Banfield Pet Hospital

I am so grateful for this caring and professional place!! They had taken amazing care of my doggie in multiple occasions either in person or through the app. It is easy to make appointments but most importantly, I trust my pet will receive the best treatment and attention. Dr. Chung is compassionate, knowledgeable, and a great listener. From all the Banfields we have visited, this is the one I can highly recommend.

My husband picked up our dog from his check up appt yesterday. And the nurse/front desk agent told him that our dog pooped in his cage and had poop all over him. When my husband saw our dog he had caked up dried poop on his paws and his one nail was bleeding. How long did our dog sit in his own poop and why did no one try and clean him up? When we got him home he was shaking and wouldn’t let us near him (this has never happened in 12 years). We tried to call back and speak to a doctor but the person who answered the phone just kept saying “well I told you he had poop on his paws”. Doctor refused to speak to us but offered to “evaluate” him if we brought him back. Why would we bring him back to a place that clearly traumatized him? Never going back again.

I wish I could give a zero. This place is so poorly managed that my dogs qualify of care has been sacrificed numerous times. They dismissed a lump I found numerous times until one developed rapidly and in an obvious location. I couldn’t get my dog in for an in person appointment for the Cytology aspiration, so it was a drop off. After hours in the cage and being poked with the huge needle, she probably yipped. They marked her as “cage aggressive” but never told me. Fast forward 4 months later I’m bringing her in for he comprehensive exam at another Banfield location because I hate Metuchen so much, and the tech asks about the “cage aggression”. It was the first time I had ever heard of this and I was shocked. My seven year old beagle it’s so docile and well behaved, She’s given herself, UTIs from holding her pee Too long instead of just peeing on the floor of the house because she knows it’s bad. There’s no way she bit or scratched anyone. And if she did, I was not made aware. This is my last straw in a very long period of being utterly disrespected by this location. After they called me to leave a voicemail, letting me know that the lump was in fact, cancerous, I called back within normal business hours the next day just for the phone line to keep connecting me immediately to the voicemail and telling me that they were not open. Multiple times I’ll call during normal business hours and the phone lines aren’t working and it sends me directly to voicemail Claiming that I’ve called outside of business hours. I wouldn’t send my worst enemy to this location.

The staff were good, but the process was poor. This resulted in a delayed, frustrating, drawn out appointment in which the doctor initially missed one of the main reasons for the visit. I do not blame the staff nor the doctor, who all did the best they could in the circumstances. This is the fault of Banfield's management. ----- The clinic is purposefully run to prevent the pet, the doctor, and you from being in the same room simultaneously. You and your pet talk to an assistant, who then takes your pet to a separate room with the doctor. The doctor evaluates and treats your pet without you. The doctor then visits you, without your pet, to talk. Then, the doctor leaves, and the assistant brings your pet back to you. This structure resulted in the doctor, who I will not name because they were clearly overburdened, missing one of my main complaints for the visit. The doctor also recommended treatments that I wanted to ask about, but I could not do so because you do not get to see the doctor until after any treatments are done. I do not blame the doctor for this. It is the fault of poor management forcing staff to take more appointments than is reasonable and to do so in a format that does not allow the client to talk to the doctor with their pet present. This caused the appointment to result in frustration for both the doctor and the client. The appointment took much longer than it would have otherwise due to needing to play telephone between the doctor, the assistant, and me. And aside from the time lost and the frustration, this resulted in a poorer standard of care. ----- Overall, I would see the assistant and doctor again at another clinic. However, I recommend against going to Banfield.

Our babies, Gastón and Samson, are always in good hands at Banfield Metuchen. They’re so kind and accommodating. They truly love animals and it shows. All the Drs are great - they’re thorough and explain everything in detail. There are never hidden charges or surprises. We also have to give an extra thanks to Dr. Walker who is such a fantastic doctor that we request her every single time. Thank you guys so much!