VCA Northwest Veterinary Specialists Clackamas, Washington

In late July my dog lost the use of her back legs. After taking her to Tualatin emergency vet who did all they could do, I had to take her to VCA for an MRI. Every staff member I dealt with at check in was fantastic, and caring. When I went …

Could not be happier with my dog's treatment by the Oncology and Surgical teams here since her recent Osteosarcoma diagnosis. Dr. Dowling and Dr. Banz have been incredible and I'm so thankful we could start my pup's treatment so quickly. Their support and guidance during this difficult time has been invaluable and I know we're in good hands.

Update Jan 2022: After feeling like we were in excellent hands during our August 2021 visit, it was always difficult to get responses and prescription refills from Dr Kline or her staff. She put our dog on two new medications and kept him on one he started a month prior to our visit with her. One of the meds she put him on was highly regulated, meaning we needed a new refill script from her every 30 days. But getting the scripts always took multiple calls and emails and follow ups from me, which made me feel like the promise that we would stay in close touch was a lie in addition to it being stressful and time consuming. We travel full time and had told her at our office visit as well as on multiple calls that we were leaving for Mexico for 4 months and wanted to know how to proceed with his meds. We gave them many months notice about our travel plans, and one month before our trip, Dr Kline stated "Hopefully, we will be able to figure out the long term plan when you are in Mexico." Many voicemails from me later and a week before we were set to cross the border, we were still without a plan for the meds so my voicemails became more stern and worried for my dog. She surprised me 3 days before our trip by calling to say that since she hasn't seen our dog in over 3 months, she cannot write scripts for him anymore and we need to see another vet. We were left scrambling very last minute before our big trip to find a vet to write THREE different prescriptions for four months worth of pills. We got it handled, but this other vet had to examine him all over again ($$$). Thank goodness the other vet understood how important his continuity of care was and helped us. The *extreme* difficulty in ever reaching anyone at this VCA office who could help us, along with carelessly abandoning our dog's treatment last minute (all contradictory to what she assured us at our visit) are the reasons I am changing my review to one star. Original: Dr Kline and the staff at this location are amazing! I don't understand the low rating on Google whatsoever. We had such a great experience. The tech was thorough and super sweet, and Dr Kline was thorough and gave us excellent viable options for our aging dog's nerve issue. She ensured that she would stay in close touch with us to monitor him, and she genuinely seemed to care about our dog and our situation. I would recommend Dr Kline to friends, family, anyone!

Mother Nature had thrown a severe storm at us and my little Sheila had serious medical issues that needed to be addressed immediately. Unfortunately, my own vet would not take her and I called around and nobody would ... until ... VCA Northwest Veterinary Specialists. They were a Godsend. Unfortunately, little Sheila, had medical issues that were to much for her little body to handle and she passed over the 'Rainbow' Bridge. I was able to be with her during her passing and the ENTIRE STAFF were ANGELS in describing what was happening. They were so, so, sweet to me. I just wanted everyone to know that ... Please hug your four legged fur babies and let them know you love them ... you never know how long they will be in your life. I was blessed with 12 years and I was also blessed with a very, caring staff at VCA Northwest Veterinary Specialists.

The staff at VCA have been beyond professional and compassionate to us while our cat was treated for cancer. They were completely transparent and forthcoming with everything from discussing treatment options and pricing to prognosis and side effects. We felt they really cared and wanted to best for us. Dr. McDonald was great to work with and always made time to answer my questions. Highly recommend for all your pet oncology needs.

