Meyer "Mike" Kaplan, a well-known and beloved veterinary surgeon who owned Levittown Animal Hospital, saw that Long Island needed a veterinary specialty center. He formed Island Veterinary Referral, operating out of Levittown Animal Hospital with Dr. John Sapienza (veterinary ophthalmologist), Dr. Rada Panich (veterinary dermatologist), and Dr. Dominic J. Marino (veterinary surgeon). Dr. Kaplan had it right—the demand for specialty services was so great that the new referral center soon had to relocate in order to ease crowding at the Levittown facility’s popular general practice.
Sadly, during the planning to build the new center, Dr. Kaplan was diagnosed with a fatal brain malignancy. Although he would never work at the facility that became Long Island Veterinary Specialists, he was closely involved in its development, imparting a wealth of advice to the three young, enthusiastic specialists who were committed to bringing their shared vision to fruition [citation][2].