Sunset Animal Clinic

Really enjoyed this vet office, we recently moved to the area & our recently adopted cat needed her shots in order to board her, she got her exam, and all her shots for $ 105. They are very quick, no waiting involved, and everyone was very friendly. Dr. Fred has a lot of pride in his practice, and is extremely knowledgable. Will continue to vaccinate my pets here :)

Had an awful experience here. Dr. Fred was the vet and honestly I felt like he was high as a kite. Introduced himself on three separate occasions. Wanted to sedate my dog for an antihistamine and steroid shot. Not happening. All about money. I advise against this place. Not even sure if he likes animals at all.

My 10-​year-​old Labradoodle had a nasty cough for a few days and it just kept getting worse. I didn’t have a car that week either, so I found the closest vet within walking distance. I called Sunset Animal Clinic 45 minutes before they closed on a weekday and even though I was a little frantic and pushy, the doctor saw my dog for blood tests and antibiotics. After a week on the medication, my dog was 100% better. The doctor checked up on us many times during the week my dog was sick and even did a follow up with us the following week just to make sure everything was okay. The doctor even drove my dog food to my apartment out of courtesy since I was on foot that day. A very generous, kind and knowledgeable doctor who studied at UC Davis (one of the best veterinarian schools in the country) and really cares about his community and the animals who live here. Thanks for everything Sunset!
UPDATE TO REVIEW 4÷11÷16: Everyone who works at Sunset is amazing, except for Dr. Fred. He is more focused on money than he should be, and I sadly didn’t realize this until our 4^th visit. During one visit he recommended my dog get dental work when we came in for an eye infection. Then he proceeded to scare me by making me feel like a bad dog owner and saying he needed to do blood work to make sure the infection didn’t spread. I left crying with a $ 500 bill and nothing wrong with my dog. The eye infection cleared up better with a hot cloth than the eye drops Dr. Fred gave me and his blood work proved he’s a very healthy animal. During the follow up visit, I asked about the need for dental work, and Dr. Fred said, «His teeth and gums look great! He doesn’t need any dental work.» Way to go against your own word. The only reason I’m bringing my dog back is for a summer grooming, but he will not have any contact with Dr. Fred during this visit. Be careful of Dr. Fred and his love of money.

AVOID FOR ALL SHELTER CHECKUPS
Dr. Fred Labavitch was absolutely indifferent about my dog. Adopted a shelter dog and brought her in the next day for an overall checkup and concern about biting her paws and tail. Oregon Shelters have a program for a free checkup for new shelter dogs and Dr. Fred certainly knew she was one.
After spending five minutes astonished that we did not have a detailed history on her, he tried to state she was overdue on all her shots. In actuality, his assistant had written down the wrong year from our paperwork. It took a solid three minutes to convince him that she was indeed vaccinated.
Our checkup consisted of a temperature, glacé at eyes and teeth, and heart rate. He did not check her body physically as all other vets do, and when reminded of her skin condition, he merely shrugged. He did not go over her again to examine her skin, but attributed it to a bad haircut causing irritation. After insisting he do a more through exam, he sold us a spray bottle of antibacterial solution after glancing at her whole body, misting it over her back (the problem was clearly described as her legs and tail).
When paying for the solution, the receptionist was extremely clear to point out that the checkup fee had been waived.

DO NOT EVER GO HERE. EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER. If you love your animals DO NOT SUBJECT THEM TO «TREATMENT» FROM DR. FRED LABAVITCH. He is a crook who should have been reprimanded by the Veterinary board years ago. How he is still able to practice is a deplorable oversight from officials. I am so glad I finally got a fucking clue after using him for years & found a veterinarian who actually cares about animals rather than only money. He is a greedy bastard who elects for surgery when it is completely unnecessary & only to cushion his bottom line. He couldn’t give a shit less about anyone’s animals. James Herriot would be disgusted.

