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Community Corner

Massapequa Pet Vet Holds A Bash

New state of the art veterinary hospital holds grand opening.

On a beautiful Saturday afternoon hundreds of people arrived to celebrate the grand opening of Massapequa Pet Vet, the new state of the art veterinary hospital at 5330 Merrick Road, Massapequa., across from the Marjorie J. Post Park. The event featured a jazz quartet, singers, a wide variety of food from sandwiches and salads to sushi. There were prizes, raffles and local groups and retailers from Bayer, Novartis, Pfizer Corp and True Companion pet insurance which had booths at the event along with pet adoptions. Four legged friends celebrated, some dressed in French couture, and yes, there were even ferrets present.

Dr Ned Horowitz, took me on a tour of the gleaming facility. He was a vet in Massapequa for 16 years, before moving his office two blocks away from a 2000 square foot building into a 14,000 square foot center, making this one of the largest vet centers on Long Island. Along with the new space he went from being a one man show to adding three more vets, Dr. Laura Fiore, Dr. Gilbert Cintron, and Dr. Hillary Schilke. He stated, “The practice has grown so to such an extent that we wanted to provide more services to our clients. That involves providing digital x ray, ultrasound with Doppler, dental x rays, and dental suites, and large surgical suites. We also provide training, grooming, doggie day care, and a retail area.” Along with the usual dog and cat care Dr. Horowitz provides care to exotics, including ferrets, birds, and reptiles.

He started a 501c not-for-profit called Long Island Wildlife and Animal Rescue. They have licensed rehabilitators that work at the facility” We provide the medical care here and then a licensed rehabilitator takes over,” he said. He has seen everything from eagles, hawks, raccoons, foxes, and seals. “You name it we’ve seen it.”

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As we toured the facility he showed me that instead of cages, “We have suites with glass fronts so the animals don’t feel they are behind bars. The cages are heated, with the availability of oxygen in case any of the animals have respiratory problems. The cages are made of Formica instead of stainless steel. It is much more comfortable for the animal,”Dr. Horowitz emphasized. The surgical monitor is a computerized blue tooth which can monitor all of the animals’ vitals signs as it is being transferred.

Many well wishes arrived but one was Nina Trishitta and her rescue ferret Lila, who raved about the great care she received. Lila at age one, had contracted a deadly disease called “DIM” disseminated idiopathic myofascitis. All the other vets told her it was fatal. “Dr. Ned was the only one who helped her. He called a doctor in Oregon, got the medicine, a chemotherapy and she went from being very ill over six months to being herself. She couldn’t walk and now she is back to fat little healthy self.” Lila is now 4. “That’s why I’m here today, to thank Dr. Ned. He is here to help so many pets and he has done so great for all the years he has been around.” Lila nodded her head in agreement.

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