Vets and Pet Services In and Around Boulder Creek

The short version

• Vet in town: Boulder Creek Veterinary Clinic, 12870 Highway 9, 831-338-7205. Full-service, six days a week, with two late nights.
• Backup vet: Felton Veterinary Hospital, about fifteen minutes south, 831-335-3466.
• Overnight emergency: no 24-hour ER in the valley. The nearest is Pacific and Santa Cruz Veterinary Specialists in Santa Cruz, 831-475-5400, open 24/7. Save that number now.
• Injured wildlife: Native Animal Rescue hotline, 831-462-0726. Call before you touch anything.
• Stray or lost pet: Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter, 831-454-7224.
• Grooming, boarding, and sitting: several options in Felton, Ben Lomond, and valley-wide. Call ahead; most are appointment-based.

Most mountain towns send you down the hill for a vet. Boulder Creek doesn't. There's a full-service veterinary clinic right on Highway 9 in town, and another a few minutes south in Felton, so routine care, shots, dental work, and daytime sick visits are all handled close to home. The one gap is overnight: neither valley clinic is a 24-hour hospital, so for a middle-of-the-night crisis you're driving to Santa Cruz. Here's who does what, grouped by need. Hours change, so call ahead.

The vet in town

Boulder Creek Veterinary Clinic is the full-service clinic right in town at 12870 Highway 9, reachable at 831-338-7205. It's open Monday and Wednesday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Sunday. Those two late nights a week are genuinely handy in a valley where most things close early.

They cover the whole range of companion-animal care: puppy and kitten wellness, spay and neuter, dental cleanings with digital x-rays, laser therapy, in-house lab work, ultrasound, and even exotic pets, plus therapeutic bathing and boarding. Their site says they're staffed and equipped to handle emergencies during open hours, so if something happens on a weekday, call them first. Just know that "emergencies during open hours" isn't the same as an overnight ER, which is covered further down.

The vet in Felton

A short drive south, Felton Veterinary Hospital at 5996 Highway 9 is the valley's other clinic, at 831-335-3466. It's open weekdays 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Along with preventive care, diagnostics, dentistry, surgery, and exotics, they also offer boarding and grooming, so your dog can get a checkup and a bath in the same trip. It's about fifteen minutes down Highway 9 from Boulder Creek, a reasonable backup if the in-town clinic is booked or closed on the day you need them.

After-hours and overnight emergencies

There's no 24-hour animal hospital in the San Lorenzo Valley. If your pet has an emergency at night, on a Sunday, or after the local clinics close, the nearest round-the-clock animal ER is Pacific and Santa Cruz Veterinary Specialists at 2585 Soquel Drive in Santa Cruz. They're open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year, at 831-475-5400.

They take walk-ins, and while they recommend calling ahead so their team can prepare, they know emergencies don't wait. From Boulder Creek, plan on thirty to forty minutes down Highway 9 and Highway 17. Put that number and address in your phone now, before you need it at 2 a.m. with a scared animal in the back seat.

Grooming

For grooming, you've got a few options within a short drive.

• Dapper Dogs and Divas (Felton): an appointment-based dog grooming shop at 6144 Highway 9, Unit B, run by groomer Jackson Hamilton, open Tuesday through Saturday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 831-216-6462. Find them on Facebook.
• Mountain Paw Spa (Ben Lomond): a home-based grooming business run by Kristin Miller, offering full grooms, bath and brush, nail trims, and ear cleaning by appointment at 831-266-7998. Since it works out of a home, there's no walk-in storefront, so book ahead. Details are on their booking site.
• Felton Veterinary Hospital: offers grooming alongside its boarding, handy if you'd rather keep everything under one roof.

Boarding, daycare, and pet sitting

If you're heading out of town, you have both dedicated services and the vet clinics to choose from.

• Camp Happy Tails: covers the San Lorenzo Valley with doggy daycare, boarding, grooming, and in-home pet sitting. It's a licensed, bonded, and insured operation reachable at 831-247-8245. Because it serves the valley rather than running a public storefront, call to arrange details. See Camp Happy Tails for what they cover.
• The two valley vet clinics: Boulder Creek Veterinary Clinic boards in town, and Felton Veterinary Hospital offers supervised dog and cat boarding. That can be reassuring if your pet has a medical condition and you'd rather it stay somewhere with a vet on site.

Wildlife: injured, sick, or orphaned wild animals

This is redwood country, so sooner or later you'll find a wild animal that seems to be in trouble: a fledgling bird, a fawn, an injured raccoon. Wildlife doesn't go to the vet or the pound. It goes to Native Animal Rescue, the licensed nonprofit that cares for Santa Cruz County's sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife, at their hotline, 831-462-0726.

Their guidance is worth following: not every wild animal actually needs rescue, and picking one up can do more harm than good. Take a photo, call the hotline first, and let their wildlife dispatcher tell you what to do before you touch anything. Their intake is at 1855 17th Avenue in Santa Cruz, but the call comes first.

Strays, lost pets, and animal control

For a stray dog, a lost cat, or a domestic animal in trouble, that's the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter at 831-454-7224. The main shelter is at 1001 Rodriguez Street in Santa Cruz, and because Boulder Creek is unincorporated county, the shelter and its animal control officers serve our area. They're who you call to report a stray, look for a lost pet, or ask about a dangerous or aggressive animal.

The shelter also points wildlife calls to Native Animal Rescue and to Wildlife Emergency Services at 831-498-9453. A rule of thumb: if it's someone's pet, or should be, call the county shelter; if it's wild, call Native Animal Rescue first.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a vet in Boulder Creek?

Yes. Boulder Creek Veterinary Clinic is a full-service companion-animal clinic in town at 12870 Highway 9, open six days a week with two late nights, at 831-338-7205. Felton Veterinary Hospital is a second option about fifteen minutes south on Highway 9.

Where do I take my pet for an emergency at night?

Neither valley clinic is open 24 hours. The nearest round-the-clock animal ER is Pacific and Santa Cruz Veterinary Specialists at 2585 Soquel Drive in Santa Cruz, open 24/7 at 831-475-5400, about thirty to forty minutes away. They take walk-ins but appreciate a call ahead.

Who do I call about an injured wild animal?

Native Animal Rescue, at 831-462-0726. They handle the county's sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife. Take a photo and call before you try to help, since not every animal needs rescue and handling can hurt. Wildlife doesn't go to a vet clinic or the animal shelter.

What about a stray or lost dog?

Call the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter at 831-454-7224. Boulder Creek is unincorporated county, so the shelter and its animal control officers cover our area for strays, lost and found pets, and dangerous-animal reports.

Where can I get my dog groomed near Boulder Creek?

Dapper Dogs and Divas in Felton and Mountain Paw Spa in Ben Lomond both groom by appointment, and Felton Veterinary Hospital offers grooming with its boarding. Camp Happy Tails also grooms as part of its valley pet-care services. Call ahead at any of them, since these are small, appointment-driven shops.

Details here come from each provider's own listings and the official contacts for the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter and Native Animal Rescue. Hours and availability change often at small local businesses, so call ahead to confirm before you drive.

Keep this page handy for the next time something goes sideways with a pet. For more local contacts and services, browse the Boulder Creek Local directory and the Residents guide for the rest of the valley's everyday essentials.