Viva has consistently and with friendliness and care treated our pets. It's wonderful to take my cats to these knowledgeable people.

I've always had a good experience with Viva. They've cared for our dog and, until recently, our cat for several years. When our kitty was dying, they were wonderful in terms of being sweet and gentle with her, and compassionately and patiently walking us through our options. Afterward, we got a hand-written card from the team, with lovely personal messages. I feel like I see this kind of personal touch less and less, and it meant a lot. Highly recommend. read more

I adjusted my first review from 5/8/24 because we received a response from Dr. Leon showing that he cares to resolve our uneasy initial visit. His message is much appreciated and we look forward to having a better follow up with him in a few weeks. 5/8/24 It was our first visit to Viva Pet Care and let me start by saying the Vet Techs were very kind, caring and provided exceptional service to our puppy. If this review were based solely on them I'd gladly give 5 stars. Unfortunately, the 3 stars is because we were a little thrown off by Dr. Leon. First, there was no introduction when he entered the room - he just went straight to business. Not one smile during our entire interaction either. I'm a bubbly person so that felt a bit cold to me. We've only had our puppy for 1 month and some comments came off judgmental or as if we should've known better. We were taken aback because our puppy has been (what we thought!) so good, loving and smart since we got him. He hasn't shown aggression to our family or our next door neighbors. He's been to a couple T-Ball practices and games, has sat with other moms and their kids with no problems at all. My husband was surprised as well because he walks our pup daily to our kids' bus stop, passing multiple aggressively barking dogs, and he just strolls along and doesn't lunge or bark back. When he growled and jumped at Dr. Leon while he was trying to check his ears we just thought he was anxious and already agitated from having something stuck up his butt! I guess we were wrong? Idk. He seemed ok with the vet techs. We're going to work on ramping up his exposure, apparently he's way under socialized. We're looking into obedience training, also not so subtly suggested, but we are open to regardless because we also want to better understand our dog and properly train him. We do appreciate that Dr. Leon is thorough and I trust his information. We just had a hard time with his brash/off putting tone towards us. We feel hesitant and uneasy about our follow up in 3 weeks. However, we want to follow through for our puppy. It wasn't the best first impression and we're debating if we will continue going there after the follow up visit. read more

Viva Pet Care - Rocky aka Rocky Einstein - Veterinarians Near Me - Portland, Oregon

I've been coming to Viva Pet Care since 2020 and they have always been thorough, efficient and kind. I appreciate that they maintained COVID precautions as long as they did, showing that they care about public health and immunocompromised people's lives. As of my latest visit in December 2024, they are allowing owners back in to sit with their pets. The vet tech who worked with me was super kind and informative, showing me her technique for cutting my cat's claws. Dr. Leon came in and talked to me about strategies for weight loss and dental care for my babygirl in a nonjudgmental, professional way. Some people have complained that he was "cold" to them but I did not have that experience. He did seem busy and jumped right into business, but he also was kind and personable. Most importantly, he knew what he was talking about and gave helpful advice! I would recommend Viva to anyone looking for neighborhood pet care! read more

Viva Pet Care - Brown tabby cat named Solstice wearing a dapper winter sweater. She has a disgruntled look on her face - Veterinarians Near Me - Portland, Oregon

I was a loyal customer of Dr Behrends before he retired. His practice was well known for being an old-fashioned "farm doctor" and I LOVED it. I bring this up as he passed the practice to the current owner of Viva Pet Care. From the beginning, I knew this wouldn't be what I was expecting from a vet. Let's start with the hours. Monday-Friday from 12pm-7pm? Either they like to cater to walk-in customers only or they aren't truly interested in the well-being of your animal as they aren't open when many people would be available to visit. No weekend hours is frankly absurd. What prompted me to write this review is my most recent experience with them. They REFUSED to honor my appointment to administer some vaccines to my dog and give her flea medicine until she was medicated. I offered to go inside with my dog as that would have been an acceptable option to a reasonable person. They again REFUSED and said that if I can't confirm the exact meds that were given to my dog prior to coming in, they will not see her because of COVID. The office manager then hung up on me. Yes, that's correct: hung up on me. I called back and asked to speak to the office manager again, who's voice was cracking and shaky. I asked if she was sobbing because it was difficult to understand her. She replied that she's not "going to lose anyone else here because people are STUPID!". She again refused treatment and let me know that she would be emailing me my dog's records as they won't see her until I bring her doped up. I will not give my money to an company that is unprofessional, rude, disrespectful, and completely paralyzed by COVID. Also, if you're reading this Ms. Office Manager, I'd look into a different line of work as you are clearly not suited to handle routine situations, let alone challenging ones. I will take my business elsewhere as there are some other great vets in town that would love the business. Viva Pet? You're dead to me. read more

