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Yeah, they're nice and send you flowers if your cat just happens to die here, but they sure you bill you for it...and as long as you do everything they say.
The respected Puget Sounds Consumers...
Yeah, they're nice and send you flowers if your cat just happens to die here, but they sure you bill you for it...and as long as you do everything they say.
The respected Puget Sounds Consumers Co-op, Checkbook.com, gives them a price rating of 188, where 100 is the average price charged by veterinary clinics. This was the highest I believe among the 100+ clinics surveyed. Their overall score for care was 70.
We were charged for SIX days of hospitalization, even though our cat was there for only five days. So check your bill very carefully.
They had me give my cat injections he never should have been started on, and they did not tell me when to stop, either.
They refuse to write medications and instead coerce you into buying from their dispensary, where prices are up to 1000% higher than what you would pay otherwise.
Dr. Nemec has an astonishing sense of self-entitlement despite her minimal veterinary skills.
The one good veterinarian left over a year ago.
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Isn't "the system" is supposed to weed out incompetence and poor performance?
Dr. Spencer, the new owner, refused to see my dying cat just because I saw another vet. I consider this serious...
Isn't "the system" is supposed to weed out incompetence and poor performance?
Dr. Spencer, the new owner, refused to see my dying cat just because I saw another vet. I consider this serious professional misconduct.
After the first office visit, I repeatedly and diplomatically asked to see another, ANY other veterinarian there.
Apparently, it was the previous vet-owner, Dr. Stephen Jones, who built up the reputation of this clinic.
Spencer misdiagnosed speckling on my cat's nose as precancerous lesions based on a two-second examination, handed us the estimate, and thus was ready to do surgery. This left me with the impression that he pretends to know things he does not.
He generously told me that he could clean my cat's teeth and remove the lesion at the same time, provided that I submit the cat to an ultrasound cardiac screening ($500). He did not explain the risks involved in doing such surgery on a geriatric cat.
This initial office visit was, to put it mildly, inadequate.
Even the generally noncommittal cat's co-owner--on the faculty of the University of Washington., not disposed to comment negatively on anything--concurred, "He's [really] not very good, is he?"
He examined my for a total of two minutes. He showed no genuine interest in my cat. His approach can be described as "shooting-from-the-hip."
He summarized the first office visit by saying that my cat was in terrible shape. The next day, however, after he actually SEEN the lab results, he promptly reversed his opinion. And he stated that I could stop doing the sub-cutaneous injections completely, advice which, I believe, harmed my cat and led to his premature death.
His expertise on felines is frankly nil, in my opinion. Claiming that a cat with chronic renal failure, just based on numbers, is back in a "pre-crash" phase flew in the face of good common sense (kidney function does not regenerate) and misleading.
He can also be a control-freak as well. Refusing refills and stingily prescribing only three tablets of a medication widely used for feline in my cat's condition is absurd, when he is so slapdash himself.
An illustration of his telephone manners, churlish, would be as follows: In the middle of a message left on your answering machine, he harangues you with "...and I'M TELLING YOU..."
He could have walked straight out of Harry Hope's saloon (O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh").
Without my permission, he demanded--and revealed--sensitive personal information, which he admitted, later on, had not actually been necessary to have.
To that say the other vet, Dr. Westerdahl, is mediocre would be to give her undue praise, notwithstanding her credentials, which look good only on paper. Her guarded, glacial demeanor did not make communication exactly easy.
She did the bare minimum, evincing little interest, and then exited without even informing me the visit (all of 12 minutes) was over. When I informed an assistant that I still a question to ask, she primly and grimly returned, after having finished the urinalysis, and spent another five minutes with me.
She had also had my cat's nails, trimmed, something I had not asked for. It did not compensate for a sub-mediocre office visit, unfortunately.
I get the impression that they observe their clients with not exactly benign interest. I felt all along uncomfortable with the ambient distrust in the air, not helped the size of the reception area (equivalent to that of a large closet).
I should have known better when, before deciding whether to go here or not, I interviewed the vet tech. We were suddenly pulled out of the room by a staff person who gave me a dirty look and then presented me with a bill for $40 (No one had even seen my cat!).
They did not allow us to see our cat's blood being drawn, inventing a bit of nonsense for not doing so. (Who exactly is paying for this, by the way?).
One vet tech, Kay, was very professional and genuinely caring, honest, and friendly. I am grateful to this sterling individual. The other staff, with their cosmetic smiles and occasional insolence, do their jobs.
