Pets (Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, Palm Valley: house, buy, school)

[sailorkelly]

I am moving to Jax in January. I have a Lhasa Apso (dog), cat, fish and a Peach Fronted Conure. I will be needing a groomer and a vet for the dog and cat. Do you know of any good ones around the Mayport area? I will also be needing an avaian vet plus a good pet store for my bird. I like to shop at the smaller stores if possible. I know I can find what I need at the chain stores but there are better deals an sometimes better toys at the smaller places. Do you know of any places? Also a dog park? I would like one that has a smaller dog section. He doesn't like the big dogs bullying him. Thanks

[Honeycrisp]

I dont know the area but would go to meetup.com and put in your new zip and 'small dogs' and they'll prob. be some dog groups that get together monthly where your pooch can get to know the other pups there and you'll get to know their owners - you can give the miles you want to drive (I usually put in 100 miles but almost always go w/ the closer ones, esp. if they're big groups), some of us go to several groups if the dates don't conflict, it's a good way to get to know the area too. Some of the groups have Halloween parties etc and they're a lot of fun (some people even dress up too). Can't help w/ the bird or groomer questions but Im sure others can here (or will from the meetup group). Good luck w/ your upcoming move.

[fsu813]

The city's only free dog park in located between Hubbard & Market Streets, just outside of Downtown. It's brand new, has a small and large dog fenced area, shade, walking path, human & dog waterfountain, and basketball court. Very popular in the evenings, always dogs and people there then.

New Confederate Park Dog Park | Urban Jacksonville

[sailorkelly]

They have dog parks that charge???? I have never heard of that before

[EricBoyd]

If the dog park is privately owned/run, then you can expect a usage fee.

[riveree]

Originally Posted by sailorkelly

I am moving to Jax in January. I have a Lhasa Apso (dog), cat, fish and a Peach Fronted Conure. I will be needing a groomer and a vet for the dog and cat. Do you know of any good ones around the Mayport area? I will also be needing an avaian vet plus a good pet store for my bird. I like to shop at the smaller stores if possible. I know I can find what I need at the chain stores but there are better deals an sometimes better toys at the smaller places. Do you know of any places? Also a dog park? I would like one that has a smaller dog section. He doesn't like the big dogs bullying him. Thanks

Awww! I have a Cherry-Headed Conure! Love Conures! We are very fortunate in Jax to have an awesome Exotic Bird Hospital. I've met people from states away that bring their birds to the avian vets at Exotic Bird Hospital. Check out their boarding facilities too, they are top-notch:

http://www.exoticbirdhospital.com/index.html

I buy all my bird supplies from Exotic Bird Hospital or at one of the many bird shows we have in Jax (some hosted by Exotic Bird Hosp). They're often held at the Morocco Shrine Temple which is not far from where you'll be living.

For dog food, I really like Pet Supplies. Or is it Natural Pet Supplies? The name is so generic, it's forgettable. They need some marketing help . Anyway, they carry brands that your average store doesn't, like Wellness, EVO, Blue Buffalo, etc. They have a really good rewards program too. There are multiple locations, the one closest to you will be in the SuperTarget Center on Beach Blvd and Hodges. I think they do grooming too? My dogs are pitties, no grooming needed :

Jacksonville, FL - Pet Supplies | Natural Dog Food & Dog Grooming

I also know of a great vet not far from you. Dr. Hanson at Animal Care Center on St. John's Bluff Road, just north of Beach Blvd. It's a no frills dog and cat vet office but he's a very, very good vet who has done some extensive work on my rescued, and often torn up, dogs and cats. Fair rates too. No website, but his number is:

904-646-9414

I haven't been to a dog park in quite a while. It became too much stress for me when people would bring in their unaltered, aggressive dogs . And no, the dog parks do not all charge to get in. The park I used to go to was Davis Paw Park:

Davis Park, 2455 Palm Valley Rd, Palm Valley (4.5 miles west of A1A on County Road 210)

It's a large, free to the public dog park inside a city park. There is a big lake and it's all fenced in. I can't remember if there's a small dog area though? This park will be convenient to get to from where you'll be living, it's just south of you. Here's a link with a few others:

Jacksonville Area Dog Parks (http://www.homewithpetsflorida.com/jacksonville_area_dog_parks.htm - broken link)

Welcome to Jax!

[sailorkelly]

Riveree, Thank You so much. Those are great sites.
I have been in the pet area for a long time. Hopefully I can find something to do down there with it. I have worked in shelters, rescues and a pet store. I have been thinking of doing pet sitting. Do you think there is a need down there for it? I have will be going to school while down there so I will need something to do on the side.

How old is your CHC? Are you on Birdboard.com? I love that site.

We have the same problems at the dog park here. That is one reason why I like to have a seperate section for small dogs. There are aways fights on the big side. We are going to get a Engish Mastiff at some point, so I will have to get use to going on that side.

[riveree]

Originally Posted by sailorkelly

Riveree, Thank You so much. Those are great sites.
I have been in the pet area for a long time. Hopefully I can find something to do down there with it. I have worked in shelters, rescues and a pet store. I have been thinking of doing pet sitting. Do you think there is a need down there for it? I have will be going to school while down there so I will need something to do on the side.

How old is your CHC? Are you on Birdboard.com? I love that site.

We have the same problems at the dog park here. That is one reason why I like to have a seperate section for small dogs. There are aways fights on the big side. We are going to get a Engish Mastiff at some point, so I will have to get use to going on that side.

Mine is 9yrs old. He's got a huge personality and thinks he's the biggest guy in the house (he's the smallest !). We have a Grey too. Not on Birdboard yet but I'll check it out, thanks.

We have a fair amount of dog boarding facilities here, but I don't know how many petsitters. I would think there would be a good market for them. There are a lot of dogs here. The weather makes it conducive to being outdoors with your dog year round, so it seems nearly everyone has a dog .

This is a very, very spread out area as you probably already know. So you might want to think about limiting your pet sitting business to one part of town, maybe 2 or 3 zip codes. You could lose a lot of money in gas and time otherwise. You might find some affluent clients just south of where you'll be living - look into Atlantic Beach/Neptune Beach/Jacksonville Beach. Ponte Vedra Beach might be an okay drive too, you'll have to see (it's further south).

Good luck with the English Mastiff! I've had a couple of Bullmastiff mixes and I absolutely adore them. They have a really interesting conscience. My last one was one of the kindest, gentlest dogs I've ever had. I miss him a lot . I take what I can get since I bring dogs in off the streets of Jax (lots of pits in Jax), but maybe someday I'll adopt a specific breed, I'd love another mastiff in the house .

[sailorkelly]

That is great. My Lhasa Apso's girlfriend is a pit. She is so cute. I think she thinks she is a cat. lol
My friend owns her. I will have to find him new friends down there.

It does seem very spread out. I will be down for one day on the 14th. We have to figure everything out in one day.. crazy. So hopefully it will work out.

I am not sure if I will do the sitting. I just want to do something with animals and I just don't know what I want to do. I know it has to be something that can be done in different areas. Since we are military we move every 2 to 3 years.

[riveree]

Good luck with your visit on the 14th...let us know how it goes!