BY HELAINA N. HOVITZ | In many wonderful ways, dogs are a lot like people. By the same token, they can catch many of the illnesses we humans get, including diabetes, cancer, kidney failure, pancreatitis, dementia and even a need for root canals.
Luckily, residents of the Financial District can now receive immediate care closer to home.
Pet owners who attended the Seaport Animal Hospital’s (S.A.H.) open house the afternoon of Sat., June 23 enjoyed food and freebies with their four-legged friends as they toured the newest site to join the Downtown Veterinary Medical Hospitals (D.V.M.). The group, launched back in 1982 when Dr. Mark Burns opened the Tribeca Soho Animal Hospital at 281 West Broadway, has since opened locations in Battery Park City and the West Village.
The newest location is self-contained, which means they do almost all of their lab work on site and dogs don’t have to be kept overnight while waiting for the results.
“Being able to do lab work here helps us understand the situation faster,” said Dr. Burns.
At the open house, pet owner Nichollas Levenstein and his 10-year-old poodle, Greta, said the two of them will be visiting the S.A.H. even though they live up in Midtown Manhattan.
“Here, you see someone in a white jacket right away instead of having someone at reception send you here and there, like at a larger institution,” he said. “The staff seems so friendly and caring.”
The hospital already received its five minutes of fame after being featured on the new CBS primetime show “Dogs in the City” earlier this month, but it’s still, first and foremost, a neighborhood vet, Dr. Burns said.
“We’ve gotten to know so many of these pet owners over the years from our other locations,” said the doctor. “We’ve formed strong bonds with all of them.”
Each household is entitled to one free exam for their pet at the Seaport location and, while the hospital features the same New York City rate as do the other three D.V.M. hospital locations, residents of the nearby Southbridge Towers receive a discount on annual health exams and vaccines.
But Southbridge residents welcomed the hospital with open arms well before they were apprised of the discount.
“When we first moved in, so many people just opened our door and called out ‘Welcome!’ as they passed by,” said Terry Li, practice manager of the D.V.M. group. “Because we’re inside of a complex and a community and not on the sidewalk as a storefront, there’s a really unique feel to the space.”
And since the hospital is located in such a tight-knit community, they often see several dogs with the same symptoms on a given day.
“A lot of Southbridge dogs come in all at once with the same virus, because they all come into contact with one another,” said Dr. Burns. “One day, we had an epidemic of 35 dogs with the flu.”
There’s a better chance of a shorter wait time and day-of care at the Seaport location than at the other hospitals, according to Zaida Noriego, whose tiny pup, Pito, came in for an operation last week.
“They took Pito right in, and I was able to pick him up the same day,” said the 77 Fulton St. resident. “We brought him back five days later to have his stitches taken out, which they did right away.”
S.A.H. vets make house calls — a rarity these days. This is especially convenient for Southbridge Towers’ senior population of pet owners, who comprise a fair percentage of the hospital’s recent clientele. Overall, though, because it’s so close to home, it’s pretty easy for them to get to, and the house calls have come in most handy for dogs who can’t walk or cats who won’t come out from under the bed.
Because the three other D.V.M. hospitals — located in Tribeca, Battery Park and the West Village — are all easily accessible via the A train, a staff member can be sent to bring back a vaccine or medication from the West Village location within the hour, thereby cutting costs and recovery time for the pets. And if a pet needs emergency surgery, it can also be sent overnight to the West Village location instead of to an urgent animal medical center.
The Seaport site is the only D.V.M. hospital to offer acupuncture for pets with various forms of pain. It works as well for dogs as it does for people, and in fewer sessions—the technique is slightly different for animals, though, as a frozen jar of baby food is often required to distract the pets and keep them sitting still while the pain-free needles are in place.
Now that the weather is becoming considerably warmer, Dr. Burns warns pet owners to be careful about keeping their dogs outdoors on extended walks or runs.
“People make the mistake of leaving their dogs in the car or taking them jogging down the West Side Highway or along the water, and that’s dangerous,” said Dr. Burns. “Dogs need access to cool temperatures and water. As a result of this kind of activity, they come in panting, unable to move and often collapse or pass out because they are overheated and dehydrated.”
The facility also offers various free seminars such as senior pet care, health and nutrition and dental care. A health seminar, for example, helps owners understand how to decipher their pet food labels, and pet seminars help pet owners identify telltale signs of aging and teaches them appropriate care.
“The seniors understand how their aging dogs are feeling,” said Li. “Our aim is to teach preventative methods and help better educate pet owners so that there are fewer emergencies.”
Southbridge resident Madeline Anderson would take her former pups to D.V.M.’s West Village location for 18 years. Because the new office is so close to home, the 82-year-old was able to adopt five-year-old rescue dog Chloe from Animal Haven on Centre Street in Soho.
She also had a little inside help from Dr. Burns.
“Because the Southbridge lease says that technically pets are not allowed, Dr. Burns wrote a letter on my behalf so that they would let me adopt Chloe,” the senior explained, as Chloe pawed at her lap.
“I wish Dr. Burns and the hospital arrived here sooner,” Anderson added, “but I’m sure happy they’re here now!”
