BluePearl Pet Hospital
Downtown NYC

Dr. Arias is a small animal medicine and surgery intern. He has a degree in veterinary technology and has a keen interest in surgery. He has also volunteered with wildlife rescues and conservatories outside the U.S.

Dr. Arias loves spending time with his daughter, also training for a healthier lifestyle, and giving belly rubs to his pitbull, Prince.

Dr. Aparna Arun is a small animal surgery intern. She finds it gratifying to see quick recoveries from surgical intervention, so two of her favorite procedures include trauma reconstruction and foreign body removals.

Dr. Arun loves exploring restaurants and fitness classes with her husband. She often makes watercolor paintings of places to which she’s travelled.

Dr. Ira Balea is interested in all aspects of emergency medicine.

Dr. Balea is an avid reader. She also enjoys exploring various cuisines and running along the Hudson River.

Dr. Emily Bien enjoys all aspects of emergency medicine.

Dr. Bien enjoys traveling and spending time with friends and family, which includes her rescue dog, Pippa.

Dr. Alex Blutinger’s particular clinical interests include mechanical ventilation, toxicities and polytrauma.

Dr. Blutinger is a DJ who also enjoys music production and surfing. He has an English golden retriever named Gemma who lives for swimming, tennis balls, squirrels and affection.

Dr. Kelly Braly enjoys all aspects of emergency medicine, especially treating trauma patients.

Dr. Braly likes to travel, especially through Europe. She has a boxer mix named Waveland.

Dr. Brooke Britton is particularly interested in the treatment of hematological malignancies and cancers of the lung.

Dr. Britton enjoys spending time with her family, which includes her husband and their French bulldog Niles. She is an avid foodie and counts horseback riding, photography, and world travel among her many interests.

Dr. Rachel Carlson is especially interested in acute trauma, wound management and all aspects of critical care.

Dr. Carlson loves surfing, traveling and biking. In New York City, she tries to eat all the food the city has to offer. Her dog is a miniature dachshund named Pickles.

Dr. Ally Yi Chen likes treating trauma and sepsis cases, along with electrolyte and endocrine disorders. Abdominal and thoracic trauma ultrasounds are also a particular interest.

Some of Dr. Chen’s favorite pastimes include swimming, climbing, baking, reading and going to shows or museums. She has a dog named Schmitty.

Dr. Nicole Cilli is a resident in our critical care service. Her particular interests include toxicity cases, hematology and chest tube procedures.

Dr. Cilli’s hobbies include yoga, wine tasting and attending art and culture events. She has a Chihuahua named Nermal.

Dr. Emily Ehmann has a particular interest in surgical emergencies but enjoys all aspects of emergency medicine because she is able to help pets and their family members when they need it most.

Dr. Ehmann is passionate about volunteering at animal shelters and participating in animal foster programs. She enjoys cycling, long distance running, traveling, hiking, cooking and exploring New York City. Andi is her pit bull mix, and Hector is her cat.

Dr. Philip Fico’s particular clinical interests include electrolyte derangements and treating sepsis and polytrauma cases.

Dr. Fico is an amateur illustrator and Muay Thai fighter. He and his wife have a cat named Ruby.

Dr. Jeffrey Ganus is especially interested in cardiac and respiratory emergencies; metabolic and endocrine diseases; and immune-mediated diseases such as immune-mediated hemolytic anemia and immune-mediated thrombocytopenia.

Dr. Ganus enjoys snowboarding, skiing, biking, tennis, hiking and hanging out in Central Park. Passionate about food and music, Dr. Ganus named his English bulldog, Monk, after the jazz pianist Thelonious Monk.

Dr. Sarah Gershen likes treating polytrauma, hemoperitoneum and neurologic cases.

Some of Dr. Gershen’s favorite pastimes include relaxing at the beach, snowboarding, traveling and hiking with her dog.

Dr. Laura Gibeon enjoys all aspects of emergency medicine.

Dr. Gibeon enjoys rock climbing, skiing and time with her family, which includes two cats, Sponge and Schmutzig.

As a veterinarian with advanced training in anesthesia and pain management, Dr. Elizabeth Goudie-DeAngelis knows the value to a patient’s recovery of a well formulated treatment plan, and she enjoys educating other veterinarians on how best to formulate those plans. Her favorite cases are the challenging critical ones, such as shock, hemorrhage and electrolyte abnormalities.

Dr. Goudie-DeAngelis' hobbies include running, restoring historic houses, reading fiction, cooking and gardening. She and her husband have a mixed breed dog and two cats.

Dr. Griego-Valles' special interests include ventilator therapy, transfusion medicine, fluid therapy for shock resuscitation, coagulopathies, and trauma, particularly traumatic brain injury.

Dr. Griego-Valles spends her off duty time running, traveling, exploring NYC for the best meal, and getting lost in bookstores. She considers her house an apartment zoo, with two dogs and five cats, that she would like to write about one day in a bilingual children’s book series.

Dr. Araujo is a small animal medicine and surgery intern. She finds it gratifying to work on cases with open wounds and infectious disease cases like parvovirus where she can help the animals heal well.