One other positive note: they do write prescriptions so you don't have to feel ripped off getting medications from their limited dispensary.
New clients receive a pet handbook; the web-site also is moderately informative.
Not a good place to bring a cat, in any case.
Now I can see why a local pet store told me "NO ONE likes them."
Note: Neither vet is a cat-owner, though the staff insists, a bit too strenuously, that they both "really like" cats. Really.
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Choosing the right vet is a matter of life and death for your pet. And it can make a significant dent in your pocketbook. And either free up or tie down your own precious time.
Despite the...
Choosing the right vet is a matter of life and death for your pet. And it can make a significant dent in your pocketbook. And either free up or tie down your own precious time.
Despite the proximity of their names, do NOT confuse this business with the Cat Clinic of Seattle.
Dr. Romatowski is very thorough. For instance, he spent at least 50% more time than either vet at the Queen Anne Animal Clinic.
He doesn't push expensive procedures of dubious value, as is often the case today with vets.
I would say that annual check-up here for your cat would be outstanding, among the very best in the Seattle area.
I sought a secondary opinion on my cat's health from him, and the office visit I received was the best one my cat ever had. He was cordial, congenial, knowledgeable, caring.
He was also the very first of four vets to test for high blood pressure, which is a serious condition for cats in renal failure. We promptly got my cat on amlodipine to keep it within the normal range.
And he brought to our attention a critical problem with the regime set out for us by the Cat Clinic of Seattle.
Unfortunately, when my cat was seriously ill with melena (black tarry stool with diarrhea), he was unwilling to write a prescription for sulfacrate, a protectant/absorbent for upper GI tract ulcers, which may have been very helpful in jump-starting my cat's appetite.
My cat' s health began to go rapidly downhill only 24 hours after the last visit here, which the vet had not been able to foresee--and I had to go to another clinic to let him go another 24 hours later, which, for me, was devastating.
The explanation of the treatment that day was particularly unclear--to what end was the injection of prednisolone? He also told me to return in 8-9 days if it "it didn't work" and we'd "try something else." My cat was dead within 48 hours.
"Stuff happens," I guess. What is most perplexing is the thought that if I had brought him in, say, only two days after I had noticed his appetite was "off," that THAT probably would not have made any difference, since the vet had not been able to, apparently, predict the seriousness and urgency of the problem even just one day before the final crash.
Also, I wonder, with great sorrow, if my cat had been immediately treated for the melena and diarrhea that had occurred three times during the two-week interval before my beloved cat's death? I had requested him to write a prescription for sulfacrate, a common upper GI gastrointestinal tract absorbent/protectant, which he refused tow write.
In sum, although I think Dr. Romatowski is a good vet, I do believe that communication with clients is always the best it could be. When I wrote to inform him, for instance, of the death of my cat less than 48 hours after he been to the Cat Clinic of Northeast Seattle--and of my concerns about the injection given, I received no response.
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I hate to be a voice of dissent, but let me say it anyway: Uwajimaya is certainly not bad, and it's really a mainstay for many people, Asians, Asian-Americans, Caucasians, etc., and a big part of...
I hate to be a voice of dissent, but let me say it anyway: Uwajimaya is certainly not bad, and it's really a mainstay for many people, Asians, Asian-Americans, Caucasians, etc., and a big part of the International District, with its modern, pan-Asian flavor.
And the fish market is excellent, probably the best in the city. The vegetable and fruit section is very good, as well, with far more variety than almost anywhere and the quality usually at least better-than-average.
The food court, I guess, brings a lot of tourists as well as regulars, not much different from Westlake Mall (maybe a little more authentic).
But from the beginning, I felt it was pushing out the smaller Asian groceries (at least at this end of the ID) and providing a QFC kind of experience to Asian grocery shopping.
And the prices were, considering the volume of business, not inexpensive compared to the Chinese and Vietnamese groceries. a 15 cent reduction in price on something $2-$4 is peanuts.
I bought a top-notchy Japanese Tiger brand electric rice cooker (which, along with Zojurushi, are far superior to the Chinese or Taiwanese brands, which don't do brown rice) for $170 on sale--which was still more expensive than what you pay online (including S+H). And the return policy on such things was essentially "once you've used it, you can't return it." I also purchase my Japanese rubber acupressure sandals, which I wouldn't have been able to find elsewhere, here.
For a real Japanese culinary or grocery experience, I am afraid this is still not that close (I've been to Tokyo).
