Veterinarian Serving Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, Irvington and Surrounding Areas
We're pleased to offer the following services at Sleepy Hollow Animal Hospital
Health and Well-Being
Preserving the daily health of your pet is the most important thing that we can do as a team, with you at the helm. Physical exams, selecting appropriate vaccinations, identifying parasites and discussions about nutrition, as well as medical, surgical and dental care, we provide the most effective veterinary services available.
From the moment you enter Sleepy Hollow Animal Hospital, you are comforted by feelings of care and compassion by the entire staff. We emphasize cleanliness, you are greeted cheerfully and we always strive to make your wait as short as possible, apologizing when emergencies make that difficult.
We are happy to discuss all aspects of health and well-being with you. Our most important job is to help you understand the steps necessary for disease prevention. From housebreaking issues to poisonous plants, from weight control to diet selection, we will always work with you in a way that will make you understand why our motto is: "For your pet's health and your peace of mind!"
Emergencies
Emergencies are accepted anytime our clinic is open. If you feel you have an emergency with your pet, please call us or come in immediately. If possible it is best to call before coming in so that a staff member can advise you on your particular emergency.
We have a veterinarian and personnel on duty six days a week who are trained and equipped to handle any urgent care your pet has. Usually an emergency team consists of at least one veterinarian and several technicians working together to save a pet's life. Emergencies can be things such as accidental ingestion of rat poison, being hit by a car, and chocolate ingestion. If you ever feel that your pet needs emergency treatment do not hesitate to call or come in immediately.
We are also available for urgent care when the condition is not life-threatening. If you feel your pet needs to be seen before you are able to get an appointment, our veterinarians will work to "squeeze" you in between scheduled appointments. When you arrive, our receptionists will be able to give you an estimate on how long you may have to wait in order to be seen.
For After Hours Emergencies, click here
Diagnostics
We are equipped to make a rapid and accurate diagnosis of your pet's illness using in-house blood and urine analyzers, giving us extensive information about blood cells (red and white, as well as platelets and reticulocytes), organ function and overall physiology (liver and kidney values, proteins, Calcium, blood sugar and more), as well as electrolytes (Sodium, Potassium and Chloride). This not only helps with initial diagnosis but also helps us monitor ongoing therapies.
We also use a nationally recognized reference laboratory capable of sophisticated tests unable to be performed in-house. This affords our hospital access to pathologists, cytologists, and microbiologists to obtain more diagnostic information on your pet's condition. Results are downloaded directly into our computerized medical records to help expedite appropriate treatments.
Fecal examinations, ear swabs, and skin scrapes are evaluated microscopically on a daily basis to aid in the detection of parasites, infections and infestations.
We have the latest in digital radiology equipment to provide instant X-ray images on site. The studies are performed and evaluated by our doctors immediately, and when necessary, transmitted electronically to a radiology specialist for review.
Ultrasonography and endoscopic evaluation and biopsy are available to us by a mobile board-certified veterinary internist who makes regular visits to our facility for these advanced diagnostic procedures.
Cardiac consultation is performed by a board-certified veterinary cardiologist right here at Sleepy Hollow Animal Hospital. This includes chest X-rays and echocardiograms as well as EKGs when needed. These tests are evaluated by the specialists and our doctors immediately allowing us to formulate a plan for your pet immediately.
In addition, digital technology allows us to transmit photos of patients, lesions, or X-rays to specialists via email or electronically, and to receive in-depth consultations without the need
to transport the patient.
Medical Treatment
We have both the experience and expertise to treat most diseases, including the use of intravenous fluids and colloids, blood and blood elements as well as a full complement of injectable and oral medications.
Our staff is highly trained to administer the treatments prescribed by our doctors, and such things as blood pressure, EKG's and oxygen saturation measurements are all used to monitor therapies for the changing conditions of our patients' diseases. We regularly consult specialists to improve the chances of a successful outcome on the more difficult cases, and if needed, a referral to these experts is made.
There are numerous emergency and specialty clinics within Westchester and surrounding counties that can handle an emergency and can care for our critical care patients who need overnight monitoring and nursing care, or who need the additional expertise of specialists.
