Banfield Pet Hospital

5401 Urbana Pike, Frederick, MD 21704, USA

Category:	Veterinarian
Address:	5401 Urbana Pike, Frederick, MD 21704, USA
Phone:	+1 301-631-5222
Site:	banfield.com
Rating:	3.1
Working:	7AM–7PM 7AM–7PM 7AM–7PM 7AM–7PM 7AM–7PM 7AM–7PM 9AM–5PM

Location

Photos 13

Reviews 6

A Private User

The Frederick Banfield is basically the local branch of the National Banfield Corporation, which has Veterinary clinics all over the country. Its basically the Wall-Mart of Animal Hospitals and that shows in the way that they treat the animals there. I have shown dogs for several years, worked at a couple of different private practice animal hospitals, and Ive never seen such terrible Veterinary care. I took my dogs to Banfield about 4 times before looking elsewhere for a Vet. The first couple of times were for routine puppy vaccinations and exams. Both of those times when we arrived for our appointments we had to wait about 30 minutes before being taken to the exam rooms, and then once in the exam rooms we had to wait another 40 or so minutes to see the Vet. The Vets (we saw 2 different ones during our time there) spent less then 5 minutes actually examining our puppies, and then they gave them the vaccinations and that was it. It was not by any means a thorough examination. The exam rooms were also consistently dirty with pet hair all over the place and I dont think that they sprayed down the exam tables with disinfectant between patients, which is standard practice at other Vets Ive been to. The final straw for us was when we brought one of our dogs in after she had eaten a rawhide bone. She was vomiting and not passing her bowels and we were concerned there was a blockage. Our dog also was getting an ear infection and we wanted to get some antibiotic for her as we had been cleaning her ears daily without success. When we arrived at the Vet, after the usual 45 minutes plus of waiting time, the Vet walked in the room asked us what the problem was. We explained the symptoms and she immediately turned to her computer monitor and spent 15 minutes punching on the keys and mumbling to herself. My husband and I were looking at each other in confusion, surprised by her odd behavior. Finally she turned to us, angled her monitor so we could see it, and said "Thatll be $940.00 for the x-rays, sedation for the x-rays, some medication to calm her stomach and for the ear exam and the ear antibiotics". We were stunned. Having worked at an animal hospital I know its NOT standard to sedate a dog for xrays unless the dog is very aggressive or has a broken bone etc, which I told the Vet. I also thought it was ridiculous that she wanted to charge us $100 for an ear exam when any vet would have normally just taken a look at the dogs ears for free. I said to her "Can you at least LOOK at our dog first and see if you even think she has a blockage?". The Vet looked kind of embarrassed and FINALLY examined our dog. Upon feeling her abdomen she said that she could not feel any kind of blockage, so most likely our dog just had an irritated stomach due to the rawhide. In that case the best thing is to put her on a sensitive stomach food like ID and watch her for 24 hours and see if she can pass a bowl movement. However if we had listened to the Vet we would have spent $900+ dollars just to find out there was no serious problem and to get some $40 antibiotic ear ointment! RIDICULOUS. I have a friend who is a Veterinary Technician who used to work at Banfield and she told me that they are all about the money there and squeezing as much out of clients in diagnostic fees and tests and medications etc that arent always necessary. But it makes them more money. I was so angry that the Vet didnt even bother to look at our dog before telling us about all the charges, its clear what their priority is there. We ended up leaving Banfield after 2 hours (most of it waiting) without having anything done. We fed our dog ID and she had a bowel movement the next morning. I ordered her some enzymatic ear cleaner for dogs from Amazon and $25.00 and a week later her ears were looking great.

Barbara Benitez-Curry

No. No. And No. I have been with Banfield for over four years now, first in Gainesville, VA then in Bethesda, MD. While in Gainesville, the vets were nice enough but I still kept a primary vet who truly knew what he was doing. Bethesda MD was a dream. Perhaps this experience raised my expectations for Banfield vets. Dr. K was marvelous. Then I moved to Frederick and switched to the Urbana Pike clinic. The girls at the front are quite nice and helpful, so no complaints there, but the vet! She is the "Chief of Staff" so I elected her as my dogs vet and what a HORROR. One of my angels needed a cyst removed and the stitches she sewed looked like I did it! My poor baby has puckering, lumpy sutures that are uneven. I was shocked when I picked her up as I know it will leave a horrible scar. I have taken my other dog for surgery elsewhere for a luxating patella and VOSM of Annapolis Junction rebuilt his knee with barely a trace of a scar. This Banfield vet, Dr. McDonald the "Chief of Staff" of Frederick stitched my dog like a bad home economics project. Then I, mistakenly, tried her again for simple shots. She jabbed at my poor baby and my dog yelped and leapt off the table! He was BLEEDING afterwards, and her response was "oops, must have hit a bad spot, sorry." Are you kidding me! She looks all of twelve and is a complete ditz and amatuer who should NOT be practicing medicine yet. No more! No way. Please do not go here with your beloved pet!

Madison Pizer

I normally dont do reviews for places, but I really feel like I have to do one for this Banfield. This morning I had to bring my cat in to be put down. He had an extreme form of cancer and his life was coming to an end. Having to put your pet down is one of the worst decisions you will ever have to make, and this Banfield went above and beyond for us. The vet assistant explained everything to us and was very sympathetic. She made sure my cat was very comfortable and gave us as much time as we needed to process. When it came time the vet allowed me to hold him as they put him down, which is not usual with places like an animal shelter. The vet was very quick in administering and he passed very quickly and painlessly. I cannot thank the vets and staff at this banfield enough for how well they treated me and most importantly my really special cat.

Leslie Rosier

Dr. Cole and her team are fantastic. They are wonderful with my special needs dog. I cant say enough good things about them!!

Katie Wilson

Ive been a Banfield member for 5 years and love it there. All the techs and vets are so nice and helpful.

Larry Brown

Great service.