If you need a Cancer specialist, Dr Labavitch is fabulous. And Dr Dickey is a fantastic surgeon and vet. They have a wonderful staff as well. Although… I will never recommend this clinic for general veterinary work. The owner is not trust worthy when it comes to surgery, in almost every case his sutures come open, costing you more money, and your pet to suffer. I know for a fact he has had many complaints to the OR veterinary board. But without documented proof of negligence, they can’t do anything. He would make a great instructor but it is time for him to retire. He can’t see to easily do blood draws and put in catheters but insists on doing them instead of having a tech do them. Your pet will be razor burned and traumatized if he works on them. I hate to do thus because I love their staff but he almost did exploratory surgery on my dog, but I elected to wait and see if she would pass the foreign object. She was still eating and drinking but if I had listened to him she would have had an exploratory surgery done. She past the object the next day. But he insisted she should have surgery. And was less than kind when I declined and tried to guilt me into it. I do not recommend this clinic. It is not worth the pain and suffering to your pet. I do reiterate that the staff and. Dr Dickey are amazing. But the owner always gets involved in every case. If you want compassion and honesty in your vet… do not see Dr Frederick Labavitch. He’s a very good actor.

Thank you to Dr Fred and his wonderful staff. I recently went through trying times with both my cats. Dr Fred is an expert with thyroid issues and my Zoey is back to being a happy, perfect companion. Not so for Willie, as feline diabetes is a tough road. Dr Fred called me several times a day to check in with us — unheard of these days. I had to put Willie down today. The Sunset staff treated us with respect and compassion throughout the process. I consider myself lucky to know they will always be there when we need them!

Since 2002 we have been lucky enough to have Dr. Fred as our family Vet. In 2010 we had to put our Australian Cattle Dog down due to a stroke. This was on a Sunday night when his office is closed and was referred to a office out in Tualatin. Dr. Fred called the next day and he had tears in his voice and was as devastated as we all were. He called several times following to see how we were doing. Such a caring man as well as his staff.
We now have a new puppy, a Mini Australian Shepard has been going to see Dr. Fred and his staff since September and she will never go anywhere else. We love Dr. Fred and his services. They also have a great groomer that we use monthly!

This vet is well known in the area and not in a good way. I had one experience with him years ago. My dog had seizures which had been treated by a vet prior to moving to the area. I made an appointment on the phone and the employee started talking about her «infection» equating it to my dog. TMI. In the meantime, I spoke to several dog owners on walks. Several mentioned the vets focus on money and told not to go to him. I cancelled and dodged a bad experience.

I moved to Portland 4 years ago, and didn’t know where to take my dogs for treatment. Luckily, I went to a McMenamin’s for lunch and in the parking lot was the Sunset Animal Clinic. I walked over to the Clinic, and was greeted by an extremely friendly and helpful staff who made me feel very welcome. I made an appointment to bring in my dogs, and when I brought them in, I met Dr. Fred, as he is known to his clients.
I must say in the past 4 years, we have gotten to know Dr. Fred very well. My two original dogs have passed away (one at 14 years old and one at 18 years old), but my new dogs are always happy to see Dr. Fred, and I know they are getting good care. I feel that the Clinic is a partnership between me and the Dr. and the staff. When I go into the exam room, the staff always comes in and asks all the pertinent questions about my dog being treated, and then the doctor comes in and asks other questions about my dog to make sure that they get the proper treatment.
I would definitely recommend that people take their pets to Sunset Animal Clinic.

Not a good experience at all. Went there shortly after adopting a 6 year old female Rottweiler that was having some urinary tract issues. Had made an appointment earlier that day to come in at the time we arrived. Was promptly treated in volatile manner upon arrival and explained that we were lucky that a doctor was still there. This was at 4:30 PM. Their clinic hours were until 7:00 PM. Strike1.
Go in the exam room. No questions asked by the Vet Tech on what our concerns for the animal were, why we were there, etc. Doctor comes in. Acknowledges us and the dog, that was the extent of the exam. Then proceeds to tell us his old anecdotes from over the years that last about 20 minutes, none of which have anything to do with us wanting him to advise us on what course to take to treat our new family member, or what symptoms she is having and what our concerns are. Strike 2.
Now we head to the back room for the exam (I thought we were in the exam room?). Vet starts ordering a multitude of tests and starts in on them (what is he testing for anyways, he still hasn’t asked any questions?), a chest film being first. I have to step in here. Coincidently, the Vet tech then shows up with «our quote» for todays «procedures». How do they quote $ 600 worth of tests when still have not communicated with us as to what our concerns for this poor animal might be? Strike 3.
We’ve since found alternative care and Callie (our Rotty) has since been treated for her issues and is a much happier animal. The Vet at Sunset may be the leading canine oncologist in our area, but his days as a clinician should be limited. It also wouldn’t hurt his staff to attend a few Customer Service seminars.

