Commencement Bay Animal Hospital Tacoma, Washington

We recently started taking our pets to commencement bay animal hospital after moving into the area and we are absolutely in love with the entire staff at commencement bay. They have not only taken excellent care of our pets but they are super easy to work with. We recently had a dental/surgical procedure done on one of our dogs and they were absolutely amazing. Their communication and pricing are top notch. Dr. Martin has excellent bedside manner and is a joy to work with. We’re very lucky to have found such an amazing vet to take our pets to.

I'm a new cat mom so I got super worried when Karl came down with a cold (sneezing, sniffly nose, extra sleepy) shortly after taking him home from the shelter. I had called another animal hospital that was booked out until April for an initial exam. This was the second place I called and they put me on a cancellation list. No more than 30 minutes later I get a call for a same day noon appointment (huzzah!) Curbside service made it so that they picked up Karl from my car (everyone masked), and I waited as the vet gave Karl an exam. Towards the end of the exam, Dr. Wicklund called me on my phone and gave me a run down of Karl's overall health, what could have caused the cold, the meds he was suggesting for Karl, and letting me know that Karl will need a follow up with a Cardiologist because he found a heart murmur. Dr. Wicklund assured me that he would help me and explained the situation without freaking me out. Since this was my first ever experience with something like this, from the assistants on the phone, to the intake forms, to the follow up texts, everything was handled fantastically. Shoutout to all the staff I talked to, Dr. Wicklund for the help. Can't wait to come back!

I was worried when our previous vet retired but I have been very happy with Dr. Martin. All the staff is great. I feel comfortable with my dog's care now.

Failed multiple times to identify an issue with our dog and actually just listened to me when I told them what I wanted instead of providing any advice. Receptionist is incredibly rude on the phone as well. We are switching vets.

Quick check-up and nail trim for the Dog. Pricing is great and everyone was so nice. I had to wait outside due to covid though that was okay. Dr. Martin has been my dogs Vet for the last 5 years. This last visit was a last minute trip and Moonshadow needed a quick check before traveling. Dr. Driscoll was awesome and able to get him in. He came out after the check and was chill the rest of the day like nothing happened. Thank you again. Cheers.

I've been taking rescue dogs and my personal dogs to Dr Martin since he was at his previous office. He's easy to discuss care, diagnostics and a plan for care. The staff is very companionate with every single dog and being in rescue, we never know what the dog will be like that comes through our door needing a helping hand. It's nice to know they're capable and able to tend to them regardless of if the dog is friendly and wonderful or scared of being at the dogter.

The team here worked with us through a great many pet problems and regular wellness check ups. They are great at staying in contact with us and answering and questions or concerns we have. They never once have made us feel like we are asking too many questions or like we shouldn't ask questions. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

They helped me when I was DESPERATELY looking for emergency care for my cat( my vet was out of town and there was 8hr. wait at the animal ER)

They are so helpful here-everyone from the staff to the vet techs to Dr Martin. They are very supportive and try to help triage illnesses and issues!

For the humans: Appreciate the extra effort they made accommodating parking and check-in & well as communication. For the pets: Grateful for their knowledgeable, kind, and gentle care of our cat!

Such a wonderful group of people work here! I appreciated all of the safety precautions for Covid. And I received excellent care for my cat.

I took my cat here multiple times- they made me come back for a urine test and charged me for another checkup even though he had gotten one the day before. They also NEVER called me with the results of the bloodwork. I took him to the Tacoma Animal Hospital instead, and they were able to identify the problem and communicate it to me clearly within the day. If my cat had a urinary blockage, he would have been dead in the time it took them to figure out the problem. This place cost me hundreds of dollars and provided little to no help. As a college student, it was really hard to cover those bills by myself. I will definitely not be going here again and will be referring my friends to the Tacoma Animal Hospital instead.

Dr. Rizzo zeroed in on the diagnostic issues quickly and was able to present treatment options that would help my dog if she had bladder cancer or pollups in the bladder. Surgery was arranged by her to be done at my local veterinarian office by a traveling surgeon . She is extremely responsive and did not hesitate in contacting other professionals rapidly to expedite treatment. I recommend her without reservation! She is compassionate and knowledgeable.

Years ago, Dr Martin took my mauled dog in and stabilized him at 10 min til closing, making an appt for the morning to follow up and complete care. He also dxed my dog's significant knee problems and recommended surgeries that greatly helped him. Recently saw him again as my darling little hunter got himself in a fight with a raccoon, and Dr Martin was great once again! Very happy to have him as a vet!

The entire staff here is wonderful. They always take great care of my pets. Dr Martin saved my cats leg after I was told by an emergency vet that it would have to be amputated. I can't recommend them enough.❤❤❤

Kind and caring staff. They took great care of my cat.

