Banfield Pet Hospital Annandale, Maryland

Terrible experience! We have been going to Banfield for 2 years with our dog, we stopped going to the springfield location because they would book you for a ln appointment and then not get to your dog for the whole day! We started going to the Annandale location and they are doing the same thing! I dropped off our dog for a 9am appointment and after calling them for an update at 2:30 pm they said they are not done, on my request to pick him up and not have them finish, they then explained that the doctor hasn’t even seen him yet!! I picked hime up at 3:20pm and he was there all day in a crate not even being seen! Horrible experience at different locations - we are canceling our OTP and will not be going back.

Arleth, the receptionist was exceptional. She helped squeeze us in for a Sunday appointment to fit our busy schedule. She took time to explain to us the benefits of the health plan and explain different treatment and financial options. She was caring and gentle with our pup when her was nervous on his first visit. The Vet was fantastic and provided us with a thorough debrief call to help us understand the status of our dog’s health and ways to ensure he stays healthy in the future. It’s difficult to move to a new place and find a vet you can trust. Highly recommend.

Do not take your dog to Banfield. We have been taking our dog to Banfield for over 8 years and we went to get her chip replaced with a 15-digit one to get her to move overseas with us and all of the sudden they needed us to prove she was our dog. No issues taking thousands of dollars over the years but now you want to question if she is our dog…. A little late in the game. Unnecessary hurdles when a little common sense would’ve gone a long way - I don’t think anyone is trying to steal my 14-year old treasure. Horrible service do not recommend.

I usually ignored poor reviews because although Banfield was never great to my dog, they weren't necessarily horrible either. In hindsight, I should never have waited this long to realize I should have broken my relationship with them. The optimum wellness plan is an intelligently prepared moneypit, it's just better to go to caring hands or a trusted local vet with experience. Every time I dropped off my dog, I received him back in a state of panic, anxiety and despair. The last time I dropped him off he was happy and relatively stable. Whatever "tests" and "treatments" given to my dog probably overwhelmed him and led to his death an hour after I picked him up. Please take this warning seriously: at the first sign of poor service or a bad experience, never return again. You may suffer the traumatic loss I and many others have suffered. I'm not even angry about the money. I would have paid triple to another business that would have at least made a legitimate effort to cure or treat my beloved dog with empathy and care.

Takes really good care of pets

***UPDATE ON THIS LOCATION*** We have stopped taking our dogs to this location due to the extreme low performance of the vets and the admin staff. The admin staff has changed and the company's hiring standards seemed to have decreased significantly... The staff have zero problem solving skills, and their attitudes are simply "there's nothing we can do". This location also has a big issue with changing their appointment types to "in-room exam" to "drop off" without any notification. We scheduled simple in-room vaccine appts 3 weeks in advance and without notification, our appt was changed to the drop-off appt... Considering this was a 10 min vaccine booster appt, it was extremely pointless to change the appt to drop-off and have our pet there all day... This change has happened 3 or 4 times. Unwilling to make our pet sit in their kennels all day for a quick appt, we had to reschedule. Additionally, getting a prescription for meds from this place is basically IMPOSSIBLE. We obtain the prescription through this Banfield location and then order online from Chewy because it's cheaper. Chewy tries contacting Banfield for a week to confirm prescription before eventually canceling our order... Currently, our 3rd attempt at ordering from Chewy was again canceled due to "no contact from Banfield". So, I called Banfield asking that the prescription be emailed to me so i can efficiently upload to Chewy and OUR DOG CAN GET HER MEDS... Banfield WILL NOT EMAIL THE PRESCRIPTION. I talked to one gal about 2 weeks ago and she said "sure, I'll email it over!"... After several days passed and I still hadn't received it I called again, this time a different gal said "Oh, we can't do that. there's nothing I can do"... This Banfield location seriously went from 5 stars to negative 1... Rudest, laziest, inefficient staff.

I've recently been taking my fur baby here because their wellness package which I already feel is worth it. I feel like they take good care of my baby and feel better we have a safe place that we can trust to take him.

My dog loved going to the vet before her experience here. She was always excited to be around other dogs and never cried or showed any sign of fear going in. Ever since her experience here, she has been absolutely terrified of the vet. Now, I have to walk to the back with her, whereas before, I couldn't even keep her by my side, she wanted to get to the back so bad. She cries, she cowers, and she can't wait to get out of there. I don't know what they did to my dog, but they permanently traumatized her. I don't know if she'll ever go back to how she was before.