I don't think I updated my review but my dog died and the owner/Veterinarian contacted me only to remove my previous post about the horrible treatment we received and no apology for his staff or his actions. Don't go to this POS Vet!!!!!!!!!!! read more

Our old vet, Dr. Brian Behrends, recommended Viva and Dr. Leon. We agree! Have been taking our cats here a few times now, got great care! The vet techs, Dr. Leon, Dr. Danielle Behrends and the front desk manager, all cool! Dr. Dennis Leon earned his veterinary degree from Cornell University. Besides being a vet in California and Manhattan, he also was medical director at Levittown Animal Hospital. Dr. Leon taught veterinary students when the Cornell University Hospital for Animals selected him as the Robert W. Kirk DVM Practitioner-in-Residence. He's way experienced! In 2014, Dr. Leon completed the requirements for becoming a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Therapist (one of only four in Portland) via the Canine Rehabilitation Institute. If you were a client at Montavilla Animal Hospital, you'll be very happy to learn that Dr. Brian Behrends's daughter has become a vet, and is now working.... at Viva! Danielle Behrends was excellent as a tech at Montavilla Hospital, it's so cool that she got much of her vet training while working there with her family! Visit their website for all the info, this is a great animal clinic! read more

Viva Pet Care - Veterinarians Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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Do not pre pay because they will rip you off. I prepaid for an appointment and something came up the resulted in it being higher so I owed more. I was told after the appointment that I needed to pay for the 2 shots that my pup couldn't get after I initially paid for 4 preventative shots. I called back and came in to pay for the additional prescriptions and the remaining 2 shots. Now that it's time for the 2 shots that I paid for, they are saying that I owe money for the 2 shots. They are ripping folks off and don't have the decency to look into what I'm actually saying. I would not recommend this place to anyone. If you do go, make sure you get receipts and make them type in what you're paying for. I hate that I trusted them. read more

I've waited 6 weeks before writing this. I've already communicated with Viva and found their response did little to restore confidence that another family wouldn't experience what we did. My goal is to offer important insight to anyone considering using Viva. Our dog was under Viva's care from ages 2-6, after we were transferred from Montavilla Animal Clinic. Care was fine: not stellar, not poor. He had an annual pre-paid health plan with them. When he fell suddenly ill at age 6, they refused an appointment, and referred us to Dove Lewis. Repeated attempts to get him to see his vet at Viva were not met with any suggestion other than we go to an overwhelmed emergency system. This was during their regular appt. hours. Unfortunately, our young, healthy, beloved dog died of an unusual illness a week later after getting excellent care at Emergency Veterinary Clinic of Tualatin. I don't believe the outcome would have been different had there been a more helpful response from Viva. Had he been able to see who we thought was his committed vet, it would have shortened his suffering and kept us out of multiple emergency care clinics (time, cost, strangers). When I followed up with Viva, I heard from Dr. Leon that he was distressed and he directed me to Michelle, the clinic manager. She persisted in expressing her sorrow. I was interested in concrete improvements. She said this hadn't happen before (I learned through posted Yelp reviews that clients have been refused appts. and it was an issue here). I recommended a triage system for active clients having emergencies during regular hours. She said she would put this system in place. I was shocked that a professional clinic did not already have this as a part of best practice. These are not bad people. This is a small, relatively new clinic that is often overscheduled and communicates being overwhelmed. They are fine for routine care. If you choose them as your vet, ask these two questions: 1. What can I expect from you if my dog has an emergency during hours? Please explain your triage system to me. 2. What is the scope of your practice? Are you focused on routine wellness? Do you treat emergencies or unusual conditions? If not, do you work with a network of specialists or other providers so you can knowledgeably refer me to a specific, known partner? One more thing: we learned it is no longer possible to take your pet in an emergency to a walk-in vet clinic. We were refused by 5 clinics because we were not current patients. I explained that his clinic would not see him. It didn't matter. The folks at Rose City Vet (compassionate, helpful) directed us to Heart and Soul. Where you establish care MATTERS. We did not know how much until we really needed help. I hope Viva makes solid improvements. I encourage you to confirm that before choosing them as your pet's provider. read more