Dec. 2021 edit (updating from 1 star to 5) In the past year, I've gotten several notifications that several people have been looking at my past review of VCA and while I'm not necessarily eating my hat (our past experience can't be changed, after all), I do think it's important to provide updates that could impact perception/reputation of a business -- particularly at a time when options in that specific industry are dwindling. Our dog, who insists on wearing his big, beautiful brown eyes partially outside of his face, developed another indolent corneal ulcer (the opposite eye from last year) and we set out to schedule an appointment with literally any available veterinary opthalmologist. Unsurprisingly, with the significant burden on animal healthcare facilities these past two years, burnout rate is high and there are even fewer in the area than there were last year. Because of this, we set our own expectations to scheduling something several weeks out. But even worse, we learned that the doctor we took him to last year was unavailable, and that he most likely would not be accepted as a "new patient" at that clinic in her absence. We reserved calling VCA NW as our final option, and when I called and the person who answered the phone had me leave a voicemail for the scheduler of their Ophthalmology dept. Based on our last experience, I had little confidence that I'd receive a call back. However, the scheduler returned my call within the half hour and as it turned out, was able to schedule us over a recent cancellation that upcoming weekend. And while I know that's due mostly to general timing (tyvm to the person who cancelled; I hope it means your pet is thriving), the interaction far surpassed the bar that was set last year. Our appointment was nice and quick (honestly, the procedure and treatment our dog needed is kind of rote at this point), and both Dr. Taylor and the tech were very kind, caring and thorough while talking to us and slipping little pieces of American cheese to our dog (honestly I don't know if there's anything he loves more). Highly specialized animal care facilities -- they're just like us! Anyway, our guy is on the path to healing, and my suspicions that VCA was always a good facility with maybe some not-so-good gatekeeping have been confirmed. And, they scheduled us for a timely follow-up before we left, so our dog will be out of his cone just in time to replace that misery with the misery of his parents refusing to share their holiday dinner with him.

Super people. Animal is picked up in the parking lot and then delivered back to the car after being examined by a Vet.

From out of town and puppy broke his leg, Called in and was told he could be seen. Waited for 3 hours and they did absolutely nothing but give excuse after excuse if why the couldn't examine him.I finally got doctor to administer pain meds and now im driving 7 hours home to my normal vet. I might as well have taken him to taco bell to be seen. Incompetent, unprofessional and completely a waste of time.

We were forgotten about. No return phone call with blood results. No compassion for our furry family member. Horrible customer service, and it cost a small fortune.

My cat is being treated here for cancer and I am so grateful for the wonderful care he/we have received. Having your animal get diagnosed with cancer during a pandemic has been a rollercoaster, but Dr. Dowling is extremely compassionate and will support you in whatever path you decide to take for your animal (he does a great job explaining the options). Also Danielle is a fabulous Vet Tech and always a pleasure to interact with! *Edited to add Kiana is awesome as well, I've had a great experience with the whole team! Thank you guys for making each visit a pleasant one. They are straight up with you about price estimates at the beginning of each appointment which I appreciate. My experiences with the front desk staff has been pleasant as well. I would highly recommend VCA for oncology care, that is the only department I see but I have no doubt the others are great too.

Dr. Bill Banz and his team took excellent care of my dog. They have exceptional bedside manners and went out of their way to do extra diagnostic test (free of charge) when they found some suspicions growths. I highly recommend them!

Dr. Downs is fabulous. Walked me through the care for my dog, explained medications and when to use them, and even recommended more affordable options without me asking. There’re fabulous. Definitely would recommend for an emergency vet clinic.

If I could give a 0 star I would… do Not use this “24 hour Emergency Pet Hospital”. I had an emergency with my 10 year old golden doodle and called on my way, to alert the clinic of my emergency. After navigating through a recorded menu I was transferred to a vet tech, or receptionist, who I told I was arriving shortly with an emergency. She asked me what was the problem, that she would have to talk to the 1 vet they had on staff, because they had a lot of animals there at that time. I continued to drive and as I pulled into the parking lot she came back on the line and told me they COULD NOT take me, I would need to go somewhere else. “Ma’am, WE CANNOT TAKE YOU, WE ARE FULL”! I told her I was in their parking lot and my pet was in an emergency situation and they are a 24 hour emergency hospital, PLEASE help my pet! She referred me to their clinics in Tanasbourne, Tualatin and one other and said, “DO NOT COME IN”! I left the clinic and went to our regular Vet at the top of the hill in Oregon City. When I pulled into the parking lot, ran in and asked for help, the vet came out and it was too late…. My girl passed away in my car. How can a 24 hour emergency pet clinic turn an emergency away without doing some type of triage assessment and prioritize by need. Heartbroken… do not use this clinic.

The level of care and attention from staff was great. They have a good system to ensure proper Covid protocols. Staff were all nice. However, I highly recommend getting a written breakdown of estimated services before committing to care. I took my sick cat in (again, great care by staff), and was verbally told it would be about $400 for services and $100-150 for meds. I felt comfortable about that and left my cat for care. Upon returning to pick him up, there were no additional services listed, and the actual bill totaled nearly $900. Needless to say I was a bit surprised. At least my cat is feeling much better after care.

