Members of the
Long Island Veterinary Specialists work in full cooperation
with your pet’s family veterinarian. Your skilled family
veterinarian recognizes that sometimes it is necessary to utilize
the advanced services available at our hospital. Our specialists
will work closely with your family veterinarian, sharing information
as part of a team of professionals to provide optimal care for your
pet. Please note that we do not perform any routine health
procedures nor do we stock any vaccines. These essential services
are best provided by your family veterinarian during your pet’s
annual health care visits.
History of
Long Island Veterinary Specialists
Long Island Veterinary Specialists, or “LIVS” to the knowledgeable
pet owner, is Long Island’s premier veterinary specialist center
with capabilities
comparable to human medical centers. With the busiest 24-hour
emergency and critical care center on Long Island and a staff of
over 150
dedicated professionals, this prestigious
center never forgot the hospital
“core values” of the three original founding members, Drs. Marino, Panich,
and Sapienza. From their humble
beginning in Levittown as “Island Veterinary Referral” in 1993,
these core values are responsible for the success the center enjoys
today.
Dr. Meyer “Mike” Kaplan, veterinary
surgeon and owner of Levittown Animal Hospital, was convinced Long
Island was ready for a veterinary specialist
center and formed
Island Veterinary Referral with Dr. John Sapienza, veterinary
ophthalmologist, that first year. Almost immediately, Dr. Rada
Panich, veterinary dermatologist, and Dr. Dominic J. Marino,
veterinary surgeon, joined them, recognizing the potential and
sharing in the common
vision. It was readily apparent to all a
synergy existed and this incredible energy benefited both the
doctors and their patients. The growth at
Levittown Animal Hospital was unprecedented
and soon began to
“crowd” the functions of the very popular general practice at the
same facility. During the intense planning to relocate the
growing referral center, Dr. Mike Kaplan was diagnosed with a fatal
brain malignancy without warning. Although he never worked at
the new Plainview facility, he monitored its development closely,
advised the founding members when asked to help and imparted a
wealth of common sense management skills and life experiences to
three young, enthusiastic specialists embarking on the development
of the largest veterinary center in the tri-state region.
In June 1998, Island Veterinary
Referral became Long Island Veterinary Specialists and opened its
doors to the public. Before passing, Dr. Mike Kaplan visited the
facility; seeing it operational made him smile. With a staff of 24
dedicated and overworked employees, case after case received care
never thought possible at Long Island’s first veterinary specialist
center with a CT scanner and a fully-equipped emergency and critical
care center. Within weeks, the staff doubled to forty and extra
telephone lines were added to handle the unexpected call volume. Joined by an array of specialists in almost every specialty
discipline, LIVS has become
a regional specialist
resource not only for pet owners, but also for family veterinarians, local
veterinary specialists and even veterinary schools. Experienced specialists,
advanced equipment found at a handful of centers in the country and
a dedicated staff have made LIVS the place where veterinary
specialists send cases for advanced diagnostics and treatments
ranging from brain surgery, intraocular lens implantation, cancer
therapy, hip
replacements, cardiac evaluations, allergy testing and
therapy and MRI. Referrals for care at LIVS have not only come from
the local area and tri-state region, but from Florida, Texas, the
U.S. Virgin Islands and even Japan!
Despite all challenges, natural or
man-made, LIVS has never closed its doors nor refused a case.
Although the most recent winter blizzard strained the hospital
resources, the staff, as always, met the challenge. With employees
voluntarily sleeping at the facility to maintain patient staffing,
while others drove to pick-up the willing to relieve the weary on
duty, LIVS was one of the few veterinary emergency centers open from
Brooklyn to Montauk. Staff doctors (founders included), nurses,
employees and even grateful pet owners shoveled snow around the
clock for days to keep the path clear to the hospital doors and so,
like it had done in the past, LIVS stayed open—the way Dr. Kaplan
would have expected. He always knew it would be successful, he told
the founding members, but not like this!
