Here is my personal Banfield story
Here is my personal Banfield story. On October 11, ten days ago, my English Bulldog, who is 2-years old, was scheduled for a dental cleaning at the Research Boulevard location in Austin, Texas. We left him at 7:30 in the morning. A few hours later, they called to inform us that Charlie had an emergency. It was less than five minutes from my house, so I hurried there quickly, but when we got there, we found out that he had regrettably passed away.
This reality is surrounded by a great deal of uncertainty and unsolved questions. I want to draw attention to key factors that I believe are crucial to stopping this from happening. I try to keep my remarks brief and only provide what is required to describe what happened and how we felt.
At drop-off, we were informed that blood work and a physical examination is done, and if there was any "red flag," they would cancel the cleaning. I want to clarify that Charlie was a healthy puppy who had already undergone treatment under anesthesia, first for castration and then for removal of the soft palate.
I was told that when the anesthesia started, his heart rate became unstable, so they gave him various medications to neutralize the effect and CPR. I remember that I asked to speak with the doctor who performed the procedure, and she told me that they did everything possible, but the only thing that made it clear to me was that they did not want to do an autopsy. I quote her words: “there is no reason to do an autopsy because usually nothing is reflected” (there are witnesses who were present). At that moment, when my wife and I were devastated, I accepted her suggestion, which I regret today.
Now for us, this information must be known, we have been investigating and there are hundreds of cases similar to mine with this company. Banfield uses a very effective marketing model that makes you feel the need to give our pets a generic plan that includes several vaccines, treatments and services that are just a strategy for them to make money; regardless of the consequences this may bring to our furry ones. There are thousands of stories about it, I invite you to search, to google and not be left alone with what they sell. Ask yourself, does my dog really need this service? Does my dog really need a dental cleaning that puts his life at risk? Does my dog really need that vaccine if we don't live near swamps or lakes? Our pets must be treated with respect, as individual beings that they are, not as a generic product, they are living beings with specific needs, veterinarians must inform when a service puts the life of our dog at risk and not be complicit in the sale of plans generic for all our furry ones!
Nothing will bring our baby Charlie back to us, but if we can prevent this from happening to another family, we will.