Veterinarians

Dr. Kathleen Deckard
Executive Director of Medicine

Dr. Kathleen Deckard is a native of Jacksonville, Florida. She received her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine in 1999 from the University of Florida then immediately joined a large veterinary practice and remained there for the last 16 years. In 2014, she began her dream of building Pets R Family Veterinary Hospital to service the community in which she lives and provide excellent compassionate care for the pets in the St. Johns area.

Dr. Deckard enjoys challenging medicine cases and has a special interest in Dermatology. Her years in practice have enabled her to become proficient at soft tissue surgery including cystotomy, intestinal surgery, splenectomy, and tumor removal. She also has advanced training in abdominal ultrasound. She has a special way of making owners and their pets feel comfortable.

When she is not caring for her patients, she enjoys spending family time with her husband and her two children. The rest of her family includes her three dogs, Captain, Fitzgerald, and Isabelle. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, fishing, dancing, roller blading, and tennis.

Dr. Kayla Hutton
Senior Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Kayla Hutton was born in upstate New York before moving to Saint Augustine, Florida, as a young girl. She spent her summer vacations volunteering in various animal hospitals across St. John’s County, which really sparked her passion to become a veterinarian. Dr. Hutton thrived in school and graduated from the International Baccalaureate program at Nease High School (Go Panthers!), then headed off to Gainesville, Florida, to pursue her dream of becoming a veterinarian. There she first completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science. Her subsequent acceptance into the UF College of Veterinary Medicine was a dream come true! She graduated with Summa Cum Laude with a certificate in Veterinary Business Management.
While completing school, Dr. Hutton spent her free time as a member and captain of the Florida Visual Ensemble, which is the visual aspect of the University of Florida Fightin’ Gator Marching Band. There’s nothing quite as exhilarating as performing in The Swamp in front of 90,000 fans! She also worked at the University of Florida Small Animal Hospital in a research study on muscular dystrophy. There, she helped a colony of golden retrievers combat the disease with various gene therapies. This research will one day help young children with muscular dystrophy, and Dr. Hutton is proud of her contributions to this study.
Dr. Hutton’s passion lies in client education, and she spends the majority of her day making sure each of her clients has a good understanding of what is going on with their pets. She also has interests in surgery, ultrasound, and cytology.
Dr. Hutton and her husband are fortunate to have 3 amazing furry family members: Parker (a golden retriever), Roo (an AussieDoodle), and Mushu (a domestic shorthair cat). In her free time, she loves to garden, work on home improvements, snorkel, and scuba dive.

Dr. Katelyn Lanctot
Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Katelyn Lanctot was born in Southbridge, Massachusetts before moving to Sebastian, Florida where she grew up. She attended the University of Central Florida where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Biology in 2019. She then recieved her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Florida, College of Veterinary Medicine with a certificate in Aquatic Animal Medicine in 2023.

While in school, Katelyn completed research on behavior studies in gopher tortoises as well as parasitic studies in seals and barred owls.

Her interests include small animal medicine of dogs, cats, and exotics animals as well as surgery and ultrasound. She is Fear Free certified and aims to make both her patiens and clients feel the most comfortable during their visits. In her free time, Katelyn enjoys spending time at the beach, hiking, dancing, and spending time at her local church.

Dr. Alysha Salapack
Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Salapack is a born and raised Florida girl who had dreams of becoming a veterinarian since she was little. She grew up at the beach and was very active in sports growing up.

Alysha obtained her undergraduate degree from Florida State University in 2010, then went on to receive her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Florida in 2019. Her interests include small animal medicine of dogs and cats, but her true love is veterinary diagnostic imaging.

She has been married to her husband Brandon, and together they share a family of 4 cats (Roo, Momma, Titten Little, and Eleanor) and a green-winged macaw (Davi).

Dr. Scarlet Motycka
Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Scarlet Motycka was born in Lansing, Michigan, but grew up in Orlando, Florida with her older brother and sister. She attended the University of Florida where she earned dual bachelor’s degrees in both microbiology (1997) and animal science (2001), working between that time as a veterinary technician. She then went on to earn her doctorate from the University of Florida-College of Veterinary Medicine in 2005.

