Short answer: choose a vet before you need one, visit once for a routine checkup as a trial run, ask how they handle emergencies and after-hours calls, and trust how the staff treats the animals in the lobby more than any brochure.
Start with logistics. In a city as spread out as Jacksonville, a vet forty minutes away is a vet you will postpone. Shortlist clinics on your side of town first; the /directory/?cat=Pets category sorts them by zone.
The trial visit. Book a routine exam before anything is wrong. You are evaluating three things: how the front desk handles a nervous owner, how the vet handles a nervous animal, and whether costs are explained before treatment rather than after.
Ask the emergency question. Some clinics take their own after-hours calls, most refer to emergency hospitals. Neither answer is wrong, but you want to know the plan at 2 pm on a Tuesday, not 2 am on a Sunday.
Watch the lobby. Staff who greet animals by name, explain wait times honestly and stay calm with difficult pets are showing you the practice's real culture. The lobby never lies.
Then keep the relationship. Annual visits keep small problems small, and a vet who knows your animal reads changes a stranger would miss. Reviews from other Jacksonville pet owners in the /directory will tell you which practices earn that loyalty.