Living in our RV has provided us the opportunity to see many veterinarians across the lower 48. We’ve had excellent experiences, as well as a number of veterinarian concerns and heartbreaks.
Banfield Pet Hospital
First, you should know we use Banfield Pet Hospital as our primary vet. We switched to using them when we moved into our RV in 2016 for one huge reason. They are all over the US and they easily switch records from one office to the next. For the first few years we were very happy with the care our pets received. The veterinarians were well trained, professional, and compassionate. That’s changed a bit since the pandemic. I’m not sure if it is because of the stresses of the lockdowns and regulations, or because Banfield is not taking care of their employees. But things have been a bit off and that concerns us.
Changes Concern Us
Banfield no longer wants to do in-room visits. This means they want all pets dropped off in the morning and they get to them when they have time. I totally understand that in-room visits are not a good idea in a pandemic. Especially visits with their human in room. However, in some locations they told us that we can’t wait in the car and bring them in when a vet is ready. This is unacceptable to us; our 15 year old dog becomes extremely anxious going into a PetSmart store. It would be so much worse sitting in a kennel all day.
Another issue is the long wait times to schedule an appointment. This may be because Banfield takes on too many patients per staffing or space, and/or not treating their employees well. Three weeks seems to be the average to get in and see a veterinarian for an urgent or concerning issue.
Kona’s Veterinarian Situations
Three Banfield vets told us the only option for Kona was an amputation or to be euthanized. It turns out she needed the mass to be “debulked.” The procedure may not have removed all the tumor (although the surgeon at Blue Pearl thinks he did in her case), but it will give her quality of life back. We had to seek the option outside of Banfield. You can read about Kona’s surgery here.
Community or Local Veterinarians
When there is an emergency we also visit a number of local veterinarians (individual facilities). Generally, we’ve had positive experiences with these small, local facilities. This may be because they actually own or work directly with the owners and have a better working experience.
Important Veterinarians’ Perspectives
I want to consider the perspective of the vetrinarians that work at Banfield. I wonder if the New York Times article about suicide in the profession is especially relevant. The article by Melissa Chan goes through a list of stressors and heartbreaks for veterinarians. These include euthanizing animals in shelters, and pets whose humans can’t afford medication or procedures. In other cases, the vets face being attacked in person and online for not giving medications and services for free. Many also have financial concerns with large school debts and being underpaid.
My heart goes out to all the caregivers. I do appreciate the individuals that are veterinarians and the staff that work with them in Banfield and other facilities. The changes at Banfield are likely beyond the control of the vetrinarians.
Our Future Veterinarian Plans
We visit Duluth, Minnesota and Heathsville, Virginia every year. I think we might find a vet in both of these locations to be the primary place we seek veterinarian services. Then use Banfield or other veterinarian offices as needed as we travel.