Efficient, clean (especially as compared to most Asian groceries)...and very crowded, which is another reason I find it not the most relaxed grocery shopping experience. On the other hand, I'll have to admit that the Chinese/Vietnamese markets up on 12th & Jackson (Viet-Wah, etc.) are REALLY chaotic by comparison.
But generally the staff, especially the cashiers, are pretty polite, which is more of an ingrained Japanese cultural/societal thing (the Chinese, by contrast, are "nice" to those they are connected to in some way--"guanxi").
And I don't really need a whole (long) aisle full of various kinds of hot chili sauce and soy sauce. Sometimes less is more. (Trader Joe's provides an example of where pre-selection and scaled down selection is actually a good thing).
Living in Asia years ago, I actually enjoyed going to smaller specialty stores rather than the gigantic Western-style supermarkets which were becoming the rage (and indeed still are and have become the norm, even in China today). There is a certain charmless, sterile impersonal quality to these supermarkets (think especially of Fred Meyer). Thought the era of the shopping mall was over.
For such a gigantic grocery enterprise, one would think they would have planned better restrooms, too.
Some of the Western groceries--seemingly randomly selected--are second-rate, things that I would never buy at a QFC, etc. Don't know why their buyers do such a poor job there.
Quality, not quantity, please...
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A review of the Family Medicine Clinic (at the corner of Broadway and East Madison:
A review of the Family Medicine Clinic (at the corner of Broadway and East Madison:
Although my health...
A review of the Family Medicine Clinic (at the corner of Broadway and East Madison:
A review of the Family Medicine Clinic (at the corner of Broadway and East Madison:
Although my health insurance is limited--and thus allows me to be seen only by the interns--I have been very satisfied with the treatment I have received here over the past eight years. I have always felt respected here.
I have had a colonoscopy done here, had my ulcerative colitis diagnosed here, undergone minor surgery for the removal of a toenail, and had physical therapy as well. Referrals to the specialty clinics of the main hospital, e.g., physical therapy, are done here as well.
The doctors, nurses, and other staff seem genuinely concerned about their patients' health and work hard to maintain high standards. At Swedish Family Medicine, I have always felt that the doctors and nurses worked with me in a spirit of cooperation and trust.
Everyone seems to be almost always very busy but, still, on top of things.
Five or six years ago the time spent waiting was long--sometimes up to 45 minutes past the time of a scheduled appointment , but this has improved lately. The nurses get back to patients in a timely manner.
Scheduling an appointment requires some patience, as their phones seem to always be busy.
And the receptionists speak quietly so the waiting area is a soothing experience.
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Looks like it belongs in Los Angeles. But I'll have to admit that it adds a lot to a Third Avenue that prior to the construction of Benaroya Hall was getting very down at the ears.
Nice to hear...
Looks like it belongs in Los Angeles. But I'll have to admit that it adds a lot to a Third Avenue that prior to the construction of Benaroya Hall was getting very down at the ears.
Nice to hear a waft of classical music--although it has become more and more pop-sounding--for those people waiting to catch a bus on Third Avenue.
The acoustics are supposedly very good--but I have a "tin ear" but such things.
Have been to only three concerts or recitals here since it opened, the first marred by a gentlemen who obviously was not there for the experience of a live classical recital: he thumbed through a magazine, loudly, the whole time, rarely looking up.
It was a wonderful idea to build a symphony hall right in the heart of downtown. The Nordstrom Recital Hall is for recitals--chamber music, principally. The Grand Lobby is glitzy-ritzy.
Behind Benaroya Hall is a Garden of Remembrance, with its dark granite wall dedicated to war veterans and its discreetly placed, well manicured shrubbery and gently cascading pools of water--all fairly close to an entrance to the Metro Tunnel. And across Second Avenue is the post-modernist Robert Venturi (with its giddy art deco references, etc.) addition to the Seattle Art Museum.
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After a hiatus of about five or six years, as a member of the Woodland Zoo, I had some catching up to do. So I made a trip back on the second day of October 2007 to see what had changed.
A new...
After a hiatus of about five or six years, as a member of the Woodland Zoo, I had some catching up to do. So I made a trip back on the second day of October 2007 to see what had changed.
A new jaguar and one for the gorillas at the beginning of the Tropical Rain Forest were two of the most important additions. Also a "night" exhibition hall for those critters that tolerate very little light (I saw nothing myself, as I have poor night vision. Supposedly it takes 10 minutes to acclimatize to the darkness).
Other than not, not that much had changed in terms of animals. Maybe it's my appreciation of the sheer beauty and fascination of the animals, that has changed.
