Banfield Pet Hospital

I am immediately severing my ties with Banfield hospital. I do not recommend this clinic. I have used the Adams Morgan Banfield Hospital since moving to the area in April 2020. Banfield employs a drop off model they began using during the pandemic and when we used it in 2020, we would drop our cat Scotch off, and be told a reasonable time to pick him up, 1-2 hours after the drop. However, over time, service dropped - with longer and longer time lapses between dropping our cat off and being called to pick him up. There is no estimation the front desk will give you ahead of time so you can plan when to pick up your pet; you just wait hours for a call. In December there was a SIX HOUR time lapse between us dropping him off for a consultation and picking him up. Then today, he had a follow up for a vet to spend a few minutes looking at a lesson on his stomach. The wait for that was EIGHT HOURS AND THIRTY MINUTES. That is absolutely unconscionable. By comparison, Amtrak’s pet policy only allows pets to be on 7 hour routes. Once, when I had to take more than a 7 hour route I called Amtrak and asked why I could not bring my cat. They said much longer than that without water or a bathroom is not kind to the pet and will cause discomfort. By this logic, a train company has more empathy than a veterinary clinic. It is asinine and inhumane to keep a pet in holding for over 8 hours. Veterinary medicine- much like other health professions - is in a shortage. But there is no excuse for mistreating pets like this. It’s totally unrealistic to expect in a town like DC that workers have the flexibility to sit around and wait for an appointment call. My husband, who took our cat in, has the privilege of a flexible schedule. I, like many others in DC, do not. Imagine having to miss an entire day’s paycheck because your veterinary clinic has not figured out how to do what our broken health care system does for people everyday- keep appointments. Banfield has lost my trust and my business. I will not be seeking their care again.

Had my appointment rescheduled for weeks later twice in a row. The second time was after I drove all the way to the hospital and waited outside for ten minutes because it was locked. Only for them to finally call me back and tell me that they needed to cancel my appointment yet again. No organization, terrible service.

We brought our Black Lab Luka here for her second round of vaccinations. This pet hospital was the closest one to where we live, and it was an enjoyable 20 minute walk, especially for Luka. They provided us with a vaccine package that included six of the essential vaccines for dogs. We also had her teeth cleaned at the same time, because it had been at least 8 months since she had that done. There weren't any other pets or their owners inside of the lobby when we got here, which for sure saved us on a lot of dog drama. Everyone was really aweso.e with Luka and we had no issues at all.

Took my dog in this Saturday 9/21/24 for his shots. Dr. Michael advised taking a sample from a mass on his side to make sure it’s nothing serious. I agreed and paid up. Yesterday at 7 pm I left a frantic voicemail pleading for a call back. It’s now 10:45 am and I’m still waiting. They have been open since 8 am. I told them my dog is lying prone, cannot get up, he has urinated and defecated on himself. The site where they put the needle is now much more swollen, red, and very very painful. I touched it and he screamed. I cannot carry him in to be seen. I pleaded for a call back but it’s obviously not a priority for them. Be VERY leery of this vet office - aside from the fact that when you are there “the vet will be right with you “ translates to a 40 minute wait. PS: they called at 12:45 the next day. Almost 5 hours after opening. Offered me condolences for my dog’s death and enjoined me to “have a great rest of your day” - all within a 10 second conversation. The tone-deafness blew me away- again.

I am writing this review with frustration, hurt and disappointment with the lack of care to our dog by the Banfield DC Adam’s Morgan location. Our dog passed away today at only 8 years old and we feel his life could have been saved or had a chance to be saved if he was provided the care he needed with urgency and if the vet (Dr. Michael) was equipped to actually handle the situation. We would like corporate to investigate this location and staff. Their practices need to be looked into as this appears to be complete negligence. I have reported this to Banfield corporate. my mother scheduled an appointment at this location for our dog Percival due to him not feeling well. Once she arrived for the appointment at 10:30 EST she explained  the symptoms he was experiencing. The staff at the vet took him back and my mom waited around the area for about 2 hours. After waiting for this lengthy amount of time she then asked if she could speak to the vet and if there was any updates around 12 PM EST. The staff then indicated that the vet had not seen our dog yet but they told her that she could leave since her house is not around this particular area. Around 2 or 2:30 PM EST the vet called my mother and advised that she needed to immediately pick up our dog up because he was in serious condition and he needs to be rushed to the emergency vet. My mother questioned the vet to try and understand what was happening and why in the world would they wait 4 HOURS to tell her this and not immediately see him. The vet advised she was behind her appointments and she called as soon as they “triaged”, mind you it is completely shocking they waited hours to even see him. During this conversation, the vet was not calm and was very panicked and not helpful at all. She stated they did blood work and were giving him oxygen but if he was taken off of the oxygen he struggled to breathe. Once my mother arrived, they handed our dog to her like he was some stuffed animal and not  a living creature that deserves better care than what was given to him by this Banfield office.  Keep in mind when he arrived to the vet he was able to WALK but when he was given back to my mom he was now in dire condition and could only be held. My mom rushed to the emergency vet that was 15-20 minutes away and with a heavy heart even when they attempted to save his life they were unable to. The emergency vet believes that the vet at Banfield did not give him a shot to help remove fluid from his lungs until my mother was finally on her way to pick him up. With all of this being said we feel that this Banfield location should be held responsible for neglecting to properly care for our dog’s needs. They were unable to clearly communicate with a calm demeanor what was happening to him, they did not provide any support to treat his symptoms and they were not equipped to help an animal in dire need. I have never in my life caring for animals for 30 years ever heard of a vet advising to rush an animal to a different vet for care when the animal is in critical condition. Our boy could be alive today if he was looked at sooner and was with a more well equipped veterinarian. This complaint will not bring our beloved dog back but it could very well save another animals life. Please do not let this complaint be ignored, we are completely devastated over this and hope this does not happen to anyone else’s pet. Please respond back with the steps that will taken to investigate this. We do expect a prompt response from Banfield corporate.