Bird & Exotic Clinic of Seattle

Really, really unprofessional. I had high hopes because Dr. Dan is supposed to be the only board certified small mammal vet in Western WA, but after being yelled at by a vet tech (in the waiting room in front of other customers) about my hedgie’s obesity (a fact never once mentioned to me by the vet, and one probably actually untrue) for trying to get answers about and understand their (strenuous) recommendation for what seemed me to be low-​quality food, I can’t say I have a good feeling about these folks.
The staff were also totally reticent to let me speak to the vet, even when they couldn’t answer my questions. I, like other reviewers, felt pretty rushed by the staff/​vet at this clinic during my checkup appointment and like my concerns were unimportant to them. Time will tell if I actually get a call from the vet. It is the holidays, so I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt on that one. Overall, though, this is not a clinic I feel comfortable with to care for my animal.

Thorough exam from Dr. Bennett for my sick budgie. Unfortunately I was too little
too late. Only Avian Dr. in Seattle that I know of. Pricey.

We brought our dear tarantula to the clinic because he became stuck molting and three days had already passed. When we arrived it was a good thing the place was empty because we didn’t set up an appointment but they were still nice enough to accept us. One of the staff came to talk to us and said they didn’t really treat tarantulas but that they would talk to the vet and maybe give us the address for a veterinarian that maybe treated two or three tarantulas before. We were ready to go anywhere, we would go anywhere for our pets. Dr. Lejnieks came out to the waiting room and told us that he had studied entomology in school and Tarantulon was taken to the back.
While we were filling out forms we were asked to go to the back. Dr. Lejnieks showed us the work that he had begun. He said that Tarantulon stopped forming and his body was incomplete and he didn’t know what happened that a chemical could have caused it. I was shocked, I thought that I fed him too many pinkie mice and blamed myself, I read that if tarantulas are given too many pinkie mice their exoskeleton can become too hard during molting because of calcium. Dr. Lejnieks said he would keep working on Tarantulon throughout the day and perform a Doppler Test. Dr. Lejnieks and the staff went above and beyond to help.
We went home and began the grieving process; my boyfriend stayed in bed and couldn’t do anything. Later that same day my boyfriend gets a call from the clinic and is told that the Doppler Test showed that Tarantulon was alive and that we could probably pick him up tomorrow morning. I became confused because we were told that he was incomplete. Would he form the rest outside of the exoskeleton? Was he actually fully formed and ok? Probably is not a definitely but we began to make a list of questions to ask the veterinarian to try to prevent this from happening again and even took pictures of the healthy habitat cleaner we use in Tarantulon’s tank and set up a ride. We were given a small shred of hope and it became emotional torture.
My boyfriend received another call in the morning and was told that Tarantulon did not make it through the night. If he was alive yesterday and we could probably pick him up what happened during the night? I went from grieving, to having a little bit of hope, to plummeting all the way down emotionally.
When we picked up Tarantulon I tried to ask why he was in a box this morning, the staff member looked at me and said, «he’s dead,» I asked again and she asked if I wanted to talk to the vet. They were busy and I just wanted to leave, I don’t even know if I had to pay, as we were leaving a customer said she was sorry for my loss and I think I might have said something about the staff needing to be more clear.
I have only been to this clinic once but I got the impression that there’s a lack of communication between veterinarians and staff. I’ve read several veterinary clinic reviews on Unilocal and one of the main complaints is about receptionists. I don’t know what the hiring process is for Bird & Exotic Clinic of Seattle or Washington’s guidelines but when I was training in another state to become a veterinary assistant I met a young woman that worked with a veterinarian, she told me that her previous job had been as a cashier at a video store. Here I was paying money to get trained at a school (which turned out to be a scam) and anyone could do it. There should be a national standard and real training even for receptionists.
After the training I got a job as a kennel assistant at a clinic and if there had been a miscommunication or misinformation there would have been some serious yelling from the boss. I was yelled at every day for a lot less. I realized that I couldn’t live up to the standards to help animals medically so I quit. Piece of advice for people going into the veterinary field, if you’re not making it quit, I know that pushing through obstacles and not quitting is viewed as a good thing but in the case where lives are involved it is best to quit.
Sorry for getting off topic and thank you for reading the thoughts and opinions of a grieving person. My main point is that there should be more communication between veterinarians and the staff.

