At Home Vet

We recently adopted two kittens from PAWS and with it came vouchers for a free initial visit at a participating VCA Hospital; this is the one we chose.
The location is very convienient; right off of 522 east in woodinville, although I will say the parking lot is a tad hard to get out of seeing as its right along a busy street.
It’s a quaint little house with a welcoming lobby and only one or two exam rooms. Beside the house is the cat boarding location which is very convienient.
Inside the lobby is a Keurig and selections of prescription food for dogs and cats, as well as brochures for various pet services.
We waited 5 – 10 minutes before someone came out, astonished she didn’t hear us, and then proceeded to assist us by getting the attending vet.
I must say, that even for a Vet that was allergic to cats and dogs, she was the friendliest I’ve ever encountered and handled our kittens so carefully and with such kindness. The appointment took maybe 30 minutes and she suggested some prescription food to take home for one our kittens that has had past urinary issues.
We will definitely investigate the pet insurance she recommended, be back to buy more prescription food and return for any future appointments.

The staff and doctors of At Home Vet are angels of mercy. When it was time for us to say goodbye to our belovedary, Diane and Dr Michelle Gengler helped us through the process with as much compassion and understanding that can be bestowed upon a family losing a piece of themselves.
I am so, so, so grateful we were able to have our final moments at home and in my arms. I cannot imagine ever going through this experience again, saying goodbye, and yet these angels do this for countless families in the Seattle area. I do not envy their position; I exalt them.

My experience with At Home Vet Dr. Hanna Ekstrom was a horrible experience and I will NEVER forget how she treated our whole family especially my 15 ½ old dog, I wanted to do something special by having Tess at home and in a place she loved and we loved her. I was told from her office that I could have as much TIME as I needed to say goodbye to my girl. I had not done a lot of checking up on her services since a friend of a friend said she was good. This could have not been any thing close to what I had heard about her or what she says she does on her website. She called to say she was running late, fine but came in and no introduction. I had to do that to my husband and son. The FIRST thing out of her mouth was «It’s to dark in here and I can’t see» I have sensitive eyes and it was sunny that day and had the curtains closed. Instead of asking me if I could open then, she walked pasted me and did that her self. I found that to be odd and intrusive. I should have stopped the whole thing right then but i was in a bit of a shock as to her demeanor and lack of emotions. The next thing that happened was she asked to be paid and only looked to my husband for this. I handle all the bills of the house and Tess was my dog and I felt very dismissed. She then, quickly and I mean quickly asked my son to go get a paper towel from the kitchen and before we knew it she had administered the first shot to Tess as she lay on the floor and she was out of it and my son was upset along with us that she didn’t explain herself as to what she was doing and did we want to say goodbye to our girl. Think me crazy but she NEVER asked about the dog, what was wrong with her and didn’t even care to find out what she had been going through that lead us to have us to put her to sleep. I was in shock and I’m very outspoken and this woman put a bad taste in my mouth. I had told the office as well as Hanna that I wanted to have Tess sit on my lap since all these years she was never affectionate, no kisses and did not want to get up on the furniture or bed to cuddle and this was my time to finally love her close up and personal. She asked us if we had ANYTHING to place under Tess while she lay on my lap and make it easier to carry her out. She absolutely should have had something for this instead of use running around looking for dog towels. She was finally on my lap and right away she wanted to give her the second shot and I said NO, I need more time. She stepped outside and came back about 4 minutes later and wanted to try again, I said no again. She was in a rush and I could tell this and I was TOLD this would not be a problem. She had a hard time finding a good vein and she had to stick her several time and I’m holding her and freaking out. Finally after the last shot I wanted some peace to kiss and hold her but felt that she was rushing me and she had already spoiled the atmosphere in our home. She was then carried out to her car and she gave me a huge hug which sickened me and we were going to have her cremated and so she had to drop her off. Also at the LAST minute she asked us if we had anything we wanted to be cremated with Tess and I couldn’t think at that point and this should have been mentioned to us way before she came to the house so we said no. When she left, I called her on her cell phone to say what a horrible experience it was and I was so upset and I would call the office on Monday since she never told us when we would get her ashes back. My son and I left the house and when we returned she had called and left the most horrible message and I’m so angry till this day. She of course apologized for this since it was a stressful situation but that she was NOT my psychiatrist and also she felt Tess (unconscious after her first shot) did not want to be on my lap!!! How dare she! I wrote a 13 page complaint and my son also wrote a letter to The Dept. Of Health for Veterinarians and weeks later they said they found nothing wrong with what she put us through. So I’m just now getting started posting as many reviews of her as possible. She should not be allowed to euthanize animals EVER!!! I sent her copies if my letter and my sons so she knows how I felt and my son about her lack of compassion and understanding. You would assume by having someone come into your home they would have an inkling of feeling and show that. This cost over $ 500 and then they overcharged us because she got Tess’s weight wrong when we stated her weight at the house. If my husband did not pay in cash, I would have stopped that payment right away. I called the office on Monday to ask when her ashes would be ready and they said several weeks and that I wanted no contact from this doctor. She called later to say SHE put a rush on the cremation and I could pick them up the next day. I did not ask for this, not ready and she wrote me a card with her prepared sympathy speech and I got so mad I ripped it up. Lesley S.