Short story: Dehydrated dog but was not offered an IV. He unfortunately died before I could get him to another competent animal hospital I brought my puppy here due to him being lethargic and having no appetite. When I called I was told they were near capacity and they needed to do an over the phone triage to see if they could take him. After describing his symptoms he qualified to come in. I was told I would be dropping him off and it would be a couple hours. After arriving I signed the paperwork and stated to call me prior to making any decisions about him (labs, images etc) I was told I needed to stay in the parking lot in case the doctor wanted to come out and speak to me. Each time I received only a phone call. Additionally I was told it would take 20/40 minutes to get blood results back and I waited an HOUR. I called to let them know I need to leave and get my son some food. Miraculously I get a call AFTER I leave to be told the labs were unremarkable but they were more interested in doing a joint tap for swelling of his arm. What really bothers me is the he was there for 5 5 hours.labs showed he was dehydrated but DID NOT offer yo give him an IV. This is after I told them he has not eaten or drank in 24 hours! Then I pay a 895 dollar bill and at least half of the was for meds he couldn't take because he couldn't open his mouth or swallow! I literally brought my dog home for him to DIE 7 hours later. Then I couldn't even return the unopened meds due to hospital policy. This is purely my experience with this facility. I would never bring another animal here again

This review is for the Radiation Oncology team. Nobody WANTS to take their dog for cancer treatment but if you find yourself in a place where you have to, this is the best place to go. Dr. McDonald and her team are top notch. From the day we set the appointment for the consultation the team was by our side. They kept us up to date on when records were (or were not) sent over by the referring Drs., what to expect for each visit and offered their text line for any immediate questions. We were checked in on prior to our arrival, the confirmed our dogs instructions and made sure we knew how to get to the office and answered any questions we had. They were incredibly kind and compassionate when we checked our dog in and during his stay, Each day we were provided with an update and instructions for the next day. When our treatment was complete they welcomed us into the team area and provided a "graduation" party if you will. You can tell from day one they care about the humans as much as the animals. I am sad to report that a friend of mine has a dog going through something similar and isn't experiencing the same care from her clinic as we did with VCA. I know we all have to make the decision that is best for ourselves and our family and if you can make it to VCA I don't think you will be disappointed. This team went above and beyond anything I could have expected. From someone that works in human healthcare....We could only be as lucky if someone treated us as good as these wonderful humans treat the animals.

After taking our cat in for 947 dollars worth of bloodwork to find out why her eye is swelling up they refuse to have their eye specialist contact us with next steps

So nice! Doc made extra time to look at my cat before her shift ended -- so quick, nice and friendly! Thank you so much!!!

I truly do not understand all of the negative reviews. We worked with Dr. Dowling and his team in the Oncology department and they were amazing! They were very responsive, attentive and loving toward our dog. I highly recommend!

Called urgently at 5 pm for a cat that was old and suffering. They treated us compassionately. Highly recommend Dr. Ellie Bohrer who was kind and caring and gentle.

Have had care for our pets at this facility in the past....over 2 years ago. One did not end well, but likely not a result of lack of care. Cost was high, but they tried. Today we needed emergency care for our dog and went to the hospital. Was told "not accepting walk-in emergencies". We are under staffed. Handed me a list of other facilities.. not anywhere close. "You will need to call ahead". Asked if I could use a phone. "Don't you have a phone of your own!!!!!????" Did not even offer to call one on my behalf. WHY DID YOU EVEN HAVE YOUR EMERGENCY SIGN LIT? Not my idea of emergency services any more.

I brought my dog in for an ultrasound expecting to wait, was told to wait for a call before I left the parking lot, 5 hours later the call never came. At hour 6 they told me they thought she was staying overnight and that they'd get to her. At hour 8 they called to tell me she would die in 6 months (a year later she is in great health). Hour 9 they asked to keep her overnight again, I declined, and we went home. This place exists to lie and scam you, I can only hope this place goes out of business so they can't prey on other owners.

