I worked in a vet clinic in Pensacola for about a year, and I have disappointing news for you: If you plan on staying in that area, you won't get any financial benefit from going to school for a vet tech position. The market in that area is such that vets can train their own techs, so they don't pay any more for folks who have gone to school. You would stand a greater chance of getting hired, mind you, but not a pay preference.
Now, the flip side of this is that if you are interested in the field, you can go to local vets and apply for jobs. You will start out doing the non-critical type work (rinsing stalls, washing animals, feeding, giving oral meds, etc), but if you have expressed an interest and show skill, compassion, etc, you'll move up. We had folks at our clinic with nothing but OJT who (under the vet's supervision, of course) gave anasthesia, performed minor surgeries (vet would open the animal up, show the tech where to cut), etc... kind of like an apprenticeship, almost.
My recommendation would be to do just what I've said... go to a local vet, get an entry-level tech job. This will give you a good idea of what the work is like, and if you then want to move to a bigger market (Birmingham, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Dothan) you can use the experience while you're getting your vet tech certificate. (I think that's a two year cert, btw)
If your interested in more exotic animals, PJC has a zoo animal technology program which works with the Gulf Breeze Zoo.
http://www.pjc.cc.fl.us/programs/builders/progsheet.asp?CATYRBOX=2004&MAJBOX=ZOO-AS&deptID=6694
Good luck!
) and to the vet. 