Gainesville is heavily populated with college students, and on a student budget, it’s difficult to properly take care of pets. Childhood pets are left behind, animals go unadopted or students surrender their pets to shelters.
It’s hard to love something but not be able to afford to take care of it.
Sweetwater Veterinary Clinic’s goal is to help keep pet care affordable with monthly pet vaccinations hosted at Curia on the Drag coffee shop, located on Northwest Sixth Street.
Julia Daggett, a 34-year-old veterinarian, created Sweetwater Veterinary Clinic for the Gainesville community. She graduated in 2021 from the UF College of Veterinary Medicine and initially focused solely on equestrian health.
Then, her pet cat Zoe fell ill.
As she took care of her baby, the expenses kept adding up. Continuous visits to the vet had her rack up bills as high as $7,000. Devastatingly, Zoe died, and Daggett was left with an incredibly expensive bill for just trying to save her cat.
Wondering how she’d be able to pay off her debt, she signed up to help small veterinary practices in Connecticut and New York that allowed lower-income individuals to receive help for their pets. There, she changed her focus from horses to all sorts of animals. She lived in the Northeast for four years before moving back to Florida.
When she returned, an idea sparked. Daggett wanted to provide the same help and resources to the Gainesville area. Sweetwater Veterinary Clinic was born.
“[Sweetwater] has been one of the most fulfilling things I’ve ever done,” Daggett said. “The fact that we get to help people in Gainesville take care of their pets in a way that still allows them room in their budget for housing, food [and] fun is so important to me.”
The clinic has hosted the events since November of last year, and it plans to continue indefinitely.
Prices for vaccinations and microchipping begin at $35, preventive medications at $20 and infectious disease testing from $50. All of these — typically priced much higher — are exactly what is typically needed to be able to take care of a pet.
Pet vaccines in Florida typically cost an average of $163 per animal, according to RexVet.
Sweetwater’s vaccination events have only grown since the start, when Daggett recalled seeing only five pets at most the entire day.
April Williams, the 43-year-old operations manager for Curia on the Drag, enjoys hosting the events at the location. Sweetwater had reached out to the venue, and the staff was excited about the opportunity.
“We just think [the clinic] is great,” Williams said. “It had a good turnout for them. It's a good draw for us because we end up doing a little business with the people that are there having their animals seen.”
An event is taking place this month, and there are talks in place for an August event. While the clinic would love to host more per month, it doesn’t have the resources for it at the moment.
Ines Aviles-Spadoni, a 57-year-old research coordinator at UF and the owner of @campuskittiesfl on Instagram, shared the information about the event on her account, using her platform of over 2,300 followers to boost the event. She believes Sweetwater is making a difference and an impact on the community as an important resource.
The next event is July 18 and 19 from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Curia on the Drag.
“I think it’s really great because a lot of students don’t have a lot of financial resources yet,” Aviles-Spadoni said. “A lot of them want to have a pet, a dog or a cat, and that usually means that those pets will need vaccinations and veterinary care at some point. So, it’s just good that Sweetwater Clinic is offering these services at a reduced price.”
Contact Mackenzie Haas at mhaas@alligator.org.
