Its All About Love at Pet's R Family Veterinary Hospital!

by Debbie Gaylord
Photo by Mindy Kerry of Nature's Child Photography

​    It must be nice to be able to bring your pets to work.  That is a luxury enjoyed by Dr. Kathleen Deckard at Pet’s R Family.  In between seeing patients for exams or conducting surgeries the Doctor is greeted by her sweet menagerie of pets, including her own Shih tzus  Fitzie (Fitzgerald) and Izzy (isabelle) who come to the office most days to hang out.
    Pet’s R Family on CR 210 is a Veterinary hospital and pet day care center that is quickly becoming one of the most popular in town.  Veterinarian and Owner, Dr. Kathleen Deckard has a warm personality and her genuine love and caring of her animal patients and their owners shines through.  She greets patients with a kiss and their owners with a hug reflecting her motto to treat each animal as if it were her own and each person as if they were family. 
    She says that her love of animals was always part of her life and began with her Grandmother. “My real love was passed down from my grandmother who lived in the Pocono mountains in PA.  She fed all of the creatures in the woods including bears, deer, & squirrels in addition to her menagerie of dogs and cats.  It was an early dream of mine to make the care of people and their pets my lifelong career and ambition”.
    After receiving a degree in Veterinary Medicine at UF and working as a Vet at a local animal hospital for sixteen years while her children were younger, she decided to fulfill a lifelong dream of opening her own animal hospital. Her dream became reality in June 2015 after she and her husband Brad Deckard (Her greatest cheerleader) transformed the office suites behind Hurricanes off CR 210.  The couple designed the office with patient’s needs in mind.  Care was taken in the finest details, with spotless examining and surgical rooms, an orderly outdoor running area, large sunny windows with views, a private cat condo, and even a beautiful and comfortable room for saying goodbye to pets.

​Dr. Deckard is involved in every aspect of running her her practice on a daily basis and that level of care is what comes through.  Pets R Family is special because everything they do comes from the heart.  “We practice high quality medicine and spend lots of time getting to know our clients and patients.  Attention to detail is extremely important. And our focus on treating the Owners, as well as the furry patients is a key point of difference for us.  We believe that each patient is uniquely different, and deserves our complete focus to assure the highest quality medical and personal care experience.”
    One of the best parts about Pets R Family is the special animals who are at the clinic daily.  The PRF animals include Barnaby, the lovable orange tabby, Charlotte, the black and white diva, and Sunny the fun loving golden retriever.  Sunny was adopted from G.R.E.A.T. Rescue in town shortly after PRF opened.  She is part of their Pups N Play, Vets N Training program and she goes with them to schools and other events. Its seems like  Dr. Deckard has room in her heart for any animal who needs her, like the beautiful Siamese kitty she recently adopted from its owner.
    Dr. Deckard, her husband Brad and their two children Abigail (12) and Gavin (10) live right across the street from the clinic in Cimarrone. Abby shares her Mom's love of animals and dreams of becoming a Vet, and both  children come in after school to help, in the process learning hands-on about Veterinary medicine, community, and kindness from Mom (What lucky kids!).