Happy Tails Entertainment
Two capybaras resting side by side in the sun, one dozing and one looking at the camera.

Pipe Creek, Texas  ·  By reservation only

Come out and meet them yourself.

For sixteen years we brought the animals to you. Now the best of what we do happens here, on our own property in the Texas Hill Country — private, unhurried encounters with capybaras, wallabies, porcupines and alpacas.

See the Encounters View Pricing

Ages 5+  ·  Groups of up to 10  ·  35–45 minutes from north-west San Antonio

An African porcupine walks on a lead across the yard with a child following close behind.
Two children kneel to pet a capybara lying on the grass inside the pen.
A wallaby, a leopard tortoise and a rabbit together inside the petting zoo pen.
A handler in a sun hat smiles with Tulio the kinkajou perched on his shoulder.
Two capybaras in purple harnesses grazing on the grass inside the pen.

Two ways to visit

A private encounter, or a Sunday in the petting zoo.

Both happen here in Pipe Creek. Both are private — you never share your time slot with strangers.

Guests sit on the ground with two Patagonian cavies during a private animal encounter.

Private Animal Encounters

Choose your favourite furry (or scaly) friends and enjoy a customized, private, unforgettable adventure. Four packages from $75 to $150 per person, ages 5 and up, groups of up to 10.

Explore Encounters
An alpaca and a Patagonian cavy inside the fenced petting zoo set up for Petting Zoo Sundays.

Petting Zoo Sundays

Our exotic animal petting zoo, set up just for you. Thirty private minutes with alpacas, bunnies, a wallaby, a cavy, a tortoise and a snake. $25 for ages 3–12, $15 for 13 and up.

Book a Sunday

Why drive out here

It is not the same as looking through glass.

Guests routinely spend twenty minutes sitting on the floor with a capybara. That is the whole point, and it is not something a ticketed attraction can give you.

01

Genuinely private

Your booking is yours. No crowd, no queue, no strangers in your photos.

02

Hands on

You feed and pet the animals, guided by handlers who raised them.

03

Trainers, not staff

Anita and Mark are former SeaWorld animal trainers with 25 years in the field.

04

Over 30 animals

More than 20 species live here, and the packages let you choose among them.

Groups and programmes

Built for small groups with a reason to come.

We have deliberately moved away from very large events and very young children. What works here is a small group that wants time with the animals.

All Programmes
A group of coworkers in matching shirts posing with a harnessed capybara outside a brick building.

01

Team Building

Two-plus hours showing your staff how animal behaviour principles work in the workplace — catching people doing things right.
A handler kneels with a Patagonian cavy on a lead in front of a seated group of students.

02

Homeschool Days

Students research an animal in our care, then come out and meet it. $25 per student, up to 15 people.
A young guest in red glasses holds a white rabbit during a birthday encounter.

03

Birthdays & Occasions

A birthday built around capybaras and porcupines rather than a bouncy castle. Ages 5 and up.
An alpaca riding in the back seat of the Happy Tails van beside a handler.

04

We Can Still Come to You

School assemblies, festivals, corporate walk-arounds and petting booths are still available on a reduced travel radius.

Who lives here

Over thirty animals. More than twenty species.

Three of the ones people drive out for. Every resident has a name, and most of them were raised here.

A guest pets a capybara under the covered area at Happy Tails.

Chia, Snap & Cadbury

Capybaras

The reason most people drive out here. Guests regularly spend twenty minutes sitting on the floor with them.

Three African crested porcupines eating leafy branches, seen from above.

Hasani, Jabari & Jamoke

African Porcupines

Our painting artists. A porcupine painting is the souvenir nobody expects to take home.

Two Bennett's wallabies looking up at the camera.

Ranger & Sydney

Bennett's Wallabies

Hand-raised and happy to be scratched.

Meet Every Animal

Getting here

Closer than you think.

We are in Pipe Creek, in the Hill Country. From the north-west side of San Antonio — outside Loop 410, and especially out around 1604 — it is roughly a 35 to 45 minute drive.

That is the one thing worth knowing before you decide. It is a drive. It is also the reason the encounter is nothing like standing in a queue at a ticketed attraction: you get the animals to yourselves, for as long as your package runs.

  • Boerne and the I-10 corridor
  • Fair Oaks Ranch and Helotes
  • Alamo Ranch and the SeaWorld side of town
  • Kerrville and the wider Hill Country
  • North-west San Antonio, outside 410 and around 1604
A Patagonian cavy on a lead in the Hill Country grass at Happy Tails Entertainment.
Ask About Directions

Book

Spaces are limited, and they fill up.

Encounters are by reservation only and capped at 10 guests. Call or text (210) 385-4351, or send us a note and we will get straight back to you.

Book an Encounter See All Pricing