It has been a few years since I brought my rabbit to the clinic, and since then I have learned a few things and after reading the other reviews I wanted to share my experience as well. Just like the other reviewer, I was also told that my rabbit was malnourished and that I was depriving her of water and that if I fed her she would get better. I had a rabbit that I had acquired from an acquaintance that had gotten her from a breeder. She had awful ear mites and was terribly shy, so they didn’t want to keep her and were going to put her in a box and drop her off somewhere. I thought, what the heck, and took her. She became a huge part of my pet family, and was one of the most amazing animals I have ever had the honor of loving. On the advice of the local rabbit society, I had her spayed and was looking to get a cohort for her. I accidentally got another female rabbit, and the stress of the territory battles threw my rabbit into a horrible E. Cuniculi attack that left her with severe wry neck and motion sickness. She lived though, and adapted. For the next three years she moved around the country with me and was a peppy happy rabbit. One day her partner died of what I think was GI, and my rabbit stopped eating. I started to force feed her with a syringe 6 times a day, but she didn’t want to swallow and she eventually became paralyzed in her back legs. I called the vet and the tech said it wasn’t a big deal that she couldn’t use her back legs and that the earliest she could get me in was two days. I didn’t know what was happening or what to do, so I kept force feeding her and took her for her scheduled appointment. The vet saw her and started berating me about waiting when it was his vet tech who told me she was fine to wait. He then said that if I fed her and gave her water she would recover and he did an fluid IV for her and took all my money and sent me away. Needless to say, my rabbit died slowly over a two week period. The whole time I was force feeding her at least 6 times a day and trying to get her the water and nutrition she needed and it was an awful terrible life altering experience. I would never recommend this vet for your rabbit, ever. I should have brought her to a breeder or the rabbit society, anyone that has any actual experience with rabbits would have been better. I told the vet that she tested positive for E. Cuniculi several years ago and he completely dismissed me and didn’t even prescribe me fenbendazole just to make sure it wasn’t an outbreak from stress after loosing her other half. I don’t understand how you can call yourself a rabbit vet and not know the symptoms of E. Cuniculi. I would highly recommend looking somewhere else for a rabbit vet. He might be good for other animals, but he is not a good choice for rabbits.

Having owned several rabbits on the east coast over the past number of years, I know how important it is to find a good vet, especially when you’re frantic that your bunny has an emergency situation. Being a recent transplant to the Seattle area, I relied on Unilocal to guide me in the right direction.
My little lionhead lop started acting lethargic, unwilling to eat or drink at around midnight, a sign of possible GI statis. Though there are several 24hr animal hospitals, there aren’t many rabbit vets on call for such a situation. We powered through ’til the night and I started calling several clinics as they opened up for the day. Several advertised exotic hospitals only have one experienced rabbit veterinarian– if they aren’t in, there’s no point in going to them.
I took my bunny to Bird and Exotic Clinic of Seattle to see Dr. Dan as a drop-​off since their appointments were booked. Needless to say, I didn’t get a good feeling from them. Their service charges seemed exorbitant, $ 22 for just putting my rabbit in a plastic storage bin with some hay while he waited to be looked at, and then a $ 55 charge for subcutaneous fluids and one orally administered dose of Metacam– a prescription they also charged me later at $ 20 for five additional take-​home doses (if you do the math, one dose of metacam should have only been $ 5, meaning subcutaneous fluids are $ 50???). Plus, the receptionist seemed cold and disinterested in my pet, and if I hadn’t even asked to see the x-​rays when I went to pick my bun up, I wouldn’t have met the actual vet and gotten a summary of my little bun’s condition. Dr. Dan seemed distant and uninterested in my rabbit, as if he was just another rabbit of a slew of rabbits he’d seen, and his answers to my questions were generically given.
On the client info sheet I filled out, I had indicated that I had my rabbit for only 3 months. There wasn’t any other area to state that I wasn’t a first time owner. When I met Dr. Dan, I wasn’t given any demonstration on how to administer medication to my bunny– it makes me wonder what would have happened if I didn’t already know! Also, another form I had to fill out had two options– to be informed step by step of the procedures before they were conducted (including x-​rays) or to have it all done based on the vet’s prerogative. I checked the step-​by-​step but was not informed of anything along the way– and was later told that that particular option was for non-​life threatening situations. Then why did they make me fill the form out?
Overall, I didn’t have a good feeling about my rabbit’s future when I left the clinic. I wasn’t convinced my rabbit would be ok– and it was true, his health went downward after the visit, and he spent the whole night grinding his teeth in pain. The next day, I scheduled an emergency appointment with Dr. Carter at Evergreen Avian and Exotic Animal Hospital (you can read my review of them for more info) and left that hospital feeling hopeful and optimistic. It was a vastly different feeling than when I left Bird and Exotic Clinic of Seattle after talking to Dr. Dan.
The one thing I did like though, was they did call me back the next day to ask how my rabbit was doing. After having seen Dr. Carter for a second opinion and additional necessary medication, I can say he appears to be back to his mischievous ways again.

