Santa Cruz Veterinary Hospital - Capitola, California

Sandra Magana

I took my 2 year old kitty in for her years shots and the entire staff was so warm and welcoming. She was shy and scared at first and the vet came in and sat on the floor and she warmed up to him and was in his arms in no time. I appreciate the love and care they show to our furry family members.

Miesha Bernstein

Since we had to make the switch from companion the overall experience has plummeted down. I’ve left messages for call backs from vets so many times with no return call, including when our dog died and I didn’t know how to cancel her upcoming appointments. They said “we get desensitized.” I work in Hospice, wish I could say that to a patients family after they pass away but bedside manner is a thing and I expected our vets to have some too.

Currently on day 4 waiting for a call back about our other dogs enlarged heart. They sure seem to have enough time to over prescribe expensive diagnostic equipment and procedures tho.

This place has no empathy and totally sucks now. The front desk is always stressed and a mess. There’s one guy keeping the ship afloat up front, the rest of the receptionist are rude as heck (and this place is substantially more expensive than other vets locally)

Glad we’re moving on. The only thing that kept us as long as we were there was the vets who came from companion after they merged. (Love you Briggs)

This place is 100% a corporation that likes to play and pretend they’re a state of the art vet hospital. Gross and unethical.

David Joseph

Santa Cruz Veterinary Hospital is very professional but still kind and caring for our dogs.
Dr Mohr has been caring for our dogs for many years. She is especially skilled and clear at commincating alternatives and patiently answering my many questions. She is awesome (not a word that I use loosely.)

Kathleen Amneus

5 star rating for Santa Cruz Vet Hospital as they were able to get us in with a same day "walk in appt". We were on vacation out of state and our 12 year old black lab got sick from drinking brackish ocean / lake water. He was not eating for several days, not drinking much and totally not himself. He also had an arthritis flare up in his old bones from running and running on the beach. Alex Rahm, DVM was wonderful with us worried humans and so kind and gentle to our sick old dog. Alex got on the floor with Cooper our dog and started talking to Cooper like they were old friends. He did the full exam while sitting on the floor petting and calming Cooper. This Vet Alex truly loves his job!! He explained to us his reasoning for the meds he chose and how we were to administer them. Cooper is much better now. The arthritis is chronic but it will be more manageable.
What a wonderful facility we found by chance!
Thanks so much to Ales Rahm, DVM and staff

Leila Dunn

Our regular vet was out of the office, so our dog was seen by Dr. Cupka. Our girl was very sick, and he went above and beyond in his diagnostic process to explore the possibilities. He carefully and clearly outlined possible diagnosis and treatment plans and then he called Blue Pearl Emergency Hospital and advised them we were on our way. When we walked in the door there, they said they had already received test results and images from Dr. Cupka, and took some additional information he gave us to give to them. Because of Dr. Cupka we got her the immediate care she needed and she is expected to make a full recovery. He is very good communicator, calming and compassionate on top of being a great clinician. Wow, are we lucky to have him in our community!
Front desk staff was super also, as they always are!

Clinton Roach

Please take extreme caution when considering bringing your animal into care at this clinic. As an owner of 4 animals, my wife and I found ourselves at the mercy of the horrible care of Santa Cruz Veterinary Hospital when we switched from Companion and the difference of the attention and care we received quickly became a glaring problem for our animals care.

Anyone who owns an animal, let alone multiple can expect they will certainly pay a pretty penny at times. Their dental procedures are 2 cents a pretty penny to say the least. But this hospital denied for months that my precious Maltese (Stuart Little) had lost oxygen briefly during a dental surgery which ultimately caused him to have seizure like symptoms, still to this day. When I finally confronted in person after having a full blood panel done to get to the bottom of it, they FINALLY admitted what happened during anesthesia.

On top of that, empty promises of conversations with cardiologists, or communication from any doctor for that matter, which can take days depending on if your doctor decides to show up to work? They will often promise a follow up “tomorrow” but trust me, YOU will have to follow up with THEM!

As insult to injury, we had received THREE different opinions about our senior dog Lola’s tumor and her candidacy for surgery to remove it. One of those opinions being much more personal when we were disgusted by the advice we received “why didn’t you do something sooner?” For reference, their exam fee is THREE TIMES the price of any other local clinic. Starting to see the math here?

We were so disgusted to the point in which we went to Valley Humane Society, a nonprofit organization in Pleasanton (1-hr distance) because we felt that an organization that is founded on compassion was much more suitable for a trustable opinion on our dog, rather than a quick cash grab for an expensive procedure which could ultimately leave our dog in worse condition than before, as experienced with our other dog’s dental surgery a year prior.

After the sad and sudden passing of our beloved due to said cancer, we called SCVH to cancel our upcoming appointment, and we received no return call to confirm this and when we reached out (as I mentioned is typical if you’re a patient there) the receptionist was dismissive, rude and even hung up on my wife who was absolutely appalled by the conversation and response from a clinic that is supposed to respect both the animals in their care and their owners. This is by far the most stale, cold, and bitter service I’ve experienced ANYWHERE.

My final straw was this week when we had our dog Xena rushed into an xray due to complications with heart and breathing. They sedated her so much that when she returned home she was incontinent and barely able to move for over 24 hrs and completely traumatized by her experience there. They also cut her toe nails down to the quicks without ever asking us. To anyone reading this looking for a vet option in Santa Cruz County, please heed my warning - you are better suited driving a little further for respectable, compassionate and caring treatment. Trust me. Just do your research before going here based on convenience.

Laurel Altigar

I was visiting family in the area when my dog, a Standard Poodle was attacked by a Black Lab. My dog is NOT aggressive in the least and both dogs were leashed but the other owner was very irresponsible and had an aggressive dog that she could not control out for the Memorial Day holiday events where there were lots of people and many other friendly doggos.
My guy got hurt pretty bad and because it was the Holiday weekend, no one was open or would you take us in until I called Santa Cruz Veterinary Hospital.

They were so kind when I was frantic and panicking and agreed to treat my guy even though they were already very busy.
From that first phone call, until I picked him up once he was all stitched back up, they were INCREDIBLE!!
Dr. Nicola Mohr and all of the staff there were the kindest and most caring I could have ever asked for. I felt confident leaving him in their care even though we had never been there before. They took very good care of both of us. Dr Mohr kept me informed all through his treatment and made sure I had no unanswered questions. And bonus, the office was clean too!
I would highly recommend them to everyone looking for a great veterinary clinic!
Thank you to everyone at Santa Cruz Veterinary Hospital!!!

Tracy Fleming

I have been taking my rabbit here for over 2 years. The staff is so warm and friendly. Clover is a patient of Dr. Rahm’s and he is absolutely amazing!!