Azalea Veterinary Clinic recently opened its doors to Apopka pets for the first time at 2050 Plymouth Sorrento Road, Suite 100. 

Azalea offers a wide variety of care for dogs and cats, ranging from proactive treatments such as vaccinations and parasite prevention to procedures including surgery and urgent care. Owner and veterinarian Natalia Martinez operates her practice under an open-concept model, which gives each exam room large windows and allows owners to stay with their pets during their visits. 

“I used to work at Veterinary Emergency Group (VEG) in Winter Park, and they are also an open-concept ER,” Martinez said. “I wanted that open concept because I saw how well it worked at VEG and how much people loved it there. They loved being with their pet.” 

Martinez opened Azalea on May 29, just a few months after she and her husband welcomed a baby boy into their family. Other members of her family have come to support her, such as her cousins, who attended her open house earlier this summer.  

“Everybody’s been kind of putting their input in here,” Martinez said. “It’s a labor of love from everybody.” 

Martinez credits her uncle for providing her the opportunity to hone her passion for pet care even before undergraduate studies at the University of Central Florida. 

“He’s also a veterinarian. He practices in Miami, so he’s been practicing for a very long time,” she said. “In the summers, I would go down to Miami and just hang out with him, work with him, see how he worked, and I love that environment.” 

Martinez would eventually serve as the vice president of the Pre-Veterinary Society at UCF, later receiving her doctorate from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine and completing clinical rotations at the University of Florida, according to Azalea’s website. Owning her own practice was her longtime dream, which she pursued after working in emergency veterinary medicine at VEG. 

“I noticed while living here that there was not a vet in a five-mile radius to this location, and there’s a lot of construction, a lot of homes coming,” she said. “I also noticed that there was always a long wait to be seen as a client and a patient in this area specifically — like you would try to call, and either they’re not accepting new patients, or you have to wait several weeks to months in advance just to try to make an appointment… It didn’t sit right with me.” 

Although Martinez said she was not sure at first whether she would have enough clientele to open her own practice, her clients love the ability to remain with their pets during each step of the process. She also includes time in each appointment for customers to ask her any questions they would like. 

“I love spending time with the clients and learning about them, learning about their pet and just trying to really understand their concerns about their pets,” she said. “My biggest thing is client education. I feel like if the clients are informed, if they’re well-educated on anything with regard to their pets, then they’re better owners. They’rebetter pet parents.” 

Azalea is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Tuesday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday-Friday, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.