The quality of service at this branch has been terrible since the beginning of this year. They have consistently missed our dogs prescription orders which result in us having to coordinate call them and then call our drug store to get the fax paperwork sent back and forth. This has occurred 3-4 times this year alone. Last week we put in a prescription order and found out the order was cancelled because Banfield never responded back to the drug store. We had to call this branch several times and their response was they didn't receive the forms despite the drug store even calling them and one of their representative saying it will be approved and the form will be sent back by the end of the business day. If you make an appointment here - the actual service for the appointment is not bad HOWEVER, for anything else like prescription orders, they are not reliable and not responsive at all. We have decided to transfer our dogs care to another branch.

I have been going to to this branch for some time now, getting our two puppies their vaccinations and checkups. However, their service has really deteriorated. For some reason this branch consistently messes up our dogs prescriptions. The pharmacies that we order medication would try to contact them multiple times in a week but they never respond. We followed up with the pharmacy to check. This branch is so unreliable and unresponsive that the pharmacy had to call/fax/email them at least 11 times. Banfield would simply say "we dont have it in our system" when we clearly have been following up with both them and the pharmacies we order from. And every time we call them they would tell us that it would be done by the end of the day or the next day. However, upon checking up on them again a few days later, nothing was done about it and the orders are still not processed. At this point our dogs have missed two weeks of medication because of how disorganized and unreliable they are. We did give them the benefit of the doubt that maybe this mistake was just a one time thing. But this happened at least 4 more times. So clearly the problem is the branch. Save yourself the frustration and don't go here. They are unresponsive, unprofessional, and unreliable.

If I could give this place 0 stars I would. The front desk staff are horrible abs the doctors are no better. Stay away from Banfield because it is over priced and you get absolutely nothing in your “wellness plans.” Don’t waste your time or money. Never again will I ever step foot in this Banfield!

If you care about your pets, seek veterinary care elsewhere. I took my recently adopted dog for a new patient appointment and had a very negative experience at Banfield Annandale. From business management, veterinary counseling and everything in between, the experience was bad. It is clear this is a corporate chain as almost immediately the tech tried to get me to sign up for an in office insurance plan for nearly $1000/year without explaining need or benefits. She was just spewing out numbers. Before the vet had even seen the dog, the tech then tried to get $400+ for a chest xray for a cough. What was the clinical indication? Not sure and she wasn’t either. I am happy to invest in my dog’s health, but want to be informed and have trust in my providers. The start of this appointment did nothing to ensure trust. Now, I could move past a poor office experience with a superb vet, but the veterinary care itself was subpar at best and borderlines supervised neglect, in my opinion. I asked about food and her being underweight, the vet told me to look at the back of my food bag to see what it says. The staff and doctor failed to look at paperwork that outlined existing vaccines, heartworm testing etc. It was confusing that nothing was being addressed given they had these medical records. I had to go home and research heartworm medicine, flea & tick medicine, second doses of vaccines etc and order medication from a 3rd party source. It is disappointing that my Google search is more accurate, reliable and helpful than a trained, paid, veterinary professional. Against my better judgement, I returned one week later for an overdue 2nd dose of a vaccine (I figured it’s so simple and impossible to mess up). Upon arrival, I was told my appointment was scheduled incorrectly and was put at the wrong date and time. Of course. They also stated they must charge me again for the exam in order to provide the vaccine. I refused to pay for a second exam when evidently no exam has been completed. I feel obligated to inform others of my experience and encourage you to go elsewhere.

Wife made an appointment and the person on the other end never put it into the system. Drove 30 minutes to just be told that not only did I not have an appointment but that all the Banfield in the area are booked solid.

Unreliable, unprofessional, unresponsive, and a waste of veterinarian resources. The service here is TERRIBLE - literally THE WORST. Trying to get in touch with the front desk at this Banfield location is near impossible - especially when it’s urgent. The receptionists do not answer the phone and when they do, it’s always with a RUDE demeanor and attitude. I’ve called numerous times to get in touch with the vet and their phone lines keep going to voicemail. They do not tell you about their extra fees until you get to the appointment , they do not call to give you updates on your dog/cat during drop off appointments, and they are completely unreliable in urgent situations. Do not drop your pet off here because they will keep them there all day without letting you know how they’re doing. I do not recommend this location or any Banfield at all. The staff only cares abut selling their “wellness” plans and making a profit off their clients. I’d rather pay out of pocket and go elsewhere. Save your money and take your pet(s) to a veterinarian that actually cares about the well-being of their clients rather than being a corporate sell-out.