As a foster parent for the Seattle Animal Shelter and fostering and owning «exotic» pets, this is my go-​to place and my vet.
I have fostered birds, a hedgehog, snakes, and am currently fostering an iguana and bearded dragon. I also adopted one of my foster snakes.
They are SOOO helpful here!
As a new foster parent and not having a TON of previous reptile experience, they have been super helpful and answered all of my questions and have also done a great job at making sure all of my animals are healthy.
The doctor (Dr. Bennett) is extremely nice and knowledgeable and I would highly recommend coming here if you have any exotic pet.

So my boyfriend and I have an iguana who has been a little sick, and we just wanted to have him checked out by an exotic vet. We called this place and they told us they could schedule us in nine days later. We thought… alright we can wait a little… literally the evening before the appointment we get a call telling us that their exotic doctor wont be in the office (then why schedule us!!!) And that a vet who has «kind of been seeing exotics all week» can see us. You’ve known for a whole week that the vet wouldn’t be in, and you’re JUST NOW calling us to make us see a vet who has just in the past WEEK seen exotics?! We say fine. It’s too late to wait any longer and reschedule somewhere else. We go in early, fill out paper work, and wait AN HOUR AND A HALF while two other people go ahead of us who came in after we did. Then we’re told «there’s only one doctor on staff». SERIOUSLY?! So just as we are about to leave and tell them we are not waiting for their services any longer, they say the doctor can see us. The doctor barely gave us any advice and charged us A LOT for something we could have found on the INTERNET.
NEVER COMING BACK HERE. THANKS FOR NOTHING.

I took my house bunny there after trying to groom him myself and wasn’t successful. He had super bad matts from being outside playing during the day and I hadn’t brushed him in about 2 weeks.
Our bill for shaving the front ½ of the bunny was $ 170. When I called a little disappointed about not getting my whole bunny shaved for almost $ 200 they basically said they could finish him but it would cost another $ 170ish. Seriously? Not a satisfied customer here. Another tech is suppose to call me back however I doubt their story will change. Super disappointing and I will obviously not go back.
EDIT: They called me back this evening and said «as long as the rabbit did not need more anesthesia we can finish at no cost»

I’m happy to say I have found a vet I will feel comfortable bringing my chameleon to. I brought him in today because I suspected he had a respiratory infection, and saw Dr. Dan Lejneiks. While the doctor was a little rushed, and the practice is small and busy, I felt my chameleon got the care he needed, and that the price was extremely reasonable — I made it out under $ 100! I was not made to feel guilty for refusing testing on the basis of cost, and my concern about giving oral meds was accepted and addressed.
I also received a couple pointers on husbandry and feeding. The staff was kind and gentle with my chameleon, even though he was hissing and angry. If you’re hesitant to take your reptile to a vet, I definitely recommend coming here, but be prepared with questions or you may find the exam going a little too quickly. All in all, a solid veterinary practice.

As a fellow house bunny owner, I’m very particular on who sees my rabbit. My bunny’s original vet is closed on weekends and it makes me panic! A few friends recommended me to Bird and Exotic.
My bun had a foot callus open and she went to the ER. We decided to keep the appointment to have an exam done by Dr. Dan (because I’m really THAT bunny mom) to be sure my girl is in good health and her foot won’t get infected.
The vet tech is AWESOME! Asked questions, made sure my bunny is eating a good diet (only the best for my baby girl) and asked what was going on before the vet came in.
In came Dr. Dan. He’s very straight forward and knowledgeable in rabbits. I felt very reassured I was doing all that I need to make my bunny comfortable. He makes sure your questions are all answered.
Dr. Dan put my bunny on antibiotics to prevent infection. The vet tech asked if I knew how to administer the meds, and I was a bit rusty… So she showed me how to by giving my bun her first dose!
I wish the clinic was closer to me — but I’m SUPER thankful I can take my bunny to see Dr. Dan on the weekend considering I work M-​F! You guys rock! Keep it up!

