Steve Rabinowitz’s passion foranimals fueled a gruelingroadtobecoming a vet
The unofficial “greeter” at the clinic is Yodels, a massive Bernie’s mountain dog whose exuberance better befits a puppy than a 100-pound adult dog. Yodels belongs to clinic partner Dr. Steve Rabinowitz, DVM, who himself belongs to an even rarer breed: frum veterinarians.
Steve Rabinowitz knew he wanted to be a veterinarian since he was in fourth grade. “I grew up in a house where we had dogs, cats and rabbits,” says the Queens native. “Both sets of grandparents, and my aunt and uncle, had dogs. In the summer, we’d go upstate, and my mother would take us to horse farms.”
He leads us back into the treatment room, where an anesthetized beagle is lying on a table, her eyes glazed and her tongue lolling out. Her teeth are being treated today for accumulations of tartar and fractures. “There’s no way to do this without anesthetizing the dog,” Dr. Rabinowitz says, his hands in her mouth. “Some dogs today even get braces and root canals.”
His own pet, Yodels, is actually due for a vaccine, of a sort that is squirted into the mouth. To demonstrate the procedure, Dr. Rabinowitz leaves the beagle in the hands of an assistant and now leads Yodels into an examining room (this one contains a hoist for larger animals). Yodels suppresses his natural friskiness to obey his master’s commands to sit and lie down, which are issued with gentle authority and reinforced with dog biscuits. Eventually Dr. Rabinowitz is able to open his mouth to spritz in the vaccine.
Create a free account to keep reading.