They seem to do OK. But not special. I get frustrated about the money grab. One example is that they charge double for the same meds that Chewy.com sells, then they make it difficult to order from Chewy.com They block Chewy.com number so the company cannot verify prescriptions. They also will not allow you to upload the prescription (that you have to specifically ask for). Viva will only allow the prescription to be snail-mailed into Chewy. I would love to spend more money locally but the cost difference between Viva's meds and the identical ones on Chewy do not make sense. I'm also not that interested in padding the bank account of a doctor who is so unwilling to accept that other companies sell the same product for less. I'm paying for the health-care relationship with the vet. I pay A LOT for checkups and procedures, why do I also have to pay double for prescriptions? Viva already charged me for the check-up. Vets have one of the best profit margins of any industry in the USA. Why be so greedy? It is exhausting trying to find a new vet, but each time I am faced with another inconvenience from Viva it pushes me further to cross them off my list. read more

Would Give zero stars if we could. We started going with her dog for about two years after Montavilla closed. They weren't able to resolve her issues and seem like they were just a clinic to get vaccinations. They referred us to other medical facilities to get her needs met. We did that and wanted to follow back up with them to have her regular vaccinations and received horrible service. For some reason they would only see us if the dog was medicated. The front Office manager is very unprofessional and should not be in a position dealing with the public. I am sad and to write this review because we are hoping we had a vet. Would never recommend this place read more

This place is wonderful. The people are great and so sweet to my dog. She has quite a few health problems so they know her well and she loves them. I like that the office is simple and clean, but at the same time fun and welcoming. The veterinarians are professional and Dr. Leon has been especially knowledgeable about the medications my dog is on, and/or may need for whatever ailment she is being seen for. We drive in from Washington to go to Viva, because we love the care my dog receives, their team and their fair prices. read more

Viva Pet Care - My pupper waiting for more of her friends to come into say hello to her in the exam room. - Veterinarians Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Affordable and compassionate vet care for my two senior chihuahuas. We did have a scheduling debacle on our initial visit because the doctor had COVID but all is forgiven. Life happens, it's just easier with dogs. read more

Generally speaking I'm sure most people here care for Animals. Professionally speaking they practice fraud in my opinion. Charging for a follow up / not disclosing costs for a consultation they suggested and pushed ahead of time and hiding costs in the price of my dog's medicine and not admitting this when I asked why the price was suddenly higher than usual, is very unprofessional. Not to mention the advice I receive with annotations that there is no study to back up the claim, merely a gut feeling, is in my opinion, malpractice. Their hours are awful, customer service is poor and I'll be moving to a different Vet Clinic asap. read more

We bring our dogs for year there. Every thing was ok. But yesterday we need to put our dog to sleep, I called, let the messages, they called me back and told me they did not have an open appointment yesterday, they will give me an appointment on Wednesday. My dog can not wait any more. We are very disappointed with VivaPet are for that. Very sad how they dial with us and my dog. read more

Wonderful and kind people. Truly have compassion for animals and the people that love them.