Well, I am really disappointed in this clinic!
About a year ago I bought two lovely brother ferrets from the Petco in Factoria. I brought them to this place and the vet Dr. Bennett, was truly amazing!
However, I just gave them to a friend and coincidentally he got sick a week later having a seizure in my hand as I was visiting the little guys. They had never been sick at all and I had taken really good care of them. So we brought him in to get checked up, my experience with the receptionists were very alarming.
I felt as if they were just rushing me right along, not caring about the background or story for my little one, not taking the time to listen to me. I felt like I was nothing but a bar-​code to them, even though the Doctors were amazing and took my little one into their home to keep an eye on him overnight because they supposedly thought he was epileptic or diabetic, and wasn’t getting enough food and water. I am not sure at this point! They told me to bring him back in incase he has another seizure.
I understand it’s the busiest time of the year, but you ask me how my/​my friends ferret is doing, and you want me to tell you– once you start cutting me off mid-​sentence or finishing my sentence, it just becomes a conversation with yourself and someone else telling me what THEY want to hear, if that makes sense.
Sad to say, we will be switching to a different clinic where people will actually take the time to listen and care for us. If you do not have the time to listen, then you should just turn clients away that way they know to begin with that you won’t care for them in the first place.
I would appreciate it if Debbie could work on her bedside/​petside manner. Comforting the owner of a sick pet, not bending over backwards but just mentioning that «We are going to do the best we can for your pet to make sure he gets better» with a smile as we are dropping him off, is NOT THAT HARD!

I realize that there are two vets at this clinic, so I want to state first thing that the only vet I have seen here is avian specialist Tracy Bennett, whom I found rather harsh and unprofessional. I took my African Gray Parrot for a general checkup following the laying of her first egg since she had come to live with me. I had several questions but found myself feeling overwhelmed with Bennett’s overbearing manner and unable to think. She was clearly uninterested in anything I had to say. It was such an odd and humiliating experience.
Immediately following the appointment, I spoke to someone who had experience with her (Bennett) and assured me that she would find «a problem» with my Gray’s blood test. As predicted, the call that I received from the office was to report an infection and the need for another appointment. It took 3 phone calls to get the lab results faxed to me.
The only thing abnormal in the lab report was a slightly elevated white blood cell count (which was just 4% above normal). Additionally, at the bottom of the report it stated that this «occurs with mild conditions of stress or initial/​low level bacterial infection». I’m pretty sure that the laying of an egg would qualify as a stressful event (!) and that one could not assume it was an infection. Ugh! Another vet confirmed that there was probably not an infection and no need for concern.
Three months later, my Gray is doing beautifully

A vet made me cry here.
It was a considerable amount of time ago, but as I recall, I was bawling my eyes out because the astute vet had told me that my iguana was malnourished and that his body was stunted as a result.
If you love animals like I do, that’s like telling me that I just smothered a box of disabled kittens on tiny prosthetic legs with a blanket. I was devastated, and wailed/​sobbed/​hiccuped into the phone to my boyfriend that I was a bad «mother.»
Oh yeah. I’m totally that pet owner.
Bird & Exotic has been my exotics vet since the 90’s, and am glad to report that I haven’t had to bring in one of the tortoises, bearded dragons, iguanas etc. back in for a long time. They are very prompt about getting you in for an appointment even though they are perpetually busy, handling birds, hedgehogs, ferrets, snakes and all the other non cat/​dogs you can think of.
Each visit seems to cost about $ 130 every time I go in, which is about the same as my furballs’ vet. Parking right on Aurora is surprisingly easy, although you can enter off the side streets from Fremont.
My favorite vet, Dr. Kamaka, opened her own place up north a long time back, which is too far for me to drive a sickly Uromastyx so these guys are still it for me.
And George, my iguana? After that single conversation I had with the vet, I started making my own fresh reptile food, bought him fancy lighting – the whole bit. My little piece of luggage lived almost 20 years. Thanks Bird & Exotic; you guys are okay in my book.

I’ve been taking my White Eyed Conure here for 13 years. Dr. Bennett and her staff have provided nothing less than excellent care for her — Toby has a bizarre and rare tropical fungus in her sinus cavity and Dr. Bennett has spent countless hours trouble-​shooting, consulting an animal naturopath, even going so far as to do a CAT scan and send the resulting images to the avian vet at the San Diego zoo for analysis.
The few times I’ve considered moving away from Seattle, I was deterred by the idea of Toby receiving vet care from anyone else. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that my feathered best friend would no longer be alive if it weren’t for the diligent and attentive treatment Dr. Bennett provides (and the fact that she’s a stubborn, tough little parrot!).
Yes, it’s pricey — believe me, I know. Toby’s medical file is as thick as an encyclopedia. But it’s worth every penny. And then some.

