Local Vet Brings Passion To New Animal Hospital

Dr. Denise Zeichner-Tamayo, of Huntington, strives to make going to the vet a stress free process for her animal patients and their owners. Long Islander New photo/Connor Beach

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com

Huntington’s newest animal hospital is making an effort to remove the stress that many pets and their owners often associate with a trip to the vet.

Dr. Denise Zeichner-Tamayo, of Huntington, opened Huntington Village Animal Hospital earlier this month, and since day one has been working to make her new state of the art veterinary facility a stress free environment.

“I built the practice to make it as stress free and easy on my patients as possible,” Zeichner-Tamayo said.

She’s made it a point to ensure everything from parking to the layout of the building was designed to make things easier for her animal patients and their owners.

The 50 Stewart Ave. space is found in the first floor of the recently-finished Icehouse Apartment building in Huntington village. There’s on-site parking with a spot designated for customers of the animal hospital.

Those patients who are particularly skittish can bypass the new, clean and spacious waiting room.

“We have the side door basically so you never have to go into the waiting room if you have an anxious pet. We tried to make separate areas for cats and dogs, and basically tried to make it a big, open and clean layout so it decreases stress and doesn’t have that typical hospital smell that makes can make the pets nervous,” Zeichner-Tamayo said.

Zeichner-Tamayo, 34, brings a vigorous passion for helping animals to her new practice, which she described as “a dream come true.”

“I’m a younger vet, and having just opened my practice I bring this new passion,” Zeichner-Tamayo said. “It’s so exciting and thrilling, and in my staff I’ve really found a team of people that are just as excited as I am.”

A lifelong animal lover, Zeichner-Tamayo earned both her undergraduate and veterinarian degrees from Cornell University before completing a year long internship at Long Island Veterinary Specialists in Plainview. She spent three years as a staff clinician in emergency and critical care at Long Island Veterinary Specialists and two years as a staff surgeon at North Shore Animal League.

Now at the helm of her own fully functioning animal hospital, Zeichner-Tamayo brings a solid background in a variety of medical procedures to bear for her patients.

“We see outpatients, appointments, wellness visits, sick visits, any kind of emergencies and we can admit patients to the hospital for hospitalization as well,” Zeichner-Tamayo said.

The Huntington Village Animal Hospital has in-house digital X-rays and lab tests available to make visits convenient for pet owners.

Zeichner-Tamayo said surgery is one of her specialties, and her animal hospital has full in-house surgical capabilities.

“I love surgery,” Zeichner-Tamayo said. “I also love doing emergency and critical care work, but also preventative medicine.”

The animal hospital can treat a variety of small mammals, from dogs and cats to rabbits, hamsters and guinea pigs, but Zeichner-Tamayo’s expertise covers more unique pets as well.

“Especially for emergencies I’ll treat anything including birds and reptiles… I’ll pretty much see anything,” Zeichner-Tamayo said.

While practicing medicine on patients who can’t tell you what’s wrong can be a challenge, Zeichner-Tamayo most enjoys forming relationships with the animals she treats and their owners.

“I love practicing medicine. I love seeing an animal get better and feel better,” Zeichner-Tamayo said. “I love knowing the pet, getting to know them and getting to know their owners and that relationship.”