Be wary, you can be charged by the minute on phone calls. A 20 minute phone call can cost upwards of $200, I know from experience. (A 19 min. Call cost $200 for me.) And this was after $1800 and a promise of follow up for a second opinion. I was never made aware of additional costs..Well I was billed for the follow phone call, and by the minute no less, but only to be told the same thing as my initial visit. None the less when I showed my frustration at the fact of no new info for the phone call, I was immediately put down, and explained to that that is what there time is worth, and that apparently 19 minutes of phone conversation is completely worth $200 in billing. Apparently only the wealthy can expect care for their pets....

Dr. Atkins saved my dogs Eyesight! When I knew I had to get my dog Arya cataract surgery, I called around and most places were 3+ months out, just to get a consultation appointment. VCA had my dog in the next week and scheduled the surgery within a month. It was delayed a few times because one of the Veterinarians was sick, but they got her on the schedule quickly with Dr. Atkins. The whole process was made less stressful by the caring staff! Subsequent follow up appointments have been smooth as well. They provided me very detailed instructions for the many medications Arya had to have after surgery. Two months later and Arya is able to see just as well as before she had cataracts and is so much happier and will have a higher quality of life. I am so grateful to the folks at VCA!

Thank you Dr. Dowling, and your staff, for being so kind and compassionate. I appreciate your detailed consultation and advice.

Those of you who gave 5 stars to this place must have been lucky. We weren't. Our vet here diagnosed a lung problem, but the vet at Northwest Veterinary Specialists diagnosed it as a bowel problem and wouldn't let us ask questions. When we tried to explain that our vet had sent them X-rays showing a lung problem, she would interrupt and explain the bowel problem all over again. She said there was no problem with our dog's lungs. We rushed her back to their hospital 4 times because of her breathing difficulties and they would put her in an oxygen cage and tell us the fluid in her belly was pushing against her lungs. The last time we rushed her in we saw a different vet who found the lung problem...too late to save her. After 5 weeks of misery, she died of asphyxiation. We were treated with disrespect by staff and had to choose her cremation options while crying our eyes out in the lobby which was full of people. We spent $6000 without complaining. It's been 4 years...I will never forgive them.

First off I have never done a review before . But after my experience If I could give it no stars or 1/2, I would. Worst experience ever. As a small town country girl, this has made me hate Portland even more! Drove over 1.5 hrs from out of town after being recommended here by my veteran for an emergency internal medicine exam due to my dog bleeding internally. Waited over 1.5hrs in parking lot before they even got him. Was told they had bigger emergencies and they would call to let me know what there findings were in 1-2 hrs. Ended up waiting over 7 hr by the end of it, for them to say they wanted to keep him a few day to monitor him since they couldn’t find anything! When I tried to get an update from the parking lot via phone numerous times I kept getting put on hold and no one answer my questions! Do not go here if you value your pet!!!!!

It is confusing to me to see so many low-star reviews. I can only say that this last week has been rough for us, and in losing my pet Captain. The initial care and communication was professional and timely The doctors took a great deal of time and focus to just discuss the situation and the options. Bust most importantly, when it came time to say goodbye to our pet, they handled that as warmly and professionally as you can expect. They cared about my well being and my pet. They certainly have my business. Goodbye Cappy! :-(

We took our sick dog here yesterday and just wanted to say that Dr. Cohen was so incredibly empathetic and made sure our dog would get the best care. We cannot express enough how much we felt cared for!

If I could give this place negative stars I would. I'm going to try and take the emotions out of this negative review and just stick to facts. If you have an appointment that is coming up and they cancel for a mechanical breakdown of the equipment they put you to the back of line or how they look at it the nearest opening appointment. My dog was diagnosed with cancer two weeks ago, I made an appt ASAP to get him in. So the night prior to my appointment at 9 o clock at night I get an email stating the machine is broken and the appointment was canceled and they tried calling me. My phone never rang and no voicemail was left. I know they have my correct number because they called me Monday after my first appointment and collected payment via credit card. When they get the machine back up and running whenever that is, the time from when it was down to the time it was fixed appointments are lost. Now the nearest opening time is now a month out. So when people made appointments after you and they luck out right in time for the equipment to get fixed that benefits them and not the people that missed their appointment because of mechanical failure. It's a business I get it, this is how they treat scenarios like that one. Not saying my dog's appointment matters more than others, but it should take precedence in order they were originally scheduled.