Good: Close to my home.. Bad: Price, customer service..

Good: Close to my home.. Bad: Price, customer service..
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When my beloved cat, Violet, began to act "differently" and lose a lot of weight, I located this vet via the yellow pages. I phoned them and inquired how soon I could get an appointment. I was able... More

When my beloved cat, Violet, began to act "differently" and lose a lot of weight, I located this vet via the yellow pages. I phoned them and inquired how soon I could get an appointment. I was able to get an appointment the next day, first thing in the morning. Walking in there, I was greeted and sent into an exam room. I explained what my concern was. The assistant wrote it down then sent in the doctor. After examining my little girl, the doctor suggested bloodwork and urine collection to be sent off to a lab. I was given a "treatment plan" (as they called it) and was asked if I wanted to proceed with the doctor's recomendations. Of course I wanted my Violet to get better so I said "yes". They took my cat "to the back", got the samples they needed and told me the doctor would call with results when they came in. The next morning, the doctor called stating my cat had hyperthyroidism and needed medication. Today, with the medication, my Violet is in pretty good health. I feel the staff at North End Pet Hospital helped save my cat's life. I will continue to go to them if only out of gratitude for saving Violet.
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First, for anyone with a complaint about this or any other vet, don't just post it on a website, contact the Washington State Department of Health to file a complaint with them. They will... More

First, for anyone with a complaint about this or any other vet, don't just post it on a website, contact the Washington State Department of Health to file a complaint with them. They will investigate. I discourage anyone from patronizing this veterinary hospital. It is, on the surface, a very nice-looking facility, but I believe they finance that lovely exterior by pushing customers to agree to unnecessary medical treatments and exams for almost everything. They quoted me a minimum price of $500 for a surgery that another vet said should not cost more than $100. When I asked the treating vet, a female though I won't name her here, for more information about her treatment plan, she could not give me a straight answer. I could not tell if she was trying to 'guilt' me into paying for these tests, at a cost of about $400 total, or if she was mad that I simply wasn't going to be another sucker for the clinic. In the end, she agreed to "pack up" my cat, as she put it, and I got off with a bill of $160 for the visit and some pain medication. The worst part of it? When I dropped off my cat, his only injury was a limp tail. When I picked him up two hours later, he could no longer use his hind legs. To date, I've had no reasonable explanation for this. When I wrote to the owner, his only reply was that he would not bother to reply because of the tone of my letter. Apparently, he did not believe I should have been angry that my cat became crippled after a two-hour visit to his hospital. If you go to this hospital, good luck, you'll need it, and so will your pet.
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Dr. Vollmer is WONDERUL. My pug has been going to see her since he was born (about 3.5 years now). She is SO caring, loving, and helpful. She always answers all of my questions and never... More

Dr. Vollmer is WONDERUL. My pug has been going to see her since he was born (about 3.5 years now). She is SO caring, loving, and helpful. She always answers all of my questions and never dismisses my concerns. I took my pug to see the male Dr. there once and that will NEVER happen again. He was completely uncaring, cold, and uninterested in helping. He said he was "lame" (had a limping problem etc.) and dismissed my concern that it was a growing disease called HOD (since it is normally a large breed puppy disease). I took him back to see Dr. Vollmer and she ordered X-Rays for him and called in a specialist to view the results. Sure enough he did have HOD. I would of course recommend Dr. Vollmer but if it were not for her, I would not continue to go there.
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We have an 8+ yr old mixed breed female dog with a congenital heart problem. After purchasing her from a Lakewood pet store, we took her to the NE Vet Hospital for a comprehensive exam and we were... More