October 1 through April 30 constitutes the "winter" season for the Zoo, so I was able to wander about in serenity without having tons of screaming kids and their parent-chaperons. But the zoo closes early (4 p.m.), at which time all the indoor exhibitions are locked down. Visitors can apparently stay until about 5:30, depending on the mood which zoo staff they happen upon.
Actually, it was better than when I used to remember it, mostly because it was the off-season. It felt like I had it to myself and a few other interested adult "naturalist"-types. Plus a few families ("o-o-h, see the jaguar. He is lonely. He doesn't have a mate"), a few tourists.
The grizzly bears in the Northern Trail section were to use the too-often used adjective, "magnificent" in a way that makes Steven Spielberg seem all too Disneyland-ish. The Monorail, Columbia Tower, etc. seem strictly utilitarian, clunky, and boring by comparison with any of the denizens of this species. Nature wins hands-down.
The giraffes, with their impossibly long, thin legs were still there, passing back and forth between their aluminum sheds and the very smallish, narrow quarters outside behind the wire fence.
And in the African Savanna--probably the best of the "natural environments"--no rhinoceros, but, instead, I was able to catch a fleeting close-up glance of a male lion, truly regal, before he trotted back into the savanna. I suddenly had an insight as to how obscene hunting is, especially as it is considered a "sport" (?!) and has nothing to do with meeting real human needs, other than that of sheer (mistaken) ego.
And a couple of Malayan sun bears were frolicking without self-consciousness in their own miniature neck-of-the-woods.
With the improvement of the "natural habitats" of the past ten years (less of the "animals-trapped-in-cages" of earlier times), a trip to the zoo every year or two brings a kind of natural bliss. Just go in the off-season so that the families don't become the principal show.
My main criticism of the Woodland Zoo remains the same, and could be directed probably at most zoos: the animals, though housed in relatively "natural" environs, are still, largely, part of a "show," without enough attention being directed towards providing a learning experience.
The destruction of 1/3 of the Amazon River Valley in the past few years, the sharp declines in populations, as well as their natural habitats, along with their imminent or probable extinction is not stressed enough.
Going to the zoo becomes a family outing no different from other entertainment: going to the movies, to the circus, shopping at Pacific Place, skiing, etc.
On the other hand, admission, or a membership, to the zoo is at least a way of showing a little appreciation for all the other members of the Natural World that we take so often for granted and have as much right, if not more, of living on this increasingly crowded (by homo sapien!), polluted planet.
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Note: the Rainier Veterinary Hospital received Checkbook's top rating for price, among 100 or so veterinary clinics surveyed in the Puget Sound region. It also received an "86" in terms of overall...
Note: the Rainier Veterinary Hospital received Checkbook's top rating for price, among 100 or so veterinary clinics surveyed in the Puget Sound region. It also received an "86" in terms of overall care and service.
After visiting this animal hospital in person, I had a better, clearer impression than before. Even though I went there on a Friday afternoon, after they had stopped seeing clients, the hard-working staff was glad to answer ALL my questions with patience and genuine kindness.
This willingness to be of service, to be helpful is so different from, for instance, the Cat Clinic of Seattle, where clients seem to be shuttled in and out and the sense of "this IS a business," "you are, first and foremost, OUR client, and we deal in pets (as opposed to airplane parts)," and/or "we are very important, busy people" seemed to emanate from the four walls and the furniture, the smiles of the omnipresent office manager glacial, smug, bureaucratic, and forced...No favoritism based on personal peccadilloes, race/ethnicity, income, "I'm in a bad-mood," etc.
I NEVER felt that the Cat Clinic of Seattle EVER did anything in the spirit of generosity or genuine caring--it was always this "we're only doing this because we're professionals and a business." (I wasn't able to admit this to myself at the time, so wrapped up I was in my own cat's survival). And you pay through your gills for anything they do--and this includes the plastic Hills can lids that most animal clinics put in a bucket and let clients just take as they wish. Or the baggies filled with 10 food syringes or 10 Monoject needles, everything rationed and the price jacked up at least 10 times.
And this leads me to believe that the owners of a small business such as this have a PROFOUND effect on how their staff behaves, their very own attitude towards clients and their work.
I always wondered why some of the vet techs at the Cat Clinic of Seattle (A.A. degree!) could be rude and full of themselves (for what possible reason??) at times, or the office manager cheery but brusque. I guess if the owner-vets make you feel you are part of an organization comparable to the Mayo Clinic, you tend to have a very high opinion of yourselves, whatever the objective reality might really be.
