Columbia Veterinary Clinic

4.5 (259)
150 N 15th St, St Helens, OR 97051, USA

Hours:

Monday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Tuesday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Wednesday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Thursday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Friday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Saturday: 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Sunday: Closed

How to Save Money at Columbia Veterinary Clinic

Schedule Regular Vet Visits

One of the best ways to save on vet bills is to prevent expensive health issues before they develop. By scheduling regular wellness checkups, your vet can detect health issues early, helping you to avoid costly treatments and surgeries down the road.

Price Shop for Pet Prescriptions

Oftentimes our fur babies are prescribed human drugs off-label. Your vet is apt to charge more for these medications than you would pay at your local pharmacy. In fact, big-box or chain pharmacies can offer steep discounts. So it’s best to price shop.

Pet Insurance

Most pet insurance providers will pay between 80% and 90% of the vet bill. You can even get coverage for routine care and things like vaccinations and dental cleanings. If you do the math, you’ll most likely find that pet insurance makes financial sense in the long run as well as gives you peace of mind.

How Do You Choose the Right Pet Insurance Provider?

Pet Insurance Review makes it incredibly easy for pet parents to select an insurance provider they feel good about. You can use our handy comparison tool to get the gist of what a company offers. We’ve also collected over 150,000 reviews of insurance companies from real pet parents like you to rank the top providers in the market. Here is the current ranking of each:

Top Pet Insurance Providers of 2024
Rating Provider Total Review
4.4 AKC 889
4.7 ASPCA 5,697
4.9 Embrace 10,255
4.9 Fetch 174
4.4 Figo 587
4.7 Hartville 164
4.9 Healthy Paws 7,475
4.9 Lemonade 781
3.2 ManyPets 11
4.6 MetLife 424
4.8 Nationwide 21,391
4.3 Pet Assure 12
4.7 PetPartners 98
4.5 Pets Best 7,194
4.3 Pumpkin 54
4.7 Spot 160
4.8 Trupanion 55,007
4.8 Prudent Pet 124

Or, you can simply get a fast quote from multiple providers and go from there.

Thinking of insuring your pet?

Get Quotes & Compare

Getting to Know Your New Vet: Essential Questions to Ask

Choosing a new veterinarian is an important decision for any pet owner. You want to find someone who is competent, compassionate, and a good fit for you and your fur baby. To help you get the most out of your first appointment, here's a list of essential questions to ask your new vet:

Tell me about your experience with [pet type].

Different vets have different areas of specialization. Some are experts with cats, some dogs, some pocket pets, and some horses. Knowing that your vet has vast experience treating your specific type of pet can bring you peace of mind.

How do you handle emergencies?

You must know what to do in case of a pet medical emergency. Inquire what after-hours policy the clinic has, whether they have on-site emergency care available, and if they have a relationship with any nearby emergency animal hospitals.

How do you communicate with pet owners?

Good communication is key to building a trusting relationship with your vet. Ask how they prefer to communicate (phone calls, emails, online portal) and how often you can expect to hear from them.

Are there any breed-specific health concerns I should be aware of?

Some breeds are predisposed to certain health conditions. Knowing what to watch out for can help you catch problems early and get your pet the treatment they need.

Do you have any questions for me about my pet?

This is a great question to ask because the answer will show that the vet is interested in getting to know your pet as an individual and is willing to listen to your concerns.

Bonus question: Can I take a tour of your facility?

Getting a feel for the clinic's environment can help you and your pet feel more comfortable during your visits. Remember, you’re not just looking for a veterinarian, you’re looking for a partnership. Do not be afraid to ask these questions and any others you can think of. Any vet worth their salt will be happy to answer them. Because the more informed you are, the better equipped you'll be to make decisions about your pet's care! And that should be every vet’s top priority.

Reviews from Google

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Ralph Price

I can't say enough about our Columbia county veterinary clinic here in St Helens? I didn't know Angels had jobs but they do the people down there are real true angels they should have wings but that would just get in their way of work if I had anything to say that those people mainly women at our 20 county veterinary thank you and I love you all from top of my head to the bottom of my heart for all the years of services that you brought for me and my animals buddy and chip Price love 🌈🎃Chip Dip Price 🌈🦮🌹 Buddy Boy Price 🌈🎃🐕🥀

posted: 09/15/2022

Laura

Wonderful experience with having our girl spayed here. They provided plenty of pain medication (which she didn't need all of) and called the next day to see how she was doing. They answered all of my many questions and helped to alleviate my worry. She healed very quickly and easily, which I'm so appreciative of!

posted: 04/01/2023

Chris Georgeson

Honestly, it's time for us to look for another vet. We have a mastiff and when we bring him to this vet it's shocking how the basics are just not done well. 1. Our dog is taken into the facility while we have to wait in the car. This was completely understandable during the pandemic but now it just seems ridiculous in late 2022. Our dog doesn't like to be separated from us. 2. We took our dog in for a nail trimming and they force us to dope him up. They are afraid of him. Again I understand this as he's 200lbs but he has never been aggressive, but we accepted it and did it anyways. However this last time they didn't even get his front paws and still charged us the full amount. 3. The itemized invoice (billing) isn't ideal. During our last visit, we took our dog in for his wellness check but told them that he started to walk with a limp. That seems beyond a "wellness" check but they didn't charge it outside of that. I can deal with that I guess if they want to say that it was covered as part of the wellness check but it didn't seem like it was routine in any way. Hell, they had to prescribe us medicine for it. Because it was considered a wellness/routine check our insurance won't cover that. With that said I'll list out some positives. 1. The staff is friendly and nice. They love my dog even if they are afraid of him. 2. The vet always does find the problem with our dog. This is important when something goes wrong. She also is cost conscious. For example our dog with a suddenly developed limp didn't get an x-ray. She felt it was uncomfortable for him but didn't think it warranted an x-ray until after he took his medicine and saw if his limp improved. I appreciated that.

posted: 12/30/2022

Nancy Herron

Dr Rieger was really good with both cats. One is a polydactyl & the other has an issue with her left eye. Dr Rieger clipped both cats nails, & the one cat has 8 front nails. She gave us meds for the other one.

posted: 03/07/2023

maya duran

Most times this place is really great. My biggest complaint would honestly be how long I can stay on hold just for it to send me to an automated voicemail to call back later. Seems like a waste of time. I’d rather just wait on the line. Even when I have tried calling back it seems to be a continuing cycle of being sent to the same automated message.

posted: 01/20/2023