We have an 8+ yr old mixed breed female dog with a congenital heart problem. After purchasing her from a Lakewood pet store, we took her to the NE Vet Hospital for a comprehensive exam and we were assured she was healthy, Jogging with her before she was 6 months old, she somehow cut her paw and we rushed her to emergency. At that time, after fixing her paw, the vet mentioned her "illness" and asked us if we are treating her for it. WHAT??? He encouraged us to take her to our vet to discuss her significant heart murmur -- which HE was able to detect while treating her for the cut paw! We took her back to NE Vet Hospital and, following an exam and testing by a heart specialist who was called in ($$BIG BUCKS$$), we received the bad news, that she was born with significant Aortic Stenosis, with a life expectancy of 3 - 5 years. We altered our habits (quit running with her), we've taken her on regular walks, watch her diet and basically, we happily treat her like a princess. We did not continue medicating her with Atenolol (to slow down her heartbeat) as prescribed, due to the "grogginess" that resulted. She rarely coughs and she still behaves like a healthy dog. Although we have been encouraged to have the specialist run the tests again, I don't know that we would want to cause her the stress of having another test done and she is clearly not uncomfortable. I really don't know what to think, as far as the initial claim that she was healthy. Why was someone else able to detect this problem with just a stethoscope? Did it progress as she grew a few months? I truly believe that the vets and staff at NE Vet Hospital care about the animals, and there are going to be unforeseen problems. It is a PRACTICE not a PERFECT. Had we opted for pet insurance when told she was healthy...well, it wouldn't change anything. We've enjoyed our girl for almost 9 years now, despite her prognosis. If you don't like the prices at NE Vet Hospital, go elsewhere... I wonder if the staff at the emergency place off Union also have other offices... They were GREAT. I've had complaints about most places I've gone...they treat animals, not people. Find the best place for the best price. It's okay to shop around.
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Changed to them because they're closer to home. They changed cat's diet. 1 week later, $200.00 to rid cat of fecal impaction due to food THEY said he had to have and conveniently sold there. They... More

Changed to them because they're closer to home. They changed cat's diet. 1 week later, $200.00 to rid cat of fecal impaction due to food THEY said he had to have and conveniently sold there. They "adjusted" diet. 1 week later, spent $800.00 and an evening at Urgent Care with cat constipated up to his eyeballs. Will NEVER go there again. Back to original vet, even with cost of gas to drive across town, he's still cheaper and the cat is healthy and happy again. What a nightmare.
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This vet is good - very expensive and their business practices leave something to be desired, however. They are very caring and empathetic individuals, especially Dr Vollmer. I cannot speak for Dr... More

This vet is good - very expensive and their business practices leave something to be desired, however. They are very caring and empathetic individuals, especially Dr Vollmer. I cannot speak for Dr Dudley. As far a their business practices - they did not offer an estimate of services before they treated my cat. I also did not ask. I expect that a visit with an animal requiring service to be oh......$300.00, but to my surprise it was $700.00. The itemization of the bill was inaccurate. The majority of the services was 10 times higher than another local vet that my cat saw in an identical situation for exact same service and procedures. When contacted about what I thought was a mistake in the cost of the service (possibly an incorrect qty and/or an incorrectly placed decimal point) I was told that's what they charge and there was no mistake. There was no attempt to explain the substantial differences for same services rendered from different vets. I guess it's buyer beware. I would not recommend this vet.
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The people at the North End clinic really seem to care about your pets. The doctor is gentle, caring, and my cats responded to him quite well. The waiting room is small, but you are quickly... More

The people at the North End clinic really seem to care about your pets. The doctor is gentle, caring, and my cats responded to him quite well. The waiting room is small, but you are quickly ushered to a private room so that your pets don't need to be worried at seeing other animals around. The nurse and the receptionist were all animal-lovers as well. I don't think I saw anyone who did not treat the animals with love and concern. They saved one of my cats when she got poisoned from a bad flea treatment, and have helped at many other times as well. The prices are slightly higher than some of the other veterinary clinics, but when you really need help from a caring doctor, it's a good place to go.
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I wouldn't go out of my way to use this specific veterinarian, but we've done OK there. Granted, our cats hate the place, but I imagine they'd hate any veterinarian office. Lets just say, how... More

I wouldn't go out of my way to use this specific veterinarian, but we've done OK there. Granted, our cats hate the place, but I imagine they'd hate any veterinarian office. Lets just say, how shall we say this delicately...if someone had "modified" you, you might think twice about going back there ever again. Dr. Dudley is generally pretty smart about stuff, though he doesn't quite seem to connect with the cats well. So if it's close, I wouldn't advise against going here, but again, don't go out of your way to do so...
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