Barlow Trail Veterinary Clinic, Sandy OR

Dr. Houston and her staff are amazing! They are always very accommodating to our needs and some of the nicest people you will ever meet. We can’t say enough good things about Barlow Trail and I recommend them to anyone looking for an outstanding vet clinic.

Been going to Barlow Trail since we moved here in 96. Thought I had appt at 1045am this morning (got call from my better half while trying to get her to potty before we went in) but appt was at 1030am. Our 17 year old dog has been going since she was a puppy. Arrived at 1048am, walked in and said they are running behind and would need to schedule me for 2 9. Pay for the deposit when I set the appointment up and also would have to pay for another deposit for the 9th. Understand we gotta make some money but not sure why the wanted to have me come another day when they are running behind. Which they are always running behind due to emergencies. Over the years, been harder to get appointments and being closed on Friday and Saturday makes things difficult as well. Far as the vet, she is very good at what she does and why we had been putting up with the scheduling issues for years. Finally, this is my first review ever for anything so this did not sit well with me at all. We will be taking our services to another location for now on.

Not only is Dr. Houston very well educated and experienced, but she is also an amazingly caring person. Her practice is straightforward; her team will tell you clearly what they can or can’t do. We are especially grateful to her for helping us with our sweet rooster Mr. Hendrix who suffered a number of complications with ear infections. Although ear infections are tricky, she used an informed approach to help him recover from the brink when others were not willing or able to help over the holidays. Thank you Dr. Houston and team! We are very grateful!

Took my 2.5 year old tabby here today to get her checkup and yearly vaccinations. Dr. Houston and the staff were all incredibly friendly and welcoming.
Dr. Houston is an amazing veterinarian and kind person who knew exactly what she was doing and made sure nothing was left in the dark.
I will most definitely be coming back here from now on. Thank you Dr. Houston and staff!

My wife and I have been customers of Barlow trail for more than 30 years.
When they had their large animal practice they were at our place at least three times a year. In all these years non of our pets, dogs, cats goats have ever seen a different vet.
About 5 years ago we really noticed a change in their business habits. They were no longer a family friend it was all about how can you pay up front.
This new approach to customer service was born out last August when our Male Aussie Opie who had been under Barlows care for over seventeen years had a stroke and was unable to control his movements. I had to lay on him to keep him from hurting himself more.
As I loaded him in my truck my wife was calling Barlow to let them know we needed their help and were on our way.
They actually told my wife they couldn't help us and we would have to go elswhere.
We called around in a panic until we found a wonderful vet that was willing to meet us in his parking lot to help Opie.
This man showed a real compassion for both us and Opie. What we discovered about Barlow Trail is that even after a 35 year relationship when you really need them they will fail you.
All it would have taken is a needle in their parking lot.

We were incredibly disappointed with this vet. We were moving to the area and called months in advance to get a spot with a local vet. We did that, paid for the initial exams, etc. Just a few short months later we needed certain blood work (a tech appointment). We scheduled and were all set only to receive a call saying they needed to cancel so we could reschedule and get a full blown exam again prior to blood work? ! Other similar situations involved being quoted almost DOUBLE what our previous vet quoted based in Cornelius. We opted to drive to Cornelius instead which defeated the purpose of our efforts to establish this vet as our primary. All in all there were several decisions made that were clearly financially influenced with no logic or regard for the pet.

Absolutely the best exam and care for my house rabbit who likes to try to fly off the examination tables! Dr. Houston and staff took every precaution and it was a success. Dr. Houston is an amazing vet with the most caring, happy and yet extremely detailed and knowledgeable professional manner! We only wish she was our doctor too! She asked us detailed questions about bunny's care and environment and worked with our knowledge of her and our questions as she explained her process of deduction and diagnosis. We were so afraid to try someone new but we are so glad we did and the office was so friendly and accommodating to get us in!

Dr. Houston and her Allstar team are the best in the business. We drive 40 miles each way to be under their care. Our little dog is grumpy and not approachable nor grateful but they always manage to coax him into participating with their care. Everyone is there for their love of animals it seems and they’ve only been patient, kind and super professional. We’re moving out of the country and importing our dog into Australia (not easy) but Barlow Trail has knocked it out of the park. 10 stars if I could. We love Barlow Trail!

The staff is beyond helpful and I trust Dr Houston to help us make the best choices for our pets.

EDIT: Dr Houston is an excellent vet. But if you cannot afford a recommended treatment, or if you question the recommendations, or otherwise imply that you know your pet and understand their needs *at least* as well as someone who has only met them a couple times, be prepared to be treated like YOU are the problem. I won’t bore you with all the finer details of our situation, but in summary, I should have paid more attention to the existing negative reviews. Like many others, I found that when things didn’t go smoothly the customer service dropped from from “meh but worth it for a great doctor” to “nonexistent and passively aggressively blames you for not taking better care of your pet”. I got the overall impression that the techs were sick of dealing with my requests for clarification; they lacked any kind of empathy whatsoever and were barely polite. The information and pricing that WAS communicated to me was inconsistent & seemed to vary depending on who I was talking to and how well they understood our situation. I love my dog and have his best interests at heart, and I wish I could afford all the best veterinary care, but I cannot. Despite repeated attempts to get more information or find a workaround, I found the folks Barlow Trail to be incapable or uninterested in actually working with me for the good of my pet.

