BluePearl Pet Hospital
Downtown NYC

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. Zachary Brett is a small animal medicine and surgery intern with a special interest in emergency procedures.

Dr. Brett likes to travel, exercise and play video or board games.

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.

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. 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. Jasmine Lee is a resident in our emergency and critical care service.

Dr. Lee enjoys a good cup of coffee, curling up with a good book and live music shows. Tonks is her cat who hides in obscure places and wakes up her owner at 5am when she’s bored.

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. Stephanie Park is an intern in our surgery service. She particularly enjoys soft tissue emergencies, and exotic and wildlife care.

Some of Dr. Park’s favorite pastimes include drawing, rock/tree climbing, reading and playing with her dog Toby Ramen.

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. 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. 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. Carl Smola is an intern in our surgery service. His clinical interests include orthopedic, oncologic and neurologic surgeries, as well as early correction of congenital disorders.

Dr. Smola enjoys watching and playing any sport, traveling, kayaking, hiking, and exploring NYC with his wife.

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. Kimberly Terry is an intern in our radiology service with a special interest in heart failure and respiratory diseases.

Dr. Terry is a trained aerialist, primarily on aerial silks, and enjoys training, performing and teaching circus arts. Apple is her golden retriever.

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.