We have an amazing staff here, and our culture here is that we're all strongly aligned on providing the best care for our patients and taking really good care of our clients. That's what makes us different, that we all are very much behind this mission statement and very well aligned on how we treat everyone that comes through the door.

Hi, I'm Dr. Michele Drake and I'm here today to talk to you a little bit about The Drake Difference, or what's so different about our veterinary hospital. I'd say, first of all, our mission statement is to provide the very best medicine and surgery in a compassionate environment for our patients, like Archie here, and to provide unsurpassed customer service for our clients. We really feel like what's important is to listen to what our client's needs are, pay attention to our patients obviously also, and to provide a very customized care for everyone's needs because everyone's a little bit different with their situation. We have elderly people, we have young families, and listening and understanding what their needs are for their pets are really important to us.

The Drake Center has been in operation for over 25 years now and we continue to just always look for the best ways that we can provide this care and service for our clients. Our hospital's been AAHA certified for many years, which means we provide the very best in care. Only 15% of all veterinary hospitals are AAHA certified. It does mean that we are just really stringent in our regulation of our care for our patients.

We've been big supporters of the community in Encinitas, the shelters locally, and our personal philanthropy for our practice is to help raise funds to provide a service dog for a child with disabilities. We do that every year and our clients participate in that and it's a super fun way of sharing our passion for pets and people and especially children.

One of the very special things about The Drake Center is the doctors here, we have seven doctors. We work closely as a team. We all care a lot about one another and are very respectful of each other, but we do really have a passion for providing the very best care. That includes working closely with one another and sharing opinions throughout the day on all of our cases. I always tell people you get at least one or two opinions anytime you bring your pet in here because we're all sharing X-rays and cases, and constantly reviewing them, and making sure that we all are well aware of what's going on in the hospital. If we can provide another opinion or a helping hand in any case, we're always going to be there to do that.

We have an amazing staff here, and our culture here is that we're all strongly aligned on providing the best care for our patients and taking really good care of our clients. That's what makes us different, that we all are very much behind this mission statement and very well aligned on how we treat everyone that comes through the door. This makes for a very special veterinary hospital and it's a very special and unique experience for our patients and our clients. I think they can see that from the moment that they come in and see the smiles on our staff's faces and that they actually are happy to see them, and no matter how busy we get, we're always going to make time for everyone and their particular situation, to make sure that they're well cared for.


Our Mission

“To provide the best medical and surgical care in a compassionate environment for our patients and unsurpassed service for our clients.”

Our History

For over 25 years, The Drake Center for Veterinary Care has been providing compassionate, quality care for pets and the humans who love them. Located in Encinitas, CA, The Drake Center is an AAHA-accredited animal hospital dedicated to practicing the highest level of veterinary medicine.

With 10 Doctors and a support staff of over 50 employees, The Drake Center has become a staple in Encinitas and has been voted Best Veterinary Clinic in San Diego by the readers of Ranch & Coast Magazine for multiple years in a row as well as the 2018 award winner for Top Rated Veterinarians in California by Top Rated Local.

We are very proud of our facility, staff, and the level of care that we provide for our patients and customer service for our clients.

Come Experience "The Drake Difference" for Yourself!