If I could NEGATIVE stars I would. PLEASE READ MY SAD STORY! My healthy, robust Standard Poodle Riley died 2 weeks after receiving the Leptospirosis vaccine pushed by Dr. Behrends. He had never had it before (he was 8), it was not needed and I had never even heard of it! It was never suggested by prior vets. But she used scare tactics ("it can be passed to humans"). So I trusted her and said yes. I was told nothing of the dangers. This is a disease that is 100% treatable with antibiotics. RIley became very ill just 3 days after the vaccine. I tried desperately to save him, taking him back to her right away, doing blood work, urine analysis, x-rays, then an ultra sound at Dove Lewis. He was in kidney failure. She still refuses to admit any negligence and failed to inform me of the dangers associated with this vaccine. I have asked her to supply the side effects of this drug - she has provided nothing. She even charged me for the final bloodwork the day before we euthanized!! Talk about heartless. I needed to be positive I was making the right decision - he had not eaten in a week. In addition, she failed to diagnose a simple foxtail in the paw of my other dog. She is inept and incompetent. I would stay away from her and her "wellness plan" which she also will promote when you visit her. I am now $2,000 poorer, have lost time at work and worst of all - am heartbroken no longer having my beloved Riley. My female Trixie was bonded with him and she is grieving too. We are devastated, she shows no compassion and I doubt she even learned a lesson from from this. Both times I talked to her on the phone she insisted over and over again she did everything correctly and reassured me "you did everything you could do". She was just covering her ass. In my opinion - she is young, inexperienced and does not know what she is doing. I am sure she will be pushing this vaccine again today. STAY AWAY and do your research before allowing greedy vets to inject toxic poisons into your sweet pets for simple profit. I have already obtained my current pet's records and will find a new vet. I would never go back to this woman. I am posting my story everywhere to try to spread awareness. This is happening too often. Too many pets are dying. I know this now, if only I had known this 2 weeks ago we would be at the park again today with Riley. read more

Viva Pet Care - RIley after Dr. Danielle Behrends got finished with him. - Veterinarians Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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Transferred here when Dr Behrends retired. There for 25 yrs. My cat was vomitting over the weekend,sent email,called Mon asap but they are booked and cannot see her. Unacceptable to me . Will not return. read more

Not impressed. We had recently moved across town and needed a new vet. At the recommendation of someone who worked in a pet store, we decided to try Viva Pet Care. Big Mistake. The first indication was the bizarre hours of 12-7pm. I'm flummoxed by this. People want to be able to reach out to their pets medical provider as early as possible if a situation arose the night before. Seriously consider this before bringing your pet here. As another review mentioned, the lobby is also a bit bizarre. It is like walking into a teenage girls room with IKEA furniture. It doesn't have a professional feel to it. We brought our aging, 14 year old dog to Viva, as she needed a check up, shots, and had been experienced hearing loss over the summer and some behavioral issues including not sleeping at night, panting, and anxiety. The vet tech we worked with was wonderful. She was caring and spent time with our dog and myself. Unfortunately, our good experience stopped there though. This is the only reason why I am giving them 2 stars. Once Dr. Leon came into the room, the vibe changed. He seemed more formal and cold, a bit more business like - running through his list of questions while typing. He said he wanted to do labs before providing a diagnosis, but was leaning toward canine dementia. I felt that her sleep patterns were off and it was affected by the loss of hearing. Imagine sleeping in the dark after no longer being able to hear for most of your life. Labs came back normal, he recommended Dosuquin for her joints, and provided a list of meds to try. No information about canine dementia or in depth discussion was provided. We opted to start with medications over the supplements, because our experience with supplements were not very good. He prescribed Trazodone, which caused severe gas and diarrhea. He then prescribed Gabapentin. We also opted to try the Composure Pro. Nothing was working. My girlfriend went to the vet and asked if she could speak with a vet there. They told her they would be available in 15 minutes. After about 10 minutes, a tech came out with a bottle of Prozac. No discussion with the vet. We went home confused, but started her on the Prozac. After about a week, I emailed the doctor a list of all of her symptoms, but also told him that we felt he was not listening to us. His response he was sticking to his diagnosis and to get a second opinion. The weekend after (they are closed on weekends), I sent another email because our dog was experiencing shaking and chattering teeth. He never responded. We found another vet, closer to home, very close to my work with normal vet office hours. A much more professional atmosphere. Instead of just the tech caring, the whole staff has a very caring attitude. Most importantly, the connection with the vet was there - she took the time to talk with us and asked lots of questions before making her diagnosis. She sat on the floor for at least 30 minutes with our dog. In our conversation she said, "it sounds like we have to get her back to her normal sleep routine." BINGO!!! She adjusted meds, made some behavioral recommendations, provided me her email address to follow up with and provided a lot of information to us. We have communicated by email once, when I sent her a very positive update that our dog has been responding very well. This is the care that everyone should expect from their vet. read more