Surgery
There is no such thing as a routine surgery at Sleepy Hollow Animal Hospital, and great care is taken that nothing interfere with continued patient monitoring whenever anesthesia or sedation is needed. We pride ourselves on the record we have established with respect to our surgical successes.
Whether elective procedures or more urgent situations, all surgeries are performed with the most modern anesthetics. Monitoring of all parameters of our anesthetized patients is performed using modern sophisticated equipment able to measure heart rate, conduction disturbances, blood pressure, Oxygen saturation, Carbon dioxide levels, respiratory rate and internal temperature.
For the more complicated operations such as neurosurgery, orthopedics, or the removal of all or a part of certain organs, board-certified surgical specialists are called in to perform the procedure, or our patients are referred to one of our local specialty hospitals.
Pain Management
We believe that none of our patients should be in pain, and we make sure that pain is addressed as effectively as possible. Where we can help the most with pain:
Arthritis: Many modern medicines and modalities are available to relieve the crippling nature of this disease in our pets, restoring significant function and comfort to them. Glucosamine supplements are slowing down the degeneration of the joints, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID analgesics) are reducing the daily discomfort more potently than ever. Additional medications that address neuropathic pain, and some classified as narcotics are also employed. More recently, we have employed Class IV-B laser therapy and it is proving very effective at decreasing pain and inflammation associated with this debilitating disease.
Surgery: We firmly believe that no animal should wake up from surgery in pain.
We therefore provide a variety of analgesic alternatives based on the procedure and the likelihood of pain. We believe that animals who don't show pain might still be experiencing it, and we therefore assume that they are and treat them accordingly. At our disposal are a large number of agents designed for this purpose including opioids, alpha-2 agonists, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs), local analgesics like Lidocaine as well as post-operative Class IV-B laser therapy and ice-packing of incisions.
Trauma: Pain leads accident victims deeper into shock, so we assess pain in the same way we assess the rest of the damage done to a wounded individual. We believe that relief of traumatic pain should be among the highest priorities in our initial approach, and maintained throughout the treatment until comfort is restored.
Dental Services
Our technicians have been given advanced training by a board-certified veterinary dentist in modern dentistry and dental procedures. We utilize cutting-edge dental equipment to provide the most up-to-date treatments to ensure the restoration of oral health to your pet.
All dental procedures include dental radiography using state-of-the-art digital dental X-ray equipment to determine the extent of disease, including bone loss, periodontal abscesses, and tumors. Dental scaling, polishing and fluoride treatments are done routinely, and the extraction of diseased teeth is necessary to restore oral health in some patients. Obviously, every effort is made to preserve all teeth, but like in people, periodontal disease has significant consequences.
We refer to a board-certified veterinary dentist for more extensive disease, or for certain procedures such as fractured teeth, tumors of the palate, endodontics and restorations.
Instruction in at-home oral health care is provided, as well as several products to make a difficult task a bit easier.
Laser Therapy
We utilize a Multiwave Locked System (MLS) Class IV-B therapeutic laser, delivering a cold laser light to affected areas resulting in a decrease in pain and inflammation and promoting healing. We are having dramatic results treating diverse conditions, from arthritis to disk disease, hot spots, traumatic lesions, and even surgical incisions. There is no heat generated from this type of laser, so it is extremely safe with no side effects. Many patients have seen significant results using this new therapeutic equipment, and client satisfaction has been exceptional.
Travel Certificates for International Travel
Generally, any licensed veterinarian can issue health certificates for pets traveling within the continental United States (excludes Hawaii). But when your pets need to travel internationally, most countries require an international health certificate to be issued (completed, signed and dated) by a USDA accredited veterinarian. USDA Accredited Veterinarians have completed training in order to have this qualification. At Sleepy Hollow Animal Hospital, Dr. Romano has completed this training and is a USDA Accredited Veterinarian. Please schedule an appointment so he can go over the steps involved in getting your pet ready for international travel.
A few things to know in advance of your visit:
When you call to make the appointment, please be prepared to tell the receptionist what country you will be traveling to.
It is ultimately your responsibility as the pet owner to make sure your pet meets the requirements of the destination country. This often means starting the process *months* in advance. See the following link for country-specific requirements: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/pet-travel
Once you have gathered the necessary information, please call us to schedule your appointment with Dr. Romano.