Looking for positive personal experiences with vets in the Puget Sound area. Closer to Auburn/Federal Way would be ideal but I'm open to traveling a bit for a good vet.

I got absolutely awesome advice in the thread about Seattle area breeders so I wanted to start another one on this topic since there are so many locals here.

Nominal background: I'm getting a puppy

Thanks

Do you think it will be impractical, perhaps maybe precarious to have your regular vet be in Seattle proper? I know nothing about the southern suburbs where you are but I know about many vets in the downtown Seattle area where we live.

I would prefer the Auburn/Federal Way area just for convenience, but I'm in Seattle all the time, it wouldn't be the worst thing ever if my vet was there. I would certainly appreciate Seattle vet recommendations!

There are two clinics that stand out in my mind in the downtown area.  They are both different from one another in some respects as well.

Broadway Veterinary Hospital is in Capitol Hill on 12th Avenue.  I live and work in Capitol Hill and have for my entire time in Seattle up until my partner and I recently moved to the Central District to get more space.  So I know about it from just being around the neighborhood and hearing friends, coworkers....etc.  talking about it and I have heard nothing but great things about it.  It is a newer facility with a more modern feel to it aesthetically.  I have no personal experience with this clinic it is just the one that I hear the most about and the best things about around Capitol Hill.  Capitol Hill tends to be a very affluent part of town with enormous amounts of gentrification and the costs of everything here is skyrocketing.  I have heard complaints about the costs here, but granted, I work a working class job and so do all of my friends and coworkers, so....yeah.

Rainier Veterinary Clinic is the vet clinic that time forgot, aesthetically.  It is an older building and it does not have a chic, modern, trendy feel to it like most vet clinics do around Seattle. It is in a traditionally poorer part of town called the Central District/Rainier Valley that has been traditionally populated by ethnic minorities and the area has yet to be taken over by urban gentrification to any great extent.  The benefits of this is that the costs are kept lower in comparison to other clinics around town and the vibe of the place has a very traditional feel to it.  We live about a 10 minute walk away and have taken Link there since he was 8 weeks old and have been nothing but pleased and comfortable with our service and treatment (notably though they are against raw diets but take a very non-confrontational approach to this and have not proselytized us on diet at all). The staff is prompt and personable and engaging and they have a very sincere style that we appreciate.  If aesthetics are at all a concern for you this place will turn you off very quickly.  It is just not cute at all unless you appreciate old school types of places.  

These are the two I would recommend for what it's worth.

There is an amazing 24 hour 911 vet clinic called ACCES and that is in Lake City, so just northeast of the downtown Seattle neighborhoods and it is superb.  Very modern, hospital like, and the staff there is remarkably apt and prompt and thorough in letting you make informed decisions.  We spent all night and morning there once with Link and we were thoroughly impressed from beginning to end.  

Cheers. Hope this helps.