Dr. Araujo has played the violin since she was three. She has traveled with orchestras in the U.S., Mexico and Europe. Her other hobbies include reading, watching movies and exploring new places. She has a cat and a dog.

Interested in all aspects of emergency medicine, Dr. Alex Halasz finds toxicity cases especially gratifying to treat.

Dr. Halasz enjoys playing the cello, ballet and reading. She has a Pomeranian named Bella and a crested gecko named Lyle.

Dr. Hvidtfeldt is a small animal medicine and surgery intern. Her clinical interest is with small animal surgery. She enjoys surgery because she likes working with her hands and this area of veterinary medicine allows her to directly visualize pathology. She finds the delicate surgical procedures intriguing and the immediate results of the work extremely satisfying.

Dr. Hvidtfeldt is originally from Denmark. She now lives in New York with her husband and a senior rescue dog. Her hobbies include traveling, cultural experiences and foreign cuisine. (She has visited more than 40 countries!)

Dr. Sarah Kalafut particularly enjoys treating orthopedic cases, including stifle disorders, like cranial cruciate ligament disease and luxating patellas; juvenile diseases, such as elbow dysplasia and angular limb deformities; and fractures. Skilled in all aspects of minimally invasive surgery including laparoscopy, thoracoscopy and arthroscopy, some of the procedures she performs include laparoscopic ovary, retained testicle, spleen, and bladder stone removal; laparoscopic liver and GI biopsies; laparoscopic gastropexy procedures; thoracoscopic lung tumor removal and treatment of chylothorax; and arthroscopic joint exploration and fragment removal.

Dr. Kalafut’s favorite pastimes include traveling, cooking, horseback riding, wine tasting and trying new restaurants with her husband. They have two dogs, Labradoodle Cole, and Remy, a Doque de Bordeaux.

Dr. Melissa King-Smith enjoys all aspects of emergency medicine.

Dr. King-Smith enjoys exploring New York City with her husband and dog Quilla, a Newfoundland. The family also includes two brother cats, Merry and Pippin.

Dr. Michaël Lora-Michiels previously worked as a family veterinarian in Bogota, Colombia. He enjoys all aspects of diagnostic imaging.

Trained in all aspects of internal medicine, Dr.Genevieve Mak especially likes performing laparoscopic procedures, like endoscopies and rhinoscopies, and performing fine needle aspirations via ultrasound.

Dr. Mak loves eating at new restaurants. She’s also obsessed with bubble tea, a tea-based mixture with fruit flavor or milk and tapioca. Her alone time is spent reading, especially the fantasy and supernatural genre. She has two cats, Kon and Donatella.

Dr. Rebecca Meltzer is a doctor in our emergency service. She particularly enjoys treating feline obstructions.

Dr. Meltzer loves eating out and trying new or exotic dishes. She also likes hiking and spending time outdoors, but her favorite pastime is snuggling on the couch with her cat Charlie. She also has a Russian tortoise, Sputnik.

Dr. Keith Mihansky is especially interested in the treatment of patients after trauma, wound management, endocrine disease, pain management, and caring for geriatric patients.

Dr. Mihansky loves cooking and traveling. He also enjoys going to the gym, the beach and concerts. His dog is named Sophie and his orange tabby cat is Michelangelo.

Dr. Ozog has a broad range of experiences and veterinary interests. Throughout veterinary school, she pursued additional training in surgery, dentistry, and shelter medicine. Her clinical interests include internal medicine, general surgery, dermatology, ophthalmology, dentistry, and pain management.

Dr. Ozog enjoys exploring New York City and its diverse cuisine. She shares her home with a rambunctious adult female Jack Russell terrier and senior female domestic shorthair cat.

Dr. Philippa Pavia has performed research on feline liver tumor resection, tumors of the bladder and canine ureteral stents. Her clinical interests include stifle, or knee, disease, minimally invasive surgery, wound management and surgical oncology. She is also excited to be involved in training the next generation of veterinarians as the intern program coordinator for New York.

Dr. Pavia is a member of the Wildlife Conservation Society and hopes to become more involved in their conservation efforts. She rides and trains horses, plays the violin, and will take any cooking challenge. Dr Pavia’s dog is rescued Chiweenie Pierre.

Dr. Pettinari is a small animal medicine and surgery intern. He is interested in abdominal ultrasonography and all types of MRIs. He also enjoys teaching.

Dr. Pettinari has a 12-year-old chinchilla named Marshmallow and a 5-year-old Staffie mix named Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law. He enjoys playing and watching football, martial arts, baking fudge, knitting and gardening.

Dr. Pooja Rathore enjoys all aspects of emergency medicine.

Dr. Pooja Rathore has volunteered on Native American reservations in Arizona and New Mexico; worked with thoroughbred racehorses in India; and worked in Sri Lanka with the Millennium Elephant Foundation. She is passionate about dancing and enjoys horseback riding.