Very few people get on these review sites and post positive reviews. These forums are primarily a resource for angry customers to vent. Losing a pet is a very emotional event. A far greater tragedy than a rude waiter, cold coffee or whatever else people jump on this site to complain about. That said, Dr. Labavitch is an extremely talented, motivated and dedicated specialist. If your animal has cancer or needs surgery… there isn’t a better vet around.
I own a 15 year old Shepherd mix that has battled cancer twice, small intestine blockage, and many, many more issues totaling nearly $ 30,000. It was my decision to treat my dog. My decision to spend the money. She most recently had an aggressive tumor in her cheek wall that had spread to her lymph node. The vet I normally see for routine care (he is closer to my home) said to let her live out her remaining days. Dr. Labavitch and his team had cured her cancer in 2006. I decided to go back and see what he had to say. I just couldn’t watch an otherwise healthy, energetic dog die.
We spent an entire Saturday examining her and evaluating her condition. He considered her an excellent candidate for surgery. He does all of the lab work in-​house. He has access to all of the modern imaging equipment used on humans. I was working side-​by-​side with him through it all. He and his staff have nothing to hide. Go in the back with them and see for yourself.
Sydney is asleep on her bed as we speak. 6 weeks after the surgery she went on a 5 mile hike up to the Pittock Mansion. She’s 15! Was it difficult? Yes. Sleepless nights? Yes. My wife and I took time off work and it was a very, very difficult month. You can’t wave a magic wand at an animal and take them to the beach the next day.
Through it all, the staff called me daily. Dr. Labavitch lives at the clinic. He routinely called me at 9pm to update me. Every time I called to speak with him, he was available. When I had exhausted my budget, he met me halfway. The entire staff is focused on what they do. You are not going to find a vet, a surgeon, this talented that will literally help you load your dog into your car himself.
I do not understand the reviews I have read. Caring for an animal after invasive surgery is incredibly difficult and time consuming. It’s a team effort between the owner and the vet. If you have the stomach and the energy for such a venture… Dr. Labavitch will give you and your animal the best shot at spending more time together. Questions? Call me. I’ve spent enough time and money at this clinic to be a valuable resource on what you can expect. 971−221−8159.

My dog would have been blind by now if I had followed Dr. Labravitch’s advice.
I wish I had read these reviews before taking my beloved puppy here. I had noticed he was having trouble seeing in the dark and when I took him in, Dr. Labravitch asked to run some tests. My best friend is a Vet in another state and I called her to get her opinion. She was worried that he had an eye condition referred to as ‘collie eye’ but said to wait for the tests to come back. The Dr. said that he was using a ‘very expensive’ machine to test my dog called an ERG machine. He also called me to see if he could run blood tests, but only after they had already been done with out my consent, all he said was that he figured I would want to do it anyway. He then called me at work and told me that my dog would go blind with in the year and there was nothing I could do (which was aweful bedside manner). After I excused myself from the meeting that I was in at work to rush over to the Dr’s office, he handed me an internet print out of the condition and didn’t offer any insight on what I could do. Instead he looked at my dog and said «this is going to be really tough on you».
After going to get a second opinion, the 2^nd Vet refered me to an animal eye specialist; which I didn’t even know existed since Dr. Labravitch never mentioned it. I took my dog there and the specialist said that there were experiments that proved vitamins could slow the degeneration process and that my puppy might be able to keep some of his sight.
After a year of this regimen, I just took my dog for a check up and he’s had barely any change in his eye sight from last year. The specialist told me when I asked if she was surprised by this that «if you hadn’t done anything he would be completely blind by now». She is estimating that he will have sight for the next 6 years, when he would have been blind by 2.
After this experience I’ve heard other aweful stories about this Vet and I believe he should not be in practice. The specialist wanted information on how my dog was treated and was considering going to the Vet board with a complaint.
Fortunately my story ends with a positive outcome, but I can’t help but think if we had gotten to the specialist sooner — if there was more that could have been done.