We picked Viva Pet Care because it was close to our house. I was a little taken aback by some of the one star reviews. However, we were super happy with our visit to Viva Pet Care. Our old lady dog is 13 and is having some old age challenges. We didn't want anything invasive for her, just whatever can be done to keep her comfortable. We saw Dr. Behrends, who was great, and she recommended a simple course of treatment that does not involve invasive tests. We all agreed, at her age, we will just treat symptoms. The appointment was easy to make, the vet was great, and the visit was reasonable. We'll be bringing our cat here too. read more

Is it possible to go higher than 5 stars? Dr. Leon and his amazing staff do an excellent job! My dog is always greeted with smiles and you can tell they genuinely care about her. I no longer live in Portland but still come here because this is the only place that has my 100 percent trust in caring for my pup! Thank you Viva for being so thoughtful! read more

Viva Pet Care - Veterinarians Near Me - Portland, Oregon

I'm new to Portland & found this business when the owner reached out offering pet help due to a unfortunate incident that happened shortly after I got here. I took one of my dogs in for a shot & checkup. They were so friendly & welcoming to the both of us. Soon I'll be taking the other two in for their shots & checkups. I was so happy with the clinic & the staff. read more

I could into excruciating detail about how wonderful everyone is at Viva Pet Care, but I'll keep it concise. The staff treat my dog as the regal royal that she is. They are also incredibly thorough with examinations yet honest about what care is necessary without "up-selling" any products or services. For the supreme quality of care that my furry companion receives, the pricing is also quite reasonable. I'm so glad we switched to Viva Pet Care after 3 crappy years with Banfield! read more

Super impressed by Viva Pet Care - I haven't had great luck with getting thoughtful and effective help for my adorable dog Scruffy. I always left other providers with large bills, a feeling of guilt and feeling awful for having to say no to a bunch of testing that seemed excessive. I also didn't get great direction or effective treatment for Scruffy. Dr. Leon at Viva immediately had ideas to treat him inside and out, did tests on the spot and had a regime of reasonable treatments that he explained in detail. He and Betty spent 30 minutes in the back making sure Scruffs was well taken care of. My dog left better than he arrived and the treatments are already making a huge difference. Dr. Leon clearly knows what he's talking about, and is very good at explaining why. And all for a far more reasonable price than I've found anywhere else. Highly recommended. read more

This place is great, affordable and full of caring individuals who took wonderful care of our cat in her final weeks. I so appreciate the direct, no-frills, low cost approach. I'll be bringing all my cats here for their medical needs from now on. read more

The staff is very friendly and the office is clean. The Dr was very knowledgeable and extremely patient with my many questions. I'm happy to have them looking after my love my Baby Kitty and would highly recommend them for your fur baby. read more

I went to viva pet care for the first time. The assistant to the vet was careing, but the the veterinarian himself didn't even greet my dogs and acted like a bona fide salesperson instead of vet that cared about my animals. The vet doesn't even perform Harley anything he has assistance to most everything as he just tries to upsel more pills and shots while you're there. One of the assistants was trying to do a anal glan and was being a little too rough as my dog was sore down there and the vet asked her.... so how did it go when he came back in the room and she said oh the dog freaked out. I will not return there. As I was there for 1 and a have hours , yes I had two dogs ,BUT it would have been longer, but I said I had had enough and was ready to go!!! read more

I'm new to Portland and my senior dog was having trouble with her back legs. Dr. Leon was great. After examining her, he reviewed possible causes with me and treated the most likely cause --inflammation. My dog responded to the treatment within a few days and has been fine for several weeks now. I'm very happy with Dr. Leon and found him to be very thorough, attentive and caring with my dog. His prices are really reasonable too, much more so than most local vets. I highly recommend him! read more

I have a very reactive pit lab mix who is generally terrified of strangers and strange situations, the staff and Dr. Leon at viva are able to handle him perfectly. I was amazed with their compassion, knowledge of dog behavior, handling skills and services. They are affordable, informative, friendly, and they do such an awesome job. If your pet is anxious about going to the vet, or just plain anxious in general, visit viva pet care. I won't go anywhere else with my boy. read more