Dr. Motycka has spent her career as a small animal clinician in the Jacksonville and St. Augustine area, primarily as a relief veterinarian and including 3 years working in emergency medicine. As a lifelong pet owner herself, Dr. Motycka embraces the human-animal bond and treats her patients with the level of care she would give her own pets. She truly understands that pets are family members too.

She and her husband of 11 years, Brian, have a beautiful 4 year old daughter named Elise. The three of them reside in Nocatee with their 4 rescue cats. When Dr. Motycka is not practicing veterinary medicine, she enjoys travel, movies/television, reading, playing games and most of all, quality family time.

Dr. Camryn Leavitt
Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Camryn Leavitt is from Arlington, Texas but moved to West Monroe, Louisiana when she was young. She began volunteering at a local animal shelter with her family when she was in middle school and continued volunteering throughout her school years while also fostering shelter dogs through a local rescue group. Her love for animals through those two experiences really sparked her interest in a career working with and caring for animals. Dr. Leavitt attended Louisiana Tech University where she majored in Animal Science pre-vet. During her time in undergrad, she pursued many outside experiences in animal care.  Camryn spent time working at the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo and at the Texas State Aquarium Wildlife Rescue.  She also spent time volunteering at Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation of Louisiana (WERLA).
Dr. Leavitt received her undergraduate degree in 3 years and continued her academic journey at LSU being accepted into the Class of 2024 LSU School of Veterinary Medicine. During her time at LSU, she pursued a dual degree and received a Masters of Public Health as well. During her time in vet school, she focused on wildlife, exotics, and small animal medicine. In her free time, Dr. Leavitt spends most of her time with her 2 goldens (Katie and Autumn) and her rabbit (Toast). She also enjoys traveling, hiking, and spending time with friends and family.

Upper Level Management

Mr. Brad Deckard
Owner/Operator

Brad’s career began in radio for a short stint, where he worked in multiple platforms here in Jacksonville in the early 90’s. From there, he spent most of his career in the food industry, where he represented multiple food and non-food national manufacturers, as he sold their products at the headquarter level of grocery and drug store chains, nationwide, for over 25 years. In 2014 he and Dr. Kathleen Deckard began the work to create Pets R Family Veterinary Hospital, where he serves as the Owner and Operator of this family led company. Brad has a bachelor’s degree in communications with a marketing minor and holds an MBA from Florida Metropolitan University.

Suzanna Berry
Executive Practice Director

Suzanna “Suzy” Berry spent most of her career in retail management. Leading a team of over 65 people in a high volume, specialty retailer, Suzy achieved several accolades for developing people and processes. Before making the jump from retail to veterinary practice management, Suzy discovered a passion for working with animals while volunteering at the Humane Society in Jacksonville, Fl. Her hours of volunteer work led to a full-time position in shelter management where she dedicated herself to the worthy cause. After spending five years in shelter medicine, Suzy came on board with Pets R Family Veterinary Hospital in the fall of 2020. Most recently, in 2023, Suzy was awarded Practice Manager of the Year by the Veterinary Hospital Management Association (VHMA).

Nikki Harris
Senior Director of Hospital Operations

Nikki has been a leader and innovator in the field of animal welfare for over 20 years, currently serving as the Senior Director of Hospital Operations with Pets R Family. In her role as Senior Director of Hospital Operations, Nikki oversees all aspects of hospital operations, including veterinary care, medical services and customer service management.

Prior to her current role, Nikki held key leadership positions, including Chief Operating Officer at the Jacksonville Humane Society, Chief of Animal Control in Duval County and Director of Behavior and Adoption at the Nebraska Humane Society. While Division Chief in Duval County, Nikki received Supervisor of the year for animal control in Florida.

Her diverse background in animal welfare has equipped her with a comprehensive understanding of the complexities of the veterinary field and positioned her as a leader and advocate for positive change. Nikki has presented at dozens of international animal welfare conferences and provided consulting services for non-profits, veterinary clinics and animal control agencies.  Her background and experience include degrees in Veterinary Technology, Non-Profit Administration, Master’s in Communication and Master of Public Administration.

During her off time, Nikki enjoys spending time on the waterways in Jacksonville with her husband and family. She stays busy with her three dogs, two cats and axolotl.