Richard W. Fredericks was born in 1942 to his Veterinarian father Arthur W. Fredericks and his mother Ruth in Northport, New York. He completed his undergraduate studies at Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 1965. From there, he attended Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine. Immediately following graduation, he was in private practice at Belmont Racetrack in Floral Park, New York, where he tended to the veterinary needs of the racing community. A few years later, he returned to Northport and continued the mixed practice tradition of his father’s generation with a concentration on horses, dogs, and cats as Long Island moved away from farming. In 1982, Dr. Fredericks became certified by the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society, and began successfully utilizing these techniques in his practice. In 1985, he created the current practice at 835 Fort Salonga Road and turned the original facility into a boarding kennel and grooming center that exists today. Dr. Richard W. Fredericks continues to practice part-time while maintaining over 30 hours of continuing education each year [citation].