The Family Pet Seattle, Washington

DO NOT COME HERE. Kind staff, but overpriced, and full of miscommunications. We have been bringing our cat and dog to the Family Pet for a few months now. When Dr. Love worked here, we really enjoyed the service our pets received. Everything was thorough, and we had an answer the same day we went in, and were able to get things taken care of quickly. We have a 9 year old yorkie who has started to have some problems with age. He recently dealt with a UTI which we took him to Emerald City Emergency Vet for. When he had his first UTI, they told us if it happened again, to see his regular vet and possibly switch his diet to a special urinary tract diet. Sure enough, a few weeks went by, and he ended up with another UTI. We brought him to the Family Pet to see Dr. O'Connell. She was nice, but wanted to do thorough testing even though we had told her what had previously occurred, what we were told, and we even sent the labs to her. They still decided to do more testing, and have us do a free catch for urine at home. We ended up spending nearly $400 for a very short visit. A few days after we brought in the urine sample, we received a phone call saying they wanted to culture the sample which would be $185. About an hour later, we received another call saying that we were actually misquoted and it would cost $250. I expressed being upset and about 10 minutes later, the office manager, Christa called me and offered to reduce the charge to $180. A few days later, which brings us to a Friday, the vet calls us and tells us we need an antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory without first telling us what she figured out to be wrong, so we asked for verification, and sure enough it was a UTI. They prescribed an antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory. They also had a flea medication prescribed from a previous visit, and while on the phone I told them I did not want this flea medication and was assured it'd be taken off. My partner came in because I had to get to work, and he also told them he did not want the flea medication. They told him they were giving him an antibiotic, and an anti-inflammatory, and that they were writing a third script which he was told was for a stronger antibiotic, which he thought was odd, but trusted they were filling only what should have been. He had to bring something to me, and we realized they had indeed given him the flea medication we BOTH declined. When he returned, they told him because it had left the building, they couldn't return it. He picked up the written script for the antibiotic while he was there, and he was told to go to a pharmacy. He went only to find out this pharmacy is not licensed for veterinary medicine. They referred him to chewy, so he placed an order there. Apparently, Chewy requires verification of prescription from the vet, and apparently The Family Pet does not do this (which is understandable, but if you're going to prescribe a medicine for our pets, you should be directing patients where to get it.) I called them today, and once again explained my frustrations with everything to Christa. She is making an allowance for us to return the flea medicine, and did go ahead and confirm the order through Chewy. The veterinary staff has been very kind, but due to the constant miscommunications and INSANELY EXPENSIVE care, I'd rather take my dog to an emergency vet than deal with all of this again. We will be finding a new vet immediately.

This vet is very friendly and very accommodating for our dogs.

Get prices up front when working with this vet. They sometimes charge more than twice what other vets charge in the area.

We love them. I’ve been taking my dogs there since 2005, and we still make the drive to Ballard even though we’re in West Seattle. They are excellent, and I cannot recommend them enough. Shout out especially to Dr. Krzmarzick and Erica, for always being willing to schedule things and answer questions exclusively via email.

Nice facility. Really friendly and caring staff. They take great care of my very difficult little girl.

Honestly some of the friendliest people, they made sure my cats felt comfortable and also helped educate me about things I had no previous knowledge about.

Convenient location for people in the Ballard area off of 15th Ave. Good communication and fair price for services.

Even with the stress of additional protocols and staff shortages due to the pandemic, they were able to fit us in on short notice and the staff was super friendly as always!

The entire staff was SUPER friendly! I felt like all of my questions were fully answered, the visit was on time and efficient, and my pet was treated with care and compassion. I'm very happy to have found my pets' new vet :)

I brought my puppy in because he was stung by a bee and the vet couldn’t be bothered to get off a phone call to assess him. He started vomiting and pooping in the lobby and they were more concerned with the mess than him. Even after 20-30 min of waiting my dog was never taken to a room or seen by a vet. We got a cup of water so I might trust them with a plant but never my animal.

Thank you Dr. Schneider, Dr. Love and wonderful staff for taking care of my beloved cat Sebastien and helping me through his last two months and last moments with amazing kindness, professionalism and compassion. ???? RIP Sebastien ????

I had a wonderful first visit for my new dog. The techs and veterinarian were all so kind and helpful. They explained everything and gave great recommendations. The front desk staff was great as well, and checked me in right away and got our appointment started. Both my dog and I felt as ease, and I'm looking forward to working with them to keep my pup healthy and happy.

Very happy coming here for a wide range of issues! I’ve worked with 3 of the vets and they’re very thorough with explaining the situation (both knowns and unknowns). Very patient with my many questions and discussing trade offs of treatments/tests (treatments have been successful). While my pup dreads the vet, I can tell that she’s not afraid of the people working there, just of the situation. Not cheap, but I’ve also found the pricing to be upfront in their quotes and I haven’t had issues with my pet insurance accepting the invoices. Also pretty impressed with the scheduling… I hear a lot of vets are backed up these days from burnout and an influx of pets.

This place is awesome. Nice communication, my cat was very comfortable with the Dr. Angela. She was very good with both of ours cats. That's very extreme for my cat salchichita. Front desk Erica I very friendly and nice

A great vet for preventative care. When we had an emergency, The Family Pet was there to help. Excellent follow up communication to ensure that our pup was doing well.

I had to take a very sick cat in that I was pet sitting for an extended period - I don't believe the pet had been to a vet in years. The team was very supportive, not judgy, and great at presenting all options and collaborating on the plan of treatment. And then they followed up to see how progress was going. I felt VERY supported!