Very disorganized and staff can be rude or defensive. I have been lied to about test results. I would not trust this Banfield location with anything more than a vaccine or simple illness.

ABLE SECURITY PLUS INC. WAS ON DUTY BUT THEY WAS VERY ANNABELLE VIRGINIA; REPRESENTING PROTECTION ONE.

Today was a not so good experience. I have made a choice to move my cat to Vienna for an in office visit. I was asked to reschedule to noon instead of 3:30pm. I live in Mclean so it is 30 minutes away. When I came at noon I was told to drop him off, sign a form and pick him up before 5. I would have kept the other appt. There is a true lack of customer service at this office and the Vets are never there or in surgery etc. They just do not seem to care about peoples time or the pets. I would have found a totally different vet but I am locked into the OWP for a year.

I have no complaints with the vets themselves. The support staff at the Annandale location is a different story though. I brought my dog in for the first time and brought her complete medical history. When I went back for a follow-up, one of the techs said that my dog was due for a vaccine. I asked if she was sure because she has just received a bunch of vaccines approximately 1-2 months prior. The tech assured me that she was due this vaccine. I agreed to the vaccine. When I got home, I checked my pets records. Sure enough, my dog had just received that vaccine two months prior. The first page of her medical history reflected as much. I called the office to complain. They refused to refund my money for insisting the dog needed a vaccine that she did not, in fact, need because they claimed their records showed the dog was due the vaccine. I countered that the only reason their records showed that was because they captured her records wrong. They offered to have the management office call me. Still waiting for that call. Update*** - customer service called after leaving a review and resolved the matter. I was refunded for the erroneously given vaccine.

They took great care of my dog.

For the most part they are pretty good. Just like any doctor office some doctors are better than other. My pets like a certain veterinarian more than others. I am on the wellness plan for my pets which helps alot with the cost but it can still get expensive. Overall it is a very nice and clean place.

Dr. Álvarez is the best!!

Could not be present for my dog's vet drop off, but was financially responsible for paying the bill. Never once did this office reach out to me to explain to me my dog's diagnosis, the treatment necessary, and the approximate invoice. The person who dropped off my dog specifically told them to call me since I was responsible for paying, but they never called except to ask me for payment AFTER THE FACT. Then they had the audacity to keep repeating that my drop off partner authorized the treatment and bill. Never once had I had any service provide me a bill without me knowing ahead of time what the bill was going to be. Ended up with a bill that was twice the price of the same procedure at a different Banfield location. Totally unprofessional to charge someone a bill without ever explaining the services or authorizing the services from the payer.

Very friendly and knowledgeable. I will definitely be bringing my dog back to this location. The staff are nicer than the experience I have had at the falls church location.

everyone is friendly and great !

The best for my pet

I’ve taken my dog here for a couple of years and they’ve always been horrible getting back to me on information about my pet. I’ve had to call 3 different times just to get vaccine history for my pet. My dog just had his annual exam a month ago and prescribed apoquel which is an allergy medication for dogs. Very expensive and doctor did not mention apoquel lowers their immune system. Doctor Lenna Alvarez did not mention a lump on his leg and now that I’ve taken him to be seen somewhere else, they said he has a tumor which was the small bump that has been there but never noticed. As a veterinarian, during annual exams pets should be examined thoroughly but she obviously did not because she didn’t see the bump that has now turned into a tumor because of the apoquel she prescribed lowering his immune system allowing it to grow. Apoquel was very expensive as well and now I have to spend even more money on surgery to have this tumor removed. Don’t recommend Banfield or Doctor Lenna Alvarez

Be extremely careful with them. They’ve charged me over 1k to find out nothing. They did countless tests on one of my cats to find nothing wrong at all and now I’m out the wazoo with bills. My other cat got spayed here last month and I am trying to deal with her horrible infection. I’ve had to find another vet because banfield didn’t answer my calls when I called about her infection. My cats are in horrible shape because of this company. If I could go back in time and save my cats from ever dealing with these people I would. If I could give ZERO stars I would. I’ve done everything to keep my cat clean and safe with her cone and she’s horribly infected. Y’all are terrible.

Excellent service and friendly staff!

Exceptionally caring staff, great service, fair pricing.

This is my fav Banfield clinic! They were very caring for their patients and also very knowledgeable!