By Kimberly Shannon

Dr. Ulysses R. Rosenzweig of Argos Animal Health PLLC is carrying on a tradition of old — he’s making house calls. From Woodstock to New Paltz and from Poughkeepsie to lower Hudson County, the veterinarian with an appropriate name for someone who travels treats his patients in the comfort and safety of their own homes. Animal hospitals are often packed with nervous, confused pets, scared to be away from their familiar surroundings. Rosenzweig offers an alternative.

“I really wanted to do something that wasn’t being done, I felt, adequately by the general practitioners,” he said. “People hate to travel because their animals get sick on the way or throw up in their carriers or want to fight all the animals they see in the office because they get all stressed out.”

Unlike traditional house-call doctors, Dr. Rosenzweig’s service comes complete with modern medical equipment that he brings to every job. He can do regular exams, vaccinations and titers, bloodwork and diagnosis, Lyme disease tests, treatment of parasites and management of chronic disease. One of the biggest appeals of his business, however, is at-home gentle euthanasia.

“Especially for dogs that have trouble walking or getting around, animal hospitals can be stressful and upsetting. With us, they’re in their own house, and they’re lying on their own dog bed with their own dog toys right there, and the owners can hold them and hug them and be right there,” said Licensed Veterinary Technician Stephanie Bonavito, who works closely with Rosenzweig. LVT Helen Woogler also assists Rosenzweig in his practice.

Rosenzweig additionally takes care of geriatric wellness evaluations, individual vaccine protocols, and microchip placement. He can even deliver prescription diets to your door.  He is currently in the process of developing an online pharmacy where clients can order prescription medication to be shipped to them directly.

Rosenzweig says he has always had a love for animals, having grown up in a house filled with adopted stray dogs. He attended Antioch College before transferring to New York University. During his time there, he worked as a zookeeper at the Bronx Zoo, and later became a fulltime zookeeper at the children’s zoo in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. He went on to study at Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine in St. Kitts, and then completed his education in 2002 at Oklahoma State University before settling down in the Hudson Valley.

Rosenzweig’s experience, however, goes beyond being a paid doctor. He has always taken an interest in public service. “I worked in a local hospital up here and it was a great experience — meeting everyone there, working with the doctors, meeting the people, working with the animals — it just really clicked, and I knew that’s what I wanted to do,” Rosenzweig said.

Rosenzweig offers his services at least once a week to animals in shelters. He often helps out at the Ulster County SPCA and the Kingston Animal Shelter. He offers rabies clinics, as well as low-cost spaying and neutering, in order to reduce the number of feral animals in the area.

Exams can be booked online at the Argos Animal Health website, hudsonvalleyvet.com. You can also reach Argos Animal Health at (845) 853-3727 or at HudsonValleyVet@gmail.com or TechSteph@HudsonValleyVet.com.