Watsonville, CA

Dr. Vanessa Padilla was born and raised in Long Island, NY. She completed her pre-veterinary degree from SUNY Oneonta in New York, then completed her doctorate from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine on the beautiful island of St. Kitts. 

Dr. Vanessa has always had a passion for veterinary medicine, animals and volunteering. During high school and undergraduate, you could find her volunteering at the local animal shelters and barns. During her time in St. Kitts, she would volunteer with a school organized club “VIDA” to provide free veterinary services, education and support to pets and farm animals in need on the island. She has also traveled to Costa Rica and Nicaragua providing free services such as spay and neuters to those communities in need of veterinary care and support. 

After her studies, Dr. Vanessa moved to California and has been practicing small animal medicine in Northern California since 2018. She has volunteered her time at local pop up clinics with the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter and has provided veterinary care to those evacuees and pets affected by the California wildfires. 

While living in the Santa Cruz region, Dr. Padilla has met pet parents experiencing hardships and homelessness and while they have the love and support of their pets, they are in need of basic veterinary care.

After viewing Dr. Kwane servicing pets and people in Skid Row, Dr. Padilla reached out to Project Street Vet in hopes of serving the vulnerable community of pets in need in her community. Dr. Padilla just started volunteering in January of 2023 with Project Street Vet and looks forward to helping as many pets and pet parents in Northern California.