I can’t prove it, but I strongly suspect this vet is responsible for the death of my dog. After recently moving to the area, we needed a new vet; after reading lots of reviews, we settled on the Family Pet and brought him here for his annual check up in January 2020. During that visit this vet office suggested the ProHeart 6 vaccine for heartworm prevention. I pushed back a little, wanting to use our usual preventative, but the tech “sold” me on it and we went ahead with it. The next couple of days Whiskey seemed off—lethargic, vomiting, irritable, withdrawn—so we promptly brought him back in. They did blood work and noticed his liver enzymes were elevated. I asked about the ProHeart 6 as a cause since that was new to Whiskey and they said while it can sometimes cause adverse effects, they didn’t think it was the issue, but would reach out to the company. In the meantime, they charged us hundreds of dollars to run a bunch of tests that all turned up negative/inconclusive for any other cause. Ultimately we were told there was nothing we could do but wait for the 6 months worth of medication to work it’s way out of his system. Thoroughly unimpressed with our experience we decided we wouldn’t be returning to the Family Pet and I started doing some research into ProHeart 6; I discovered it has a history of causing dog deaths, was recalled, and then was reintroduced with several safety measures. The Family Pet isn’t following those safety measures. The ones they violated in our case include: not administering ProHeart 6 at the same time as other vaccines (Whiskey received several vaccines on the same day), ProHeart 6 should only be administered by veterinary doctors who have received safety training (a tech administered Whiskey’s shot, who knows if they received said training), and vets are supposed to adequately warn patients about history/possible side effects BEFORE administering the shot (the Family Pet did not warn us of anything, I did get an info sheet *after* the fact). I’ve also since learned that ProHeart 6 is especially troublesome in older dogs (our boy was 7 at the time) and in herding breeds (ours was some sort of border collie mix). Fast forward to the end of 2020 and Whiskey suddenly stopped eating. He was diagnosed with end stage liver failure due to chronic liver inflammation in February 2021. We had to put him down at the end of April. Whiskey was a healthy, happy, incredibly active dog who received annual check-ups and remained up to date on all of his vaccines + preventative medications. He never got into anything that caused adverse side effects such as vomiting before that ProHeart 6 shot. To the best of our knowledge, he had no other risk factors for liver issues. Perhaps it’s just a coincidence, like I said, I can’t prove it. And I’m sure the Family Pet will respond with some laundry list of excuses. But I do know that the Family Pet is recommending a shot with a very questionable safety record and not following at least some of the safety measures put in place by the FDA. Why risk it? Please learn from our devastating mistake and take your beloved companion elsewhere.

This is a good vet, but make sure you ask for a quote beforehand - even for something small. I was shocked with the amount I was charged for a travel health certificate. I could have spent less buying an extra plane ticket. It would have been nice to be informed of the cost beforehand.

I had brief but pleasant interactions with various staff. They were all very friendly and informative.

Our Australian cattle queen has been exceptionally cared for over the years by the skilled and compassionate team at The Family Pet. Being our first fur baby I've quickly come to realize as she enters the "not so" senior part of life (8 years) the importance of having consistent, high quality care as its tremendously helped maintain her wellness and live her best life!

This was my first vet visit with my first cat, so this was all very new to me. The staff was very welcoming and friendly and I appreciated the careful COVID protocols. On the phone the vet explained her recommendations thoroughly and made sure to answer all my questions. The staff walked me through the costs of each item before I elected to proceed, so there were no surprises on the bill. I absolutely plan to return!

I took my two new kittens to Family Pet for their first vet visit. Dr. Simmons was very knowledgable and willing to answer all our questions. Supporting staff were kind and patient!

In all fairness, I have been here only once. It was for a dire situation I was not able to handle ideally, and they did everything that they could in place of an ER until I could transfer her. I am short on words at the moment. The vet (and I found out later, owner) was excellent at adjusting to my comfort, explaining everything in laymen's terms as well as medical terms. Being realistic, but respectful. Being thoughtful, and thorough with answering my questions and being patient and interpretive when I had difficulties communicating. I have auditory issues and am neuro-diversive, which often can be a massive barrier when I'm vulnerable. I was, and remain, impressed. I wish I'd visited here for my girls sooner, and hope I live near this vet for a long time (I have no doubts about going out of my way to come here)

All the staff has been knowledgeable and kind, to both pets and owners! I appreciate the open communication with the vets and how willing they always are to help us understand what's going on and what our options are.

The staff was very helpful and friendly from our first contact via phone, through our pup being treated, and the follow-up with us a few days later to make sure all was well. The COVID protocols were simple and clearly explained in advance. Overall, it was as pleasant and easy an experience one could ask for.

They accommodated me quickly and I needed that. Communication has been great so far. Looking forward to using them in the future.

Kind staff, convenient location, and competent doctors. The Family Pet is a well run business. Their careful attention to our costs and our pet's wellbeing builds trust.

COVID adjustments were clearly available ahead of time, communication between us and the vet/technician were simple and clear. I also appreciated the friendly staff!

I love bringing my dog to the family pet because of how well they take care of him. They're knowledgeable and also care about educating pet parents! Taking time to explain what they're doing for my pet and why they're doing it makes it a better experience.

Family pet has been our "home" vet hospital since we moved to Seattle. They have always been attentive to our cats and to us. They are very professional and easy to work with. They are right on any issues the cats may have and have done great follow up on any issues.