a close friend of mine recently had to put down her doggie. i suggested she look into a vet that makes house calls as the doggie never liked going to the vet and we wouldn’t want his last moments in a place he was scared to be at. after some searching, At Home Vet was chosen (based on their website). Dr Hanna was absolutely fantastic — super compassionate, explained everything, and set proper expectations for such a traumatic event for a pet owner. though she was a little late (blame GPS), she never rushed anything but made sure we proceeded accordingly (poor doggie was in great pain but was a super trooper!!!) so as not to prolong it. she’s clearly been doing this for a long time, but not so long she’s become a heartless robot, because the process was fluid and handled proffessionally. she had nice little touches: bringing flowers for the doggie, wrapping him up in a blanket to be transported, etc… it was sad but i’m glad she was the vet to help out that day.
quick tip to pet owners that are considering this for their best friend when it’s that time — make peace with it beforehand and all you’ll have to worry about is saying good bye when the time comes.

Just came back from a trip to the Vet. We’ve been using At Home Vet for the last 5 years now and although our dog is usually very healthy, he took a tumble down the stairs recently and being 11 years old, is recovering rather slowly. Dr Eckstrom and her staff has always put me and my family at ease and my little Stuart has never had any issues visiting her office even with all the shots, poking and prodding over the years. He always leaves in much better spirits. So thankful to have someone so capable and thorough looking after our dog.

We just used the at home service. In all my years of having dogs in my life, I have never been treated with such kindness and compassion. I wish I could have said these words when they were here, but I was too emotional. This was the most amazing end of life I’ve ever experienced.

We called this vet hoping for some help to put down our ailing cat. We wanted to make the process as painless as possible, so we decided to pay the extra money to have these vets come out. They examined our cat and agreed that she needed to be put down as she was in a lot of pain. Our cat has aggression problems, and has been biting us from time to time for over 3 years. She is an indoor only cat, and has NEVER been outside in her life. They asked if she’d bitten recently, and we said yes, and they proceeded to tell us that they couldn’t put her down because there was a risk that she had rabies. There is no earthly way our cat could have contracted rabies since she’s never been outside, never interacted with wildlife, and the biting is a behavior she’s had for over 3 years. They refused to put her out of her pain, charged us $ 70 more than the agreed upon amount (which we’d confirmed via email and phone), and then proceeded to report us to the city as people who had a potentially rabid cat. We were left less $ 200, with a sick and dying cat, and now we’re getting harassing calls from the city as well. Fortunately, though our poor cat had to suffer through a very painful night, the first vets we called in the morning were horrified to hear this story and quickly and compassionately put her down this morning. It is horrible enough to have to deal with losing a cat, let alone dealing with being overcharged, making our poor cat suffer an extra 16 hours, and then being «turned in» to city officials. I cannot say enough awful things about this veterinary practice.