Solving the puzzle to help your pet live a longer and better life.
We understand that seeing your pet experience unusual symptoms or act out of the ordinary can be stressful – especially if you don’t know what’s wrong. Fortunately, our veterinary internal medicine team is made up of experts in diagnosing and treating diseases of your pet’s various body systems, and we’re here to help.
Our commitment is not just to treat illnesses; it’s to enhance the well-being of your pet and be with you every step of the way.
If your pet has an acute or chronic condition, you’ll have an entire internal medicine team helping to improve your pet’s quality of life so you can get back to what matters most – spending precious moments together.
Your pet will receive unparalleled medical care during their time at the hospital (and they’ll be spoiled with love and attention, too).
Your pet can’t tell us what’s wrong, so we use sophisticated diagnostics and imaging tools to uncover the source of the problem.
Just as no two patients are the same, neither are their treatment plans. Our internal medicine team has experience with a range of advanced procedures and minimally invasive options to get your pet on the path to wellness, including:
Experience makes all the difference.
Our internal medicine team is made up of veterinarians, vet technicians and assistants, and support staff with rigorous training and experience in specialty medicine. The team works hand in hand to provide the comprehensive, compassionate care your pet needs and deserves. Because we’re a multidisciplinary hospital, the team can consult the expertise of other specialty departments, too.
Dr. Melissa Gettinger finds gratifying the human-animal bond and its role in the diagnosis, treatment and management of the chronic diseases so often seen in internal medicine. Her particular clinical interests include immune-mediated blood conditions, lower urinary tract disease and kidney diseases. She also enjoys performing minimally invasive procedures.
A Pittsburgh native, Dr. Gettinger likes watching hockey, cooking and DIY home renovations. She has a dog Finnegan and two cats, Stella and Archie.
After her residency, Dr. Lisa Sepesy worked in academia at Ontario Veterinary College and Cornell University. Her particular clinical interests include endocrine and gastrointestinal diseases, and hepatic disorders.
Dr. Sepesy returns to Ithaca, NY every year to participate in an annual fundraiser in which she swims across Cayuga Lake. Other interests include travel, hiking and birding. She has two golden retriever rescues, Snicker and Amber, and a Yorkie/Maltese mix named Little Bear-Bear.
Growing up in New Jersey, Dr. Rachel Smith did not have any pets, so she convinced her parents to let her volunteer at farms and spent her summers at horse camps. When Dr. Smith moved to the Twin Cities for her residency, where her research focused on proteinuria, she met Payton, the service dog who changed careers to become her first pet. Dr. Smith likes the variety of internal medicine and helping pets live their best lives at home with their family. She enjoys performing ultrasounds and endoscopic procedures.
Outside of the hospital, Dr. Smith enjoys traveling with her partner, swimming and cooking.
We want you to be prepared for your pet’s visit to the internist, so you have one less thing to worry about. Our entire BluePearl team will be with you every step of the way.
Take the first step to getting your pet back to their best self – call us to speak with the internal medicine team and make an appointment.
Prioritize your pet’s health with the experts in specialty medicine.