Our Team

Hilary Stern DVM DABVP is the founder and owner of the Exotic Pet Clinic of Santa Cruz, the county’s first animal hospital devoted exclusively to the care of exotic pets.

Dr. Stern grew up in Massachusetts. After graduating from Yale University with a degree in history, she attended veterinary school at the University of California, Davis. During veterinary school, Dr. Stern was the president of the Avian and Exotics Club and spent her summers and externships working with birds, reptiles, small mammals, and wildlife.

Following graduation, Dr. Stern worked for a number of exotic pet practices in the Bay Area, focusing first on birds, then rabbits and small mammals, and finally reptiles. During her career, she has also worked with animal shelters, parrot and rabbit rescue groups, wildlife centers, and raptor rehabilitation facilities. She is a consulting veterinarian for The Rabbit Haven, Native Animal Rescue, and Mickaboo Companion Bird Rescue. She has created and worked at low-cost spay and neuter facilities for rabbits in Santa Cruz County, and participates in the training of veterinary students and veterinary nurses on the care of exotics pets and wildlife.

Dr. Stern has been active with the Association of Avian Veterinarians since her first year in veterinary school. While on its Education Committee, she helped create handouts for pet owners on parrot and chicken care. She is also a member of the Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians, the Association of Reptile and Amphibian Veterinarians, the California Veterinary Medical Association, the American Veterinary Medical Association, and the Veterinary Information Network. Dr. Stern has given lectures on rabbit medicine at local and national veterinary conferences.

Dr. Stern is board certified in Exotic Companion Mammal Practice by the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (ABVP). There are about 30 boarded exotic companion mammal veterinarians in the world, and Dr. Stern is one of them. She is one of only two veterinarians in California with this certification, and serves as Vice Chair for exotic companion mammal credentialing. For more information, see American Board of Veterinary Practitioners | The Standard of Excellence in Veterinary Care (abvp.com).

Dr. Stern’s areas of special interest include surgery, internal medicine, exotic animal dentistry, and client education. She and her family share their home with a naughty rabbit, two parrots (one naughty, one not), seven chickens, and a bearded dragon with half a tail.

Publications

• Hilary S. Stern, Ethan Biswell, Matti Kiupel, Robert J. Ossiboff, Kelsey Brust. Epidemiologic, clinicopathologic, and diagnostic findings in pet rabbits with myxomatosis caused by the California MSW strain of myxoma virus: 11 cases (2022-2023). Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 2024; 262(9): pages 1-11. https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.24.02.0139.
• Hilary Stern, David Sanchez-Migallon Guzman, Molly Gleeson, Sarah Ozawa, Molly Langston Liepnieks, Ehren McLarty, Eric Johnson, Jill Hicks Niederhuth. Cervical spinal nerve and brachial plexus schwannoma in a rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine, 2019; 31; pages 75-78. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.jepm.2019.06.005.

Bio Coming Soon!