June 2022: Have taken both our senior GSD and cat to Dr. Houston. She handles animals very well, observes & responds to behaviors, does everything she can to make visits easy on them. She explains what she is doing and breaks down medical terminology in layman’s terms. She is upfront about pricing (by line item!) and what is essential vs suggested. Those who are used to other business models may be put off by the $80 fee to secure an appointment or the requirement of consultation appointments for prescriptions/scheduling procedures, but in this day & age I understand it! One can’t continue to run a business effectively if you allow people to take advantage of you. I appreciate that Dr. Houston and her staff set boundaries that keep them in operation for their community and loyal patients, even if it is something I have to adjust my expectations to!

These folks are the best! Always ready to help in any way possible, they give my pets great care and take the time to explain thoroughly what I need to do to support their health. I couldn't do it without them!

Dr. Houston is a very caring and extraordinary vet! We have taken all our dogs to her and they love her. It is a difficult time for vets right now with their costs going up and with finding competent assistants. And, yes, she is a little more expensive than some vets, but you get what you pay for!
She clearly loves her patients and treats them with love an care no matter how difficult they can be, like our 120 pound Great Pyrenees!

Dr. Houston is so incredibly compassionate. She’s super thorough in her exams and very conscientious about costs, weighing out pros and cons of diagnostics and meds. She’s also open to alternative medicine, which is hard to find in a western trained DVM! It’s a bit of a drive now for us to continue seeing her, but she’s well worth it!

The staff at this clinic are technically adept and love animals. The doctor is a little person and I found her very easy to talk to. The nose to tail visit is very thorough.

On a side note, the fees are as low as possible so be prepared to pay with CASH or to pay a 3 percent charge for credit.no checks or debit cards.

Great staff! Dr Houston really knows how to handle my sweet yet weary Terrier Mix. I recommend Barlow Trail very highly!

My experience here was wonderful! The front desk staff were friendly.
Dr. Houston provided excellent care for my German Shepherd. She did a thorough exam and made sure that she explained everything to me regarding my dogs care. I highly recommend this clinic!

$80 for a missed appointment just so you all know. Vet care hard to come by in our area. I’m fine with a fee but that seems excessive. I’ll go back to eagle fern and make the drive.

Dr, Huston is wonderful, unfortunately with the lose of the other vets customer service is suffering. Office staff is very condescending. Appointments were backed up for 45" to an hour but they had time for a lot of laughing and playing around. I wish Dr. Huston the best, she is a great gal, but her business is going to suffer if there isn't better management and control of her office staff. We are moving on to another vet

I do not know what has happened to all the veterinarians post covid but it is refreshing to be back with a clinic that can see you during an emergency if they can fit it in. As of this writing, you are also allowed to come into the clinic to help calm your pet. I left our former vet of 15 years due to still having to sit in the parking lot during visits, and multi months long waits to be seen. So this clinic is great for a more customer and pet friendly experience. Even better - Dr. Houston is the best vet I have ever worked with. She is the only Doctor currently at the clinic so she is insanely busy. Despite that, she is patient, friendly, and pet focused. You would not know that she is caring for the case load of the entire clinic. She has treated 2 of our anxious dogs, and 1 stressed out cat. My cat was rubbing his head on her immediately. I have never seen him react so warmly with a new person let alone a vet!
The staff is kind and hard working as well. You can tell they like animals. Follow up is prompt. Parking for the clinic is easy, and the location is also good.

The hardest decision a pet parent can make is to euthanize. I think a vet should be judged on how they handle these times.

I called to have my pet rat put down. She is 3 years old, as old as rats get, she is wasting away, becoming skin and bone since she lost the use of her back legs last week. Her quality of life has taken a drastic downturn. I relayed all this to the phone lady, and I was told while the next appointment is near a month away, I could get her in as an emergency, maybe, if I called at the right time, if they had room. I was also told that before we get to the cost of euthanasia, there would be a $180 exam fee, whatever euthanasia costs, they never told me, would be on top of that.

I am editing the remainder of this review because I was given new information after speaking with another vet.

So as I understand now, it's the law that vets have to give an exam before euthanasia. My disagreement then lies mostly with the law. I was wrong. I do still however, and the vet that I spoke to, tended to agree with me that $180 in addition to a hidden euthanasia cost was wrong in a time of need. Unfortunately, the time didn't work out for my pet for getting to any vet and she died rather violently at home just a few hours after my review.

I apologize for my previous comments, I think as pet owners, and vets, we are all strained and it may not be Barlows fault, but I think we all miss the neighborhood small town vet with small town prices, and small town care and due to economic, and other factors Barlow can't be that and perhaps they shouldn't be punished for it.