new staff right now who is learning. I was very pleased with how Banfield responded to my issue and although I am not 100% sure I will continue my wellness plan, I certainly would consider it now, compared to an absolute no before.