Doctor Labavitch Insisted on unnecessary surgery that resulted in the death of our dog. We took our dog in because she had not been eating well for a couple of days. The doctor pushed for surgery, implying imminent death for our dog if we did not act immediately. The surgery in question was to remove something apparently lodged in our dogs stomach (which turned out not to be true). After the surgery the doctor did not provide us with the alleged object that was «stuck» in our dogs stomach. We were told that our dog was fine and that the surgery was a success. We kept our dog at the clinic for several more days of rest and recovery. We checked on her every day and were told that we could look at her from a distance but not to disturb her. When we were told that she was healthy and ready to be picked-​up, we happily brought her home. She died three hours later after we brought her home. The independent necropsy report by OSU indicated that the dog probably would have survived the surgery had it not been botched. Our dog was bleeding internally after the surgery with evidence of blood in her stool and ultimately died from a blood clot that formed during her days of «recovery» while at the clinic.
Other veterinarians who knew doctor Labavitch were not surprised. After reviewing the same evidence provided by Doctor Labavitch for surgery, both the veterinarians we sought opinions from suggested that they would not have done surgery so hastily.
The result was a settlement in May of 2008 in our favor. We received a settlement that was the largest in Oregon history for a pet case of any kind. Since pets in Oregon are legally considered property, the reimbursement is typically the cost of the animal. Our case did not result in the typical reimbursement as we had documentation, lab reports and expert testimony supporting our prosecution.
Gross negligence, dishonesty, incompetency can all be overlooked but when it is at the cost of the lives we love and care about the most, it’s disgusting. The worst part about this entire tragedy is that the doctor never once apologized. If he had said, «sorry, I made a mistake» we would have been equally devastated but not have taken the measures we did.
We did not and do not want this to ever happen to anyone else. We took the time to follow through with legal proceedings and hopefully, others in the future will not have to go through what we went through.
If you are in doubt, please take the time to look up the legal proceeding and judgment of the case, as it is public information.

I had a horrible experience here a few years back that involved poor customer service, but much more importantly, an error in surgery while treating my cat that caused him tremendous pain and still affects him almost 10 years later. Not to mention the thousands of dollars I spent since trying to correct the problem, which I later learned was not correctable. It’s really terrible to have a pet in pain and not be able to help.
I strongly, strongly recommend you find another vet!

This review is not based on the quality of the treatment my cat received but rather the customer NO service *I* received. Although this incident happened several years ago it was absolutely the WORST experience I have ever had with a vet which I could not forget so it is worth mentioning to others. Yes, sometimes when you treat people poorly it comes back to bite you where it hurts.
My cat became suddenly deathly ill one evening so I rushed her over to Sunset because they were in my neighborhood and still open about 6:00pm when I needed a vet. They took her in, the vet looked at her and she spent the night. The receptionist gave me a written estimate of the cost which was high but I wasn’t surprised because I have heard that this was a very expensive vet. When I went back a day or two later to get my cat she was doing much better. I was then given the total cost of her treatment which was several hundred dollars MORE than the original estimate. I never disagreed to pay it but since it was considerably higher than what I expected to pay I said they would need to allow me to make payments because this is not what i was expecting to pay according to their own written estimate which I failed to bring with me. The two ladies at the front desk took me into a back room and flat out accused me of lying. They said I darn well knew what the cost would be and I needed to pay the entire bill right NOW or I could not have my cat back. And if that wasn’t enough the vet himself came in and yelled at me. His attitude was how dare I argue with them because after all he saved my cat’s life and if he knew I didn’t have this much money upfront he would’ve had to discuss «other options» with me. I was absolutely flabbergasted at the treatment I was receiving and the arrogant attitude of the vet. Again, this was not about his ability as a vet, and I never disagreed to pay the total but they did not give me an honest estimate and for that I expected them to work with me. After being harassed by these people I left the office in tears and had to borrow some money to pay the bill to get my cat back. When I found the original estimate at home I brought it back for them to see, and to add insult to injury there was absolutely NO apology from these people.
It is sad that this place puts money as their top priority, and I can only guess what those «other options’ are the vet at Sunset will be so quick to consider if you can’t pay their exorbitant fees upfront. I have been to a lot of vets over the years and have never been treated this poorly. I have also worked in customer service and i am pretty sure this is not how you treat people. I would’ve been fired if I talked to anyone this way.
Again, this incident happened several years ago so I do not know if anything has changed for the better since then, naturally I wasn’t about to go back. My cat continued to live a few good happy years after that incident so it certainly was not her time for considering ‘other options’.