Banning Veterinary Hospital

Reviews 3

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Annie Flannigan

We have been going here for years. We started with Dr. Summers who was the new guy. He obviously loved dogs (some vets dont seem to). Our many Golden retrievers weve had over the years were treated with respect and kindness. We had 2 less than perfect experiences there but they were lessons for us. Our beloved dog died in their kennel at night while being observed. Dr. S told us he wanted to do an autopsy for educational purposes - to see what she died of. So we said yes. Big mistake. Dont ever get an autopsy. It doesnt bring your pet back and it will break your heart. He called us when he was done to pick up Scout because we wanted to bury her at home. When my husband went down to get her, she was all cut apart on the table with bloody instruments around her. We thought they would sew her up. They wrapped tape around her. A terrible last memory and then they charged us 70.00. We hadnt wanted the autopsy, we just did it because the vet wanted to see what had killed her. We didnt understand we would have to pay. She had inhaled a foxtail BTW. She was 5 years old. We still miss her 9 years later. The 2nd was another Golden of ours, 4 years old, who kept falling down. They suggested we get her an MRI. They said to have them check her neck which means they suspected something. We had to borrow 1800.00 to get the MRI in Orange county. Her breathing was so bad they put her on oxygen in the waiting room. She had a cancerous tumor in her spinal cord in her neck which was unoperable and we had to put her to sleep right afterwards. That was heartbreaking as we just thought she had something wrong with her leg. What also bothered me was that I believe in my heart they suspected cancer and shouldve given her an x-ray; told us it was cancer and saved us that debt. Lessons: dont get an autopsy and dont get MRIs. If your pet needs one it is probably going to die anyway. The positive side of Banning Vet Hospital is that they have taken care of our dogs all their lives and put them to sleep when the time came (except in those 2 cases). They saved our new rescue dog when he was bit by a rattlesnake twice in the neck. Theyve spayed and neutered our dogs without incident unlike our previous local vet who nearly killed Scout due to infection and cut her sons leg all the way to the paw looking for a missing testicle when he was fixed. He wet the dog bed when he slept for the rest of his life so they mustve nicked something else?? Some of you have horror stories on here but I personally have not had neglect or mismanagement problems with this vet and I have with at least 2 others. I think weve been with them since about 2002? So I am sticking with them. This staff is very kind. They always send a sympathy card (even with Mary who died in O.C.) and they would send Mac, another of our dogs, birthday cards that were quite humorous. A comment about people who dont pay the bill if their pet dies: that is dishonest no matter what excuse you tell yourself. To me its like shoplifting. Its stealing. Maybe that is why vet bills are so high. Maybe the rest of us are paying your bill.

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Shelby Buffington

we have gone to these guys for years, and had always been very happy with the service and care for our animals we received until recently. this last experience has cost us almost $1000 at other vets to correct, put the dog through weeks of multiple surgeries and my wife was treated very badly by Dr Ryan. this my be the result of new staff coming in and old staff moving on. Dr Westbrook senior is always top notch. we recently took our dog in with a lump on her side. she was examined by a new DR. K and it was determined it was benign. she recommended that we have it removed if it got larger and when the dog was going to be in for a teeth cleaning. the dog did not have a drain installed nor given any antibiotics. she was majorly infected and required a second surgery to correct this. even though she had a temperature of almost 104 degrees, Dr Ryan implied my wife was being hysterical and that the dog would self resolve. A drain was put in this time, but too high up and the infection moved to her stomach and hardened. they did finally prescribe antibiotics and prescription dog food. they mistakenly gave us prescription cat food which we were told when we saw the mistake and called them, to not feed it to the dog because it could have killed her and that we should drive around Temecula to vets to see if they have the correct food. no corrective action offered from them. we then took the dog to Dr Bob Temecula Animal Hospital for a second opinion (he is really good but had not been available when we did the surgery) and to Butterfield Vets Hosp. for a third opinion, also excellent service and very competent staff that actually care about you and your pet. We finally had to have them do a third surgery to once again remove the infection. this ran us about $620 now. we were of course promptly billed by Banning Animal hospital, we did receive a follow up phone call three days after the follow up visit we missed with them and 6 days after the second surgery, but nothing after that. until they get their act togather, I would save your time, pet and money and find another place to go.

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Hayden P.

I see a lot of good reviews here but I warn you, Enter with your pet at your own risk!! Things might turn out fine, but you are definitely testing fate! Like the person above whose dog was killed, they also killed my cat!! I took him in because he was making a funny noise when he was breathing, like a flapping sound. I could tell it was in his nose. They said that he had a little piece of cartilage hanging down inside his nose and they were just going to cut it off. I was told it was a minor procedure but they wanted to sedate him because he probably wouldnt let them cut something from inside his nose. They said come back in a couple hours. I took my son to the banning car wash to get my car cleaned while we waited. It was there I got a phone call saying something had gone terribly wrong and my cat was dying. I was told something like they had cut too much and there was a hole connecting his sinuses to his throat and it didnt make a lot of sense because I was in shock. I remember them saying if he drank water he was going to drowned himself. I said I wanted to come see him and they wouldnt let me. They told me it was not good for my son to see his beloved kitty that way. They said they would watch him overnight to see if his condition improved, however he died that evening. They NEVER let me see him!! After crying myself to sleep for days, I got a bill in the mail for $500! Are you freaking kidding me? I am very suspicious about what happened to my cat. I wish I had fought harder to find out the truth. All I know is my beloved pet went in for something minor and died! There seemed to be a big effort to not let me see him or give me accurate info on why or how this happened. And then they had the nerve to send me a bill! Needless to say I did NOT pay it. I didnt care if my credit went to crap, they would never get one cent from me!