As an emergency clinician, Dr. Sarah Schiff’s particular interests include unblocking cats with urethral obstructions and performing laceration repairs. She also enjoys soft tissue surgery and oncology cases.

Some of Dr. Schiff’s favorite pastimes include travel, playing volleyball and cake decorating. She has a yellow lab named Evvie.

Dr. Schreffler is a small animal and surgery intern. She is interested in internal medicine, emergency medicine, and critical care. She is passionate about addressing the specific needs of senior pets and their families. She is also Fear-Free Certified so that she can provide care in a compassionate and low-stress manner.

Dr. Schreffler enjoys live music, exploring the city, and learning new songs on the guitar, ukulele, and banjo. She has a rescue guinea pig named John.

Dr. Judy Seltzer enjoys the challenge of managing long-term diseases and building a strong relationship with her clients and patients, many of whom she has seen for years. Her clinical interests include immune-mediated skin diseases and intradermal skin tests, which are still considered to be the gold standard for atopic dermatitis.

Dr. Seltzer’s favorite pastimes include dining out, cooking, skiing and traveling. She has four cats: Katt, Kabuki, Huxley, named after a layer of the hair follicle, and Allie, rescued from a NYC alley.

Dr. Stephanie Silberstang's special interests include wound management, respiratory diseases and critical care.

Dr. Silberstang enjoys rock climbing/bouldering, walking her dogs, traveling abroad, listening to live music and Asian food. A pitbull lover, Dr. Silberstang has two pit bull-Catahoula mixes named Tembo and Laika and a cockatiel named Doobie.

Dr. Smith is a small animal medicine and surgery intern. Her clinical interests include endocrine disease, kidney disease, ophthalmology, and all things exotic/zoo/aquatic animal medicine. She also started an Asian elephant microbiome research project between UC Davis SVM and the University of Peradeniya Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.

Dr. Smith’s hobbies include playing volleyball, photography, dancing, and traveling to new countries.

Skilled in all aspects of internal medicine, Dr. Emma Stanley’s favorite disorders to manage include endocrinopathies, kidney disease, primary gastrointestinal (GI) disease and all aspects of feline internal medicine.

Dr. Stanley’s hobbies include long distance running, going to the beach, trying new Manhattan restaurants with her husband, and relaxing with cats Dinah, Amelia and Louie.

Dr. Laura Stock's particular clinical interests include intoxications and endocrine diseases.

Dr. Stock enjoys time with her husband running, biking, hiking and eating her way through NYC. They share their home with a ridgeless Rhodesian ridgeback and two cats.

Dr. Weissman is a small animal and surgery intern. He is especially interested in the integration of medical, radiation, and surgical oncology to achieve the best clinical outcome for his patients. He also co-authored the first report of the successful treatment of squamous cell neoplasia in a pot-bellied pig.

When Dr. Weissman is not at the hospital, he enjoys hiking, cooking, finding new restaurants, and traveling. He has a cat named Rosita, who’s moving with him from Missouri to New York.

Dr. Lauren Wiley says that she was born wanting to be a veterinarian but confirmed that decision at the age of 11 when she witnessed her miniature horse’s C-section. Her fascination for cardiology came when her first Portuguese water dog had a litter of puppies, five of whom didn’t survive because of a cardiomyopathy. She’s a huge fan of pacemakers, especially with paroxysmal complete atrioventricular blocks in cats, because they provide one of the few cardiac cures. Additionally, Dr. Wiley finds it gratifying to treat all forms of cardiomyopathies and to help guide pet owners through the stress of treating congestive heart failure. Two of her most recent research projects include a pathology study on the anatomy of the feline tricuspid valve and the use of isosorbide for the treatment of congestive heart failure.

Away from the hospital, Dr. Wiley enjoys swimming, yoga and horseback riding with Jordan, her Arabian Morgan mare. She admits to really loving cats, and even crotchets sweaters for her three: Billie Jean and Beanface are both Devon rex, and Oksana Baiul is a Cornish rex. Genny is her Portuguese water dog who goes everywhere with her.

In addition to being an emergency clinician, Dr. David Wohlstadter is a certified canine rehabilitation therapist. This therapy has been shown to improve dogs’ mobility and strength, particularly for geriatric dogs suffering from arthritic conditions and other musculoskeletal and neurologic conditions. Rehab is also particularly helpful after surgery for all ages to help dogs regain muscle mass and coordination.

Dr. Wohlstadter is married to a veterinarian and enjoys spending time with his large family, which includes many people, many dogs and many cats.

Dr. Adam Yoskowitz sees diagnostic imaging as puzzle solving, communication, case discussion, collaboration and complex imaging technology. He particularly enjoys diagnostic ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Dr. Yoskowitz shares his time away from work with Tooey, his calico domestic medium-haired cat.

Dr. Sarah Zelinski volunteered with Veterinarians Without Borders on their Goat Pass-On project in Uganda where she taught single mothers and widows how to raise goats to help them support their families.

Dr. Zelinski enjoys camping, hiking and yoga, and on free evenings, she can be found at a local concert or sampling craft beer at a neighborhood pub. Monty is her French bulldog.