It's such a shame how amazing the care is here given how inaccessible it is to anyone who can't afford to drop hundreds of dollars all at once. I appreciate the efforts of the staff in finding work arounds for my pets meds and care, but in an era where everyone is struggling for money, the removal of a payment plan system and the lack of any sort of assistance for people struggling financially is untenable and feels like an unnecessary barrier that prevents the impoverished from accessing quality care for their pets. I'm disappointed in the lack of actual explanation as to why the payment plan was removed as well. If the text to pay option worked just fine during the pandemic why get rid of it? If it didn't why not work to create a better system? Why add an extra barrier to pet care when it's clearly not needed? It feels frustrating to know my pets health can not be as prioritized as I want it to be since I'll need to save for months at a time just to afford one vet visit/refill of their medications

Highly recommend this dogtor, I mean veterinary. They are very thorough, patient, kind, and compassionate. I brought my 3 year old German shepherd here a few times, and each visit has gone very well. I always ask a million questions after each visit to ensure I’m knowledgeable on how to continue to care for my pup. They always take the time to calm my nerves, and thoroughly go over what they’ve done for him, and what after care he’ll need at home. They always let me know how he did, and give him praise for his behavior. I do typically have to wait 10-15 minutes for them to pick up my pup from the parking lot, but that personally does not bother me. I’m sure like most places they are understaffed, and overworked. All I care about is the attention they give to my pup. Also, you can text your dogtor, I mean vet! They will text me to check in on my pup, and also allow me to text them with questions or concerns. They can usually always get me an appointment within two weeks, which is pretty great considering every other vet I’ve called was a month out on appointments. Highly recommend for all your pup needs. This place truly cares.

Love Commencement Bay! They are very thorough and friendly. We will continue to bring our dogs here.

I had a suspicion my cat had a bowel obstruction and they were able to get him in for an X-ray within an hour of contacting them, all the animal hospitals were at capacity and they really came through for me and Dr Biscuit. They have been awesome for everything from routine vaccinations to this emergency that ended up needing surgery. Great staff, great providers.

I rarely review any businesses, but Commencement was extremely helpful today. My regular vet is closed on Monday’s and my dog needed a sick appointment. They were able to squeeze me in and save me a trip to the emergency vet. I really appreciated that the staff came out to discuss options and diagnosis rather than just calling me. I would definitely take my pup here on a regular basis and the staff was fantastic and was able to help me out in a pinch.

Dr. Martin is a fine veterinarian and has created a great veterinarian office. I'v been going to Dr. Martin for 5 yrs and every visit has been a wonderful experience. Dr. Martin diagnosed the congestive heart failure in both my little dogs and prescribed the correct medication. A week later the dog heart specialist tested my dog and Dr. Martin was spot on with his diagnosis and treatment. I absolutely trust Dr. Martin. The vet techs are very well trained and the office manager is delightful. Thoroughly professional and compassionate. Commencement Bay Animal Hospital is wonderful

This is a great Veterinary team!

Made several attempts to contact the office. Website said they were open, office door stated the same days and hours and no one responded. Left 2 voicemails which they stated would be returned in 24-48 hours. 3 weeks now and......Nothing!

Great first experience at Commencement Bay Animal Hospital! Everyone was very professional and caring. It was easy to make an appointment. Also a very organized system during covid of staying in your car and they come out to pick up/drop off your pet. Highly recommended!

I was thinking about going to this place, and then I saw the recent responses to reviews on here from the business. So many backhanded insults and sass, whoever is responding to reviews should be swiftly fired. They’re driving away customers

I paid over $1000 for lousy, unprofessional care for my pup. I had called and texted about an extra lump I would like removed on my dog during his surgery ten minutes after I dropped him off. They assured me via text the lump would be taken care of. Come to find out later on when I come to pick up my dog the lump I asked them to removed was still there. When I asked about it the front desk and nurse tried to tell me I asked to ‘check’ the lumps not to remove them. This was false, they assured me via text the removal would be done. The cone they gave my dog for his wounds didn’t help at all. I called about the issue and they just said to put a shirt on them. They should have put a shirt on him themselves or at least let me know to potentially purchase one. They should have been aware that the spots were susceptible to irritation and a dog’s foot has the ability reach the shoulder in the first place. And to top it all off when I went to go get my dogs staples taken out a few days ago, had I not checked to look at my dog’s wound before I left the parking lot, I would have not known the staples were still there after the staple removal appointment. The doctor took him back to fix it however I find it quite negligent that they forgot on top of all the other issues mentioned above. Overall, not a vet I would come back to after this care experience.

Dr. Martin is great. He takes time with each patient to give thorough explanations and answer all your questions.

I take my English bulldog to Travis Martin. My experience with Travis is he truly cares. My dog recently ate an ornament and Travis had us bring him in asap. They took an x-ray and did everything they could to get the pieces out of his body. He is gentle and cares immensely and treats your dog as if he was his. I wouldn’t use anyone else. I highly recommend Travis to all my friends.

If you have big and anxious dogs who tend to bark, I wouldn’t advise the place. I have two dogs- one is very friendly but the other is very anxious, barks a lot and looks intimidating. The clinic and staff were very good with my friendly dog but with the other one, I got the feeling that he was not very welcome at the clinic and his assessments were rushed. Plus, the clinic twice advised on unnecessary surgeries- one of the times we got the surgery done and they gave us a discounted rate as they realised the surgery could have been avoided. The second time, we didn’t do the surgery.