I chose to board my cats here when I went away for 2 weeks. Still new to the area, I didn't have any recommendations to go on. I liked the idea of someone always on duty 24/7 and having a vet reachable if needed.
Cats have a particularly hard time adjusting to boarding. When you are traveling and have no choice but to board, (not to mention spending close to $700!) you deserve to feel assured and that your pets are in good hands. Too bad that didn't happen here.
I dropped my guys off and a young man named Greyson (sp?) took them in. I bought the food I feed them in the store, and returned to the hotel. That's when he informed me, "There's been a SITUATION. Oliver is freaking out." What? Was he hurt? OMG, what happened? A "Situation" usually means something very serious. I asked what was going on, but he just disappeared into the back room. I asked him when he emerged again, only to have him say nothing (again) and turn right around and head into the back room. Can you imagine the anxiety I was feeling, wondering what was going on and then left hanging like that? I was already nervous and felt bad enough about dropping them off.
Finally, after 10 minutes, another girl came out and told me that Oliver was fine- they were trying to get him into his cottage, they had taken the top of his carrier and placed it on something, it fell and scared him. I'd felt better after she said this, and she agreed that telling me "There's been a SITUATION" in the way he did caused a great deal of unnecessary alarm and upset.
Just over 24 hours later, I received a call from them. My cats were eating and drinking (less than usual, but this is most likely due to them being stressed in an unfamiliar environment.) But they were "concerned" that they weren't pooping yet, so it's their policy is to take them to the vet (Banfield.) I was placed on hold and put on the phone with a vet tech. Straight away, I was told they can do x-rays for $200 and asked "should we give them subcutaneous fluids" and quoted another price for that.
Excuse me? They just GOT there. X-Rays?? For WHAT? Also, let's pretend I don't know what sub-q fluids are. This vet tech asked if *I* think they should give them without even explaining what these were or what they are given for. They are usually given when an animal is badly dehydrated. I was told my cats were eating and drinking. They weren't dehydrated or anything even close. And they JUST GOT THERE. So WHY would they need sub-q fluids? Having this presented to me in this manner, it sure felt like they were more concerned about making money and selling treatments to me, than they were about my pets.
I'd called to check on my pets every other day while away. Each time, placed on a very lengthy hold before speaking to someone. At that point, I was told they are eating and drinking, just not yet pooping. This still made sense since they were eating a bit less. They otherwise seemed just fine.
Then, on Day 5, I received a call from someone else telling me that neither of my cats ate or drank in 5 days. WHAT?? This wasn't what I was told at all! This panicked me, and I was again put on the phone with another vet tech, who proceeded to throw treatments and costs at me, without providing an inkling of what was actually going on with them. Not only was I not given a clear answer as to whether they were eating or not, but the blatant sell, sell SELL spiel was nothing short of appalling. What an awful, uneasy feeling to have when you are now 1600 miles away. My mother finally reached the vet on duty within a few hours. Turns out the vet didn't want to stress my cat further with tests either, so they were giving Oliver some Laxatone (she was called minutes later for a credit card for the $12 it cost...Yeah ok, fine.) There indeed WAS a miscommunication and my cats WERE eating and drinking.
I've now been hearing and reading stories about Banfield and their attempts to upsell people. How can you trust them? How can you know the difference between something that actually calls for treatment, or an attempt to extract more money from you? In my opinion, doing things in this manner only cheapens the veterinary profession.
PetSmart Hotel was the worst boarding experience I've ever had. The manager didn't return my messages, I had to call her. Corporate will be hearing from me. The lack of professionalism and poor communication here is completely inexcusable. Trying to sell me treatments by playing on my emotions and anxiety is just disgusting. Many employees appear to have little to no knowledge or experience with cats, or clue how to talk to someone over 1,000 miles away trusting their pets in their care. I kick myself and will never make the terrible mistake again of not reading yelp reviews first. (My heart goes out to those that lost their poor puppy here, reading that review made me SHUDDER and I am grateful that nothing worse happened to my pets.)
NEVER AGAIN. read more