“Myself and my staff are extremely experienced,” owner Sarah Miller said. “I’ve seen a lot of cases; I have a lot of knowledge. When you come in and work with me, you get the benefit of all those years of experience.”
How it all began
Since childhood, Miller wanted to become a veterinarian. After graduating veterinary school 13 years ago and gaining experience, she said it was time to open her own practice.
Miller said the groundwork to establish her own hospital “has been years in the making,” but things began to really take off in 2022. Construction on the building took awhile, she said, and it was a pretty long process to get everything running.
Nonetheless, Agave Veterinary Care & Exotic Animal Hospital officially opened in May.
Miller said the hospital is located in Leander because there were no other treatment options in the area for people with exotic pets.
“We wanted to bring exotic medicine to this area because there's really not a lot of options for people who live up north or out west in particular,” she said.
Care for all
Agave Veterinary Care offers primary care for different types of animals, including complete wellness exams, bloodwork, vaccines, X-rays, ultrasounds, surgeries, and coaching and advice for people with exotic pets.
“A lot of problems that people run into are husbandry related, meaning how they're caring for the animal at home,” Miller said. “If [it’s not] ideal, then the animals can get sick, and I can't ever make them well because they're going home to an environment that's not ideal for them.”
Miller said the hospital has probably seen roughly 50 different types of species, which includes cats and dogs as well as different types of reptiles and small mammals.
Agave Veterinary Care has treated various exotic animals, including hedgehogs, iguanas, bearded dragons, ball pythons, tortoises, guinea pigs, ferrets and rabbits.
While it can be difficult to treat multiple types of species, Miller said it’s fun, and she couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
“I have a fantastic job,” she said. “I get to work with animals on a daily basis; I get to talk to people about what I'm passionate about doing. It's really, really rewarding.”
www.agavevetcare.com