I really wanted to give them a better review based on the energy of the people when I arrived. I’ve only seen them once… They were all very nice, caring, took the time to explain things (although they did basically direct me to the door once they felt they’d told me all I needed to know) and even shared a laugh when I timidly told them the silly names of my pets.
My only real complaint is that they are very, very expensive. The services they offer were nothing to brag about, and certainly nothing to break the bank over. Simple procedures, like a nail trimming, is over $ 50 per animal (as I was quoted)! For that my guys better get full mani-pedi’s and a nice paint job…
I will concede that they are in a sort-​of-​kind-​of expensive area to operate so perhaps it’s all about location, but my nibblers aren’t enjoying the view while they’re there so not quite sure what I’m paying for… In fact, all the traffic on Aurora sort of put them on edge before even walking in the place.
Best of luck with all you do B&E Clinic, unfortunately I’ve moved on to cheaper and just as caring pastures.

This is the only place I will ever take my ducks.
I took my duck to another vet (closer to me) that said he specialized in birds but I was not happy with his diagnosis and wanted another opinion. Ended up getting refereed here and was very happy I did. Dr. Bennett knew a lot about ducks. And was willing to keep trying to figure out what was wrong with Bert. Also had other treatment options the other vet said couldn’t be done because he was a duck. Dr. Bennett is amazing and you can tell her and the staff really care about all the animals.
I only wish I had just gone here first instead of wasting my time and money at the other vet.

In the past decade, Dr. Bennett and Dr. Dan of the Bird & Exotic Clinic have cared for over 50 of my rescued ducks, chickens, geese… even a turkey. Some cases were easy, some were very difficult, but through them all, they’ve always been compassionate, helpful, dedicated and determined to provide the best care possible.
Specialized veterinary care can be expensive, but that’s what you sign on for when you acquire a special pet. In my experience, the Bird & Exotic Clinic has always been willing to work with me to minimize costs without risking the quality of care to my rescues. Diagnostic tests like blood work and x-​rays can add up. But if a pet is stable, they’ve been willing to try one test first, then see if the other is necessary. It’s up to you to educate yourself about the care of your specialized pet before you get a pet, and certainly before an emergency arises.
In over 30+ surgeries over the past decade, not once has one of my rescued pets died because of surgery or anesthesia. Here are some of the things this clinic has provided for my pets: nail trim, yearly exam, cyst removal, blood draw, eye drops, health/​travel certificate, blood work, fecal tests, x-​rays, spay surgery, hormone treatment, tumor biopsy surgery, tumor removal surgery, hospitalization, parasite treatment, antibiotics, heart medication, arthritis pain management, euthanasia and cremation.
I’m very experienced with this office, the veterinarians and their talented staff. They’ve been indispensable to me and I recommend them whole-​heartedly.

As of a few years ago, we are willing to drive all the way from east Renton to north Seattle just because we feel Dr. Bennett and the staff honestly care about the well being of our special needs Pionus parrot.
Our bird «Birdie» was extremely sick when we got her but she’s doing much better these days.

We took in our parrot, Kaleo, as a new patient for an annual physical checkup and for grooming. We found Dr. Bennett through Unilocal!,as we were having trouble locating a Certified Avian Specialist in the Tacoma/​Gig Harbor area. Kaleo was well cared for and thoroughly checked out … he was not distressed in the least with Dr. Bennett or her energy. We found her to be thorough for this first visit … she was instructive, informative and compassionate, as was her assistant. She was also fair in giving us her personal recommendations of fellow Certified Avian Specialists that were geographically closer to us than Seattle, which we very much appreciated considering we’re traveling from the Key Peninsula.
12÷3÷11 update — One down side, which is rather important, and the reason I’m reducing my stars: We found Dr. Bennett’s office for the specific purpose of grooming and only expected to pay $ 30, tops. We left that office after paying almost $ 300. Pretty big difference from our original trip expectations and purpose, wouldn’t you say? So, while this office provides excellent veterinary services for my parrot, I’m uncertain whether I can continue going to this place if it will end up costing me $ 300 every visit, in addition to the 1.5 hour trip and diesel I have to expend to get there. Hhhmm …

I have two guinea pigs who I love and adore and I love knowing that there’s a great vet in my neighborhood for any pig care needs. Dr. Dan and the vet techs are the best! We’ve gone in for teeth issues and mites and have always been well taken care of. Another reviewer mentioned that they respect your knowledge of your own pet; I’ve found this to be the case as well. You know your animals the way no one else can and you know if something’s wrong and it’s nice to be listened to instead of spoken down to.
Recently I brought one of my pigs in because a mass had appeared practically overnight on his abdomen. It turned out to be an abscess. The fill-​in vet for Dr. Dan was very knowledgeable about guinea pigs and did what she could but my pig was just too fragile and he passed away later that night. I called to cancel my followup appointment and let them know what had happened and was happily surprised to get a sympathy card in the mail from the clinic the next week!
I don’t find their costs to be unreasonable. Vet care, much like medical care, is expensive, and you’re paying for extensive knowledge, education and compassion.