I'm surprised by the negative reviews from a few people. We've had nothing but great experiences at this clinic with our two dogs. Remember it's a clinic not a hospital. A great place for routine wellness exams and preventive care. I've never waited longer than a few minutes for my appointment. And everyone working there is kind, attentive, and helpful to both me and my pets. Prices are reasonable and easy free parking on the street. I highly recommend. read more

We have taken our two cats to Dr. Leon at Viva a couple of times this year and our experience has been superb. The staff is friendly and attentive. The facility is clean and welcoming. And Dr. Dennis is kind, caring, and obviously deeply knowledgeable about veterinary care. He's great about methodically explaining any issues and options and helping us feel like we're making the best decisions for our pets. HIGHLY recommend. read more

Great neighborhood veterinary clinic. My dog gets excited when we pull up out front. Very friendly and accommodating staff. Dr. Danielle Behrends has taken great care of my dog. read more

I brought my two old dogs in to see Dr. Leon. We just moved here and were looking for a new vet. He took his time and had many recommendations to help my dogs health improve. The price was affordable, which is important to me, as the dogs, the cat and I are all old! I will be returning even though it is not really close to home. read more

Perhaps this vet should look at the vet who retired and take some good notes on customer care and customer service and bedside manners. Been going to the same vet with all of my pets for over 30 years. Unfortunately my vet retired. He recommended another vet just down the street and forwarded him all of my info. I have an old dog, about 13 years old. Been on pain medication for aches and old age issues. My regular vet had no problem refilling the prescription. He knew me and my dog. Well, viva petcare insisted I drag my elderly dog all the way to see him. Keeping in mind it's a 65-70 lb dog and I'm up in years as well. Nope. Not a chance I will bring my pets to him. My dog doesn't have much longer on this earth, and I'm not thinking that lifting her already achy body into my truck to give over money just to get a prescription filled is any way to treat a patient. I won't be going there ever again. read more

My neighbor recommended this vet and I decided to check them out since I moved to the area. Odd little spot; The first thing you might notice is it feels like those fly-by-night phone stores where they couldnt afford to hire a professional painter and chose the same colors you put up in your bedroom in junior high, orange and fuscia. Okay, so they arent painters...but every time I go for an appointment it appears to be lunchtime as I sit in the lobby waiting while a flock of staff loom around one of the steel tables in the back to have their group feeding time. Was there a fast food BOGO sale in the neighborhood? Is that one of the tables our pets will be on? Do I have to call in advance to determine when its NOT lunchtime to book my appointment? Maybe the boss is taking their lunch elsewhere and you know what they say about "when the cat's away". Uh hem! This is a medical facility folks where we are entrusting you with our furry family members! I've just never witnessed this. And don't really want to again. Alas, you too can join me in the orange/fuscia lobby beneath the nursury style paper mobiles hanging from the ceiling and hope they will do better, maybe more professional next time. Odd little spot. read more

A neighborhood gem! The staff is wonderful and caring--they clearly adore the critters that come through their door. They make my cat feel at ease. Professional service, too. Thank you! read more

I can't say enough good things about the kindness, patience, flexibility, and patient-centeredness (is that a word?) of the staff at Viva. Our geriatric dog is dealing with some gnarly end-of-life issues and Dr. Leon in particular has put so much time, effort and care into navigating the complexities and keeping her comfortable. Plus everyone is just really sweet. Highly recommended. read more

Big thanks to all the staff at Viva! They're always great with my Dad when he brings in his elderly cat. They treat them both with respect and kindness. read more

I've seen several of the doctors here and they all took excellent care of my young sweet young girl and my grumpy old boy! I've never been to a clinic with more affordable prices, makes taking care of my pets much less stressful! read more

I recently brought my dog here to see Dr.Leon, I can't say enough good things about the clinic; the staff are all wonderful and sweet, the doctor here is very well educated and truly cares. He asks questions regarding my dogs life to determine what would be needed, he doesn't want to do anything that isn't necessary. Also you can't beat Viva's prices. I will definitely be bringing my pets here long term! read more