Northgate Veterinary Clinic

We’ve been going to Northgate Vet for a few years now, and it truly does not get any better than Dr. Phillips and the whole team. He is so caring, thorough, and supportive. I have never felt so confident about my cats’ health. Everyone at the front desk and all the vet techs have been amazing as well. This place is incredible!

My dog came in twice for nail trims, and they asked me to drug him to the point that he was sick multiple times and would not listen to my complaints. The people doing the actual nail trim are wonderful people but the manager and the doctor that we worked with did not listen to me and wanted to give him more drugs rather than less. I would not trust my dog with them for actual medical issues and will be finding a new vet.

This practice had been my primary vet for the past few years. My experience with them is poor care and a staff whose approach to scheduling shows no compassion for my cat or for me. Can they fill a prescription my cat needed in the last half hour of their work day? NO. They texted the next morning to say the prescription was ready for pick up. I arrived an hour before closing time. The practice was locked and dark, with a sign in the window saying that they were closing an hour early that day (no other explanation). I texted and left a polite voicemail. Did I receive any response? NO. My cat was ill and needed fluids. Could they get me in that day? NO. Could they get me in the next day? NO. When? I could make an appointment for one or two weeks out. Last year, they performed surgery to repair my cat's hernia. Seven months later, he needed the same procedure again. Northgate said they couldn't do it a second time and referred me to specialists who quoted over $10K for the surgery. I found a kind, compassionate, full-service vet 20 minutes north of Seattle who did it for a LOT less. Northgate Veterinary Clinic, like many other vet practices in the City of Seattle, may be fine for scheduled, routine visits. But once your pet needs actual care, whether that's surgery, a quick therapeutic visit, or simply filling a prescription, they fail. I'm done with that kind of veterinary practice. It's worth driving 20 minutes for a practice that demonstrates real care and compassion for my pet.

I try not to leave negative reviews but I had an experience with this clinic that has sat wrong with me for several months. I scheduled an exam with this office because my dog was going to be due for his rabies vaccine in about a month. My dog also had several medical concerns that I wanted to touch base on at this appointment. We spent a majority of this appointment discussing a leptospirosis vaccine that i feel is not necessary as an indoor elderly pet and we also agreed to do a blood panel. I had several questions for the vet that i did not feel like I could properly ask because he dominated the entire conversation and it felt more like a monologue instead of a two way conversation. We get a quote for an echocardiogram that was astronomical, leave and go home to mull it over. Fast forward to a month later I take my dog in to get groomed and he gets turned away because his rabies vaccine is expired and when I call Northgate vet they said that it looks like they forgot to do the vaccine at his last appointment. I was frustrated but the thing that sent me over the edge was that they told me that I had to pay for an additional exam because every time the rabies vaccine is administered they need to do an exam. I asked them to please waive the exam fee since this was their error which I understand can happen and they said the best they could do was give me half off of the exam. If an office makes a mistake like this, I think this should be made right and did not want to bring my animal back on principal. I ended up transferring to another office nearby and the vet is very caring, empathetic, and I feel like they took the time with me to answer all of my questions without making it feel like an inconvenience to ask in depth questions about my animal with complicated medical issues. I ended up getting an echocardiogram at the other office and it was half of the price. Over all my experience at Northgate vet left a really bad taste in my mouth.

I take this lovely girl to Northgate for her checkups, nail trims and medical emergencies. Thus far the staff have always been quick, kind and helpful. Once when my cat was very sick they scheduled an emergency appointment that very day and got her in for a checkup. Super pleased with the service here.