Even though I didn't speak to the vet at the Rainier Veterinary Hospital himself, I was pleasantly surprised by the time the staff spent talking to people about their pets. It made them seem like MORE than just customers. In other words, there was a good balance between service and profit.
The person at the front was not there simply to ring up the cash register and make appointments--or give orders!
Though informal and relatively plain, I was genuinely moved by the non-snotty attitude. People came in and went out, no one was cut short, and everyone seemed happy to be there!
And they don't shove medications and supplies from their dispensary down your throat--they'll write a prescription for you, I was told.
Don't worry about the relatively "down-at-the-ears" neighborhood this hospital is in, or the fact that they don't have a self-promoting high-tech website. It's the PEOPLE who make a veterinary clinic a good place to take your loved one. Trust your instincts.
That is one thing I've learned from my experience now at three clinics. Don't confuse lots of hot air with genuine expertise and/or caring.
An acquaintance of mine in central Florida has said that in central Florida he just has to go down the Interstate and have his pick of animal clinics (where an office visit is $30). Guess they don't have a Washington State Veterinary Association that lobbies so arduously on the behalf of its members...
I definitely would take my cat to the Rainier Veterinary Hospital if he weren't so old and I could get him in and off the bus without making both of us anxious! Maybe I still will...or my next (younger) cat.
See also
http://www.yelp.com/biz/DmUWOokAWpwC95yTVtnuyg#hrid:Akm9vwEuyQvKfSGPPxKAjA/query:Rainier%20Animal%20Hos
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Rei
Category:
Sporting Goods
222 Yale Ave N
Seattle, Washington 98109
(206) 223-1944
Mixed feelings...not sure whether to give three or four stars.
I know its their flagship store, a wide swathe of the best in outdoors gear, and certainly the staff are great. But it is a little...
Mixed feelings...not sure whether to give three or four stars.
I know its their flagship store, a wide swathe of the best in outdoors gear, and certainly the staff are great. But it is a little too much like a department store for outdoors enthusiasts. I have to admit that I found the best pair of sandals (Chaco) anywhere--and I looked for quite a while at some pretty awful brands like Dr. Martens (good if you have rhinoceros-type feet and ankles), Birkenstock (not built for heavy-duty wear), Columbia (crummy), as well as Teva (the next best), Clark's (the most comfortable), etc.
Really do like the way it has been designed to accommodate the waterfall and boulders and shrubs outside. Also a nice location in Cascadia near I-5 away from the Pike-Pine corridor.
Flooded with people all the time...
In some ways, though liked the old Capitol Hill store, less glitz, less of a one huge warehouse on five or so levels ("Pacific Place" for the outdoors crowd"?).
Definitely appreciate that it's a consumer co-op, not just a mega commercial sporting goods retailer. No pushy store clerks, everyone seems genuinely helpful.
Pricey, but they carry only top-quality (not the "top") brands. No junk (think of Big-Five Sporting Goods) to stumble upon, walk out the door with, and throw out in the dumpster a month or two later. Also, there are frequent sales and mark-downs.
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Although I don't understand all the different services that the Seattle Animal Shelter offers (perhaps matched by the three different main entrances on different sides or levels of the building), I...
Although I don't understand all the different services that the Seattle Animal Shelter offers (perhaps matched by the three different main entrances on different sides or levels of the building), I DO know that they offer a pet bereavement group.
This drop-in group meets for 90 minutes at 6:30 every Thursday evening, and I have gone there four or five times. Each meeting has a different facilitator/volunteer and allows the usually small group of 4-8 people time to share their experiences and come to terms with the death of a beloved pet. There is no fee, and registration is not required to attend, either.
For that alone, I am very grateful to the Seattle Animal Shelter.
It is unfortunate for the cats, as well as the volunteers that work with them, that the felines are housed in an area not that far removed from where the dogs are housed, as the yelping and barking is very loud and CAN be heard clearly, despite the steel doors.
The cats are housed in small--but large enough for them to get up and use the litter box or to eat--metal-bar cages with bar, stacked on top of each other in rows, in two different rooms (one for those with health issues). But they don't really have room to move around.
I was going to volunteer here (they have training sessions every 3-4 months) but the training was rather onerous for someone who only wanted to work with cats, as the first session was entirely devoted to dogs. And then there were several mandatory sessions--with no fixed schedule--and a one-year commitment ...too many hoops to jump through.
And then my 19-year-old cat needed me to care for him at home, anyway...
Other local pet shelters include:
www.seattlehumane.org
www.paws.org
www.purffectpals.org
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