Banfield Pet Hospital

I recently took my dog to Banfield Pet Hospital in Ballard and had a fantastic experience. The staff was incredibly friendly and welcoming, which immediately put me at ease. The vet technician was especially wonderful - very knowledgeable and patient with my nervous pup. They took the time to explain everything thoroughly and made sure my dog felt comfortable throughout the entire visit. I'm so glad I chose Banfield for my dog's care and highly recommend them to other pet owners in the area.

I've taken my pet to this hospital for 7 years. While the care for basic needs was adequate, I'm giving a low review for the following reasons. 1. We were on a "wellness plan" which charged approximately $1000 a year and covered routine medication and "unlimited" office visits. However those office visits were useless when our pet actually had a life threatening condition. They were unable to diagnose it, provide any relevant care, told us they were not equipped to handle it and we had to rush him to an emergency vet. The delay it took to find all this out could have had serious consequences for our pet given his condition. 2. The hospital is generally understaffed. It's difficult to find an appointment in a short time frame. They do have "drop off" visits where you just drop your pet off and don't speak to a vet and pick the pet up whenever he's ready. These are mostly what we had to use. 3. Canceling the "wellness plan" required me to route through multiple numbers and people, took well over 30 minutes, and at the end I was told I had to pay $150 for "services rendered" despite the fact that I had only had routine shots, was being charged $85 per month, and hadn't been to the vet in several months. I ended up at an 888 number talking to someone at some sort of corporate call center. This place isn't exactly your neighborhood vet anymore. In short the hospital is under staffed, you often have to settle for "drop off" visits, the wellness plan extremely poorly priced (My guess is that it's price is justified by claiming it pays for exorbitantly marked up basic services), the care is limited, and the diagnoses are not particularly sharp. This hospital was good 7 years ago when we first started going. Now it's an extremely limited service, exorbitantly priced, and under staffed. I'll call it a blatant money grab.

Horrific service. Had an appointment for 8am, showed up at 7:45. Because their lobby is being renovated I waited outside, which is fine, but nobody bothered assuming that I showed up for the appointment. Called three times over the next 45 minutes and then finally got through at 8:30. I was told that because *I missed our appointment* they would need to keep my dog for a few hours until the vet could find time to see him. The honus is on them to look out their own window and assume that people arrive for the appointments they book, regardless of renovations. Waited for 45 minutes outside in the cold to be told I missed my appointment, ridiculous.

We trust Banfield Ballard with our pet care because they emphasize preventative care, communicate clearly about cost and treatment plans, and truly care about our pets! Special shoutout to our favorite Client Services Coordinator, Cassidy, and our favorite Veterinary Assistant, Stephanie!

Great so far, got my kitten super charged and is raring to go. She's been zooming though my apartment at warp speed since we've got home. I think they dosed her with some kitten nip to keep her liking going to the vet, smart I must say!