Sadie Veterinary Urgent Care at 8037 SE Stark Street will expand into the adjacent storefront that most recently hosted Union Rose before it relocated to the Plural Collective in Sellwood. Pending building permit approval, renovation work on the neighboring space will begin in the first half of 2026, with an anticipated completion in the summer. The frequently busy care center for cats and dogs will remain open during renovations, with minor disruptions as staff reorganize the facility to make better use of the significantly larger space.
Sadie Veterinary co-owner Dr. Cindy Galbreath explained that this expansion was needed almost from the time the clinic opened in November 2022. “Honestly, we were busy from day one. We’ve had a consistent caseload over the last three years, serving about 25 to 30 patients per day between two doctors.” The team was already maxed out on reasonable operating hours, with little room to expand them for greater capacity during the times patients needed them most. As an urgent care facility, they do not schedule visits weeks in advance except for follow-up treatments. They are open every day of the week except Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., with pet owners calling to schedule a visit for the day or have staff place them on a wait list.
With a predictably full wait list, the three owners of Sadie Veterinary Urgent Care jumped at the chance to expand into the neighboring 1,400-square-foot space at 8029 SE Stark Street. They currently work within a 2,400-square-foot space that includes four exam rooms, the reception desk and waiting room, treatment area, onsite lab, x-ray room, short-stay kennel, and other administrative and staff-only spaces. The expansion will focus on adding exam rooms, doubling the available space for patient visits by building five rooms and a second shared hand-washing station. Towards the end of the renovation, they will have a small amount of demolition at the front of the building. “Our lobby is very small. Part of our expansion will be taking out exam room one and expanding our lobby so that we can have more people comfortably up here,” said Galbreath.
People and animals will continue to use the current corner entrance, even though the expanded footprint includes another sidewalk-accessible doorway. Galbreath explained that a second entrance would require an additional reception desk and disrupt operational flow. “We’re going to snake this hallway around the back of the building, and we’ll have essentially a giant U hallway that will be accessible to clients,” explained Galbreath. “All of our exam rooms will be off that U-shaped hallway.” The central connector will need to curve past one of their two existing restrooms in the back, and the architectural design incorporates adding an existing restroom on the other side of the dividing wall for the expansion, giving them three total. The work will require moving the water heater, along with other significant alterations to the space. However, the renovation design will minimize impact to essential operations and shift the office flow around the now central treatment and surgical rooms. This approach will improve the working environment for the 20 to 25 staff who constantly need to shuffle animals and their owners throughout the facility for treatment.
The new leased space came with one extra vehicle stall in the lot behind the building, and expanded parking capacity for the animal urgent care to six spaces. When completed, they anticipate adding more doctors beyond the six veterinarians already employed to increase their daily capacity. Galbreath, along with her partners Dr. Jenica Wycoff and Dr. Malia Goodell, considered options to expand the business but has remained committed to the historic Montavilla downtown. “We really love being a part of Montavilla. We’re sad to see Union Rose go, but we really like this location and this building,” said Galbreath. “We feel really fortunate to have landed in this space originally.” She noted they could have opened a second location or relocated to a larger space, but felt expansion was the best option. “I think the location works really well for our clients. This is an accessible area, and we serve a lot of people in Montavilla as well. Additionally, we have good relationships with the primary care vets in this area, with a lot of referrals from the local veterinarians,” explained Galbreath.
Construction timelines for the expansion are far from firm, but they anticipate six months for building permit approval and another two or three months for construction. That should put them at the back half of the warmer months, which is a critical time for their work. “Summer is our busiest time. Across the board in veterinary medicine, it tends to be,” said Galbreath. “I think in part because animals are more active, the weather is better, people are out and about with their pets, who are more susceptible to traumatic injuries.” She noted that people are also more observant of their animals during that time. “People are home with their pets more in the summer, and when people are home, looking at their pets, they’re more prone to discover issues.” However, if the building timelines take longer than hoped, Galbreath says they will appreciate its completion at any time. “We have other times of the year that are busy, and we generally tend to just stay pretty consistently busy throughout the year.”
Sadie Veterinary’s owners hope people will bear with them during construction. Galbreath explained they anticipate the improvements will ultimately provide a better care experience. “We’ll all feel better not feeling like we have to rush people out of exam rooms. I feel like we outgrew this space within our first few months of operation.” With more rooms, the care team can minimize juggling patients in and out of rooms, resulting in a lower-stress visit. Additionally, they can serve more pets quickly and say yes to urgent requests. “We all want to be able to say yes to these cases, to these sick animals,” said Galbreath. “Being able to tell people yes instead of putting them on a wait list. I think it’s gonna feel really good for everyone.”
Update December 9, 2025: Added muralist name Alex Proba to photo
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