St. Johns Native Living Her Dream!

Dr. Kathleen Deckard
at Pets R Family!

Photos by Ozzy Trevino Photography

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It’s often the vision of any young, aspiring  professional to go after a dream,  achieve it and then practice it in your home town, with the people you love the most.    So often in life we may find that isn’t the path we obtain.   And for all the right reason’s end up in another place focused on life details that became our existing priorities at that time.   However, in this case, the dream was achieved.   


Dr. Kathleen Deckard DVM, has been a resident of Saint Johns County for over 45 years.   She moved here as a young girl, in the area of Fruit Cove, near Julington Creek.   Access to Fruit Cove was a two-lane road across the Julington Creek Bridge, where pavement left the suburban area of Mandarin and entered the country.   Race Track Rd was still just two lanes as well back then, and our County Road 210 corridor, was only a road down to the Greenbriar area, which was then still dirt.  The Community of Cimarrone was the only neighborhood on County Rd 210 during those early years in the 1990’s, and the local Truck Stops at I-95 were the only place to pick up supplies unless you drove into town.


Dr. Deckard had a dream to become a Veterinarian.    It was a dream she had enjoyed for many years, and after graduating from the University of North Florida in Biology, she headed off to the University of Florida to finish her degree in Veterinary Medicine.   Upon completion in 1999, she knew her absolute desire was to come home to Saint Johns County, the place she had grown and loved for so many years.    You see her dream was to bring her knowledge of animal medicine to the people she loved the most.   She always longed to serve her community in a way that impacted peoples lives.    And her love for animals allowed her to reach her community with love, care and compassion for the beautiful fur babies that were their pets.   


She began in Saint Augustine, FL, as an Associate DVM for a large practice in town.   In her 16 years there she prioritized the three most important things for her life; honing her animal medicine skills, caring for people around her, and having children as she started her family with her husband.   These key ingredients make up the distinct character that is the heart of this amazing care giver, and they still define her today.   


Dr. Deckard had one piece of her dream left to attain in 2015.   Her hearts desire had always been to have her own Veterinary practice, in her own community, and to live nearby so that her three lifes priorities could be practiced daily.   Pets R Family Veterinary Hospital was opened to the public on June 1 in that year, and her dream was made complete.   

​I always knew that achieving my degree in Veterinary Medicine and returning to my home to practice it to the best of my ability for the people I know and love, was my life’s dream.

Pets R Family is a full-scale pet care facility, with a focus on high quality medicine and exceptional client care and service.   Per Dr. Deckard’s design, PRF is a five Doctor practice, with over 55 employees.     Their 11,000 square foot facility has state of the art surgical suites, and a recently remodeled Hospital Treatment area that can accommodate and care for many pets of all types and sizes.   Dr. Deckard designed her hospital to be a place of comfort and care.   And the design and flow in function are specifically created to best provide that for their clients.   


Dr. Deckard shared her thoughts on her dream with us, and encapsulated it this way.   “I always knew that achieving my degree in Veterinary Medicine and returning to my home to practice it to the best of my ability for the people I know and love, was my life’s dream.   And to be able to achieve that in my own family owned and operated company, where my children and husband work alongside me, is beyond what I ever could have truly imagined.   My hope as we continue to grow in serving our community in pet and client care, is that we never lose sight of the key tenets in our foundation of approaching each person and pet with love, care and compassion.   And if we achieve that each day, then we are truly, living my life’s dream.”  Dr. Deckard also shared that her daughter, Abigail Deckard, is also on track to follow in her mothers’ footsteps and become a Veterinarian, one day working alongside her.   


Not often in life are we able to achieve all the things we wished we could do.   And quite often, life finds a way to steer us in other directions and into other places than we expected.   However, this local, hometown lady, has found a way to stay on course, achieve her life goals and bring them home so that we all can benefit from her talents in pet care and in the human care.