We understand that work responsibilities, family obligations and other stresses can make a person’s life hectic, and that includes taking care of your pet’s health within normal business hours.
Couple that with the fact that transport of the pet and being in an animal hospital are also huge stressors on the pets themselves, and it’s easy to see why we felt the need to start Veterinarian On Wheels, PLLC.
Dr. Kristen Andersen
Dr. Kristen Andersen (-Mercer) has always had a strong and dedicated passion for helping animals and practicing quality, pragmatic veterinary medicine. She has worked in some of the best specialty and general practices in New York City and Long Island for 10 years. Throughout those positions, she has always kept in mind her dream to bring high-quality and affordable care to her much-loved community in the Port Washington area. Dr. Andersen grew up in Roslyn & Port Washington, spending most of her time with her grandfather, Harry, as well as her family’s plethora of pets. This was where her love for animals truly began from an early age.
She graduated from Hofstra University in 2001 with a Bachelors of Science in Biochemistry and received a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2006. While in school she completed preceptorships in emergency medicine and neurology at County Animal Clinic in Westchester, NY as well as shelter and behavioral medicine at the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).
Eager to pursue specialty training after graduating from Iowa State, she accepted an internship at Fifth Avenue Veterinary Specialists in New York City in 2006. This is where she realized her passion for emergency medicine and critical care. From there she went to work as an emergency doctor at Animal Specialty Center in Yonkers, NY and truly loved her time there. While in Yonkers she served on the Board of the Yonkers Humane Society and HEAL (Humans Enriching Animals Lives).
Although emergency work was her passion, she wanted to give back to the community and provide quality medicine for ALL animals, so she accepted a position at North Shore Animal League in the fall of 2009. She truly believes that every animal deserves the highest-quality veterinary care and to be treated with compassion, patience, and dignity.
After a time at NSAL, Dr. Andersen was offered a chance to work in private practice at East Islip Veterinary Group and saw it as an opportunity to connect more with people, as well as their pets. While there, she thoroughly enjoyed helping her patients and educating clients on all the options they had to care for their pets. Because she was the only full-time doctor on staff, she was able to learn much about practice management, which ultimately piqued her interest in starting her own veterinary practice.
While at East Islip, she also started working as a surgeon on Helping PAW – a low cost spay-neuter truck dedicated to promoting the animal welfare cause, which she still spends a portion of her time helping with. In 2012, shortly after starting at Helping PAW, she was offered a full time position at Peace Love Pets Veterinary Care in Commack, NY where she worked side by side with one of Long Island's best internal medicine specialists. Dr. Andersen spent three years enjoying her time at PLP and learning from all the rare, unusual, and critical cases referred to the practice from neighboring hospitals. Dr. Andersen has been a member of the AVMA, NYSVMS and LIVMA since 2006.
She is so grateful and proud to be able to offer her services and expertise to the animals and communities of Port Washington, Manhasset, Great Neck, Plandome, and Roslyn. Our Healing Wheels™ Veterinary Care is dedicated to providing high quality, compassionate and affordable care in the comfort and convenience of your home! We look forward to meeting you and helping your pets.
Cody Mercer
Cody is the Co-founder, Manager and Marketing Director for VOW.
Raised on a farm in Southwest Iowa, Cody grew up surrounded by dogs, cats and livestock. It was there he learned his love for nature and all its creatures.
After high school, Cody attended Iowa State University, eventually receiving dual degrees in Advertising & Psychology. He also met the loves of his life - his wife and two dogs.
Soon he found himself moving to New York with his new family, and ultimately embarked on a successful career working in Media on some of the largest accounts in the NYC media agency world. In fact, when not attending to his duties for VOW / Healing Wheels™, he is busy balancing his time between family and work in the agency world.
Cody's goal in opening our Healing Wheels™ practice is give back to animals just a fraction of what they have given to him throughout his life. He also enjoys meeting new people, and hopes that he can help them find a vet service that helps them navigate the sometimes demanding & time-consuming nature of life in the city.
Daria Izad
Daria is our Head Veterinary Technician and also a native to Long Island, New York. Ever since she was a child, she chose to spend most of her time bettering the lives of animals and sharing their wonders with the people around her. From a very young age, she combined the worlds of animal science and fine arts; both being very important aspects of her life.
Daria started riding horses when she was five years old. In grade school she began volunteering for the Long Island Riding Association for the Handicap while pursuing her personal equestrian goals. She also volunteered at local animal shelters during this time. Simultaneously, she attended an after school academy for fine arts which lead her to attain a Bachelors in Fine Arts at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Daria had the privilege of being able to immerse herself, not only in the art field, but also engaging in marine biology, epidemiology and animal behavior. She frequented Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo where she did research on Cinereous vultures. She spent her "down-time" volunteering for the city’s horse carriage company, where she helped care for draft horses as well as dressage horses.
After graduating, Daria returned to Long Island to follow her ambitions in veterinary medicine. She began working as a veterinary assistant in a private practice which she stayed with for two and a half years. Here, she gained a special interest in treating local wildlife. After this realization, she decided to travel to Guatemala to work with an exotic veterinarian at the ARCAS Wildlife Protection and Rescue Center in between semesters. Daria later gained a position assisting a small animal internal medicine specialist, which further increased her knowledge of the high quality veterinary care available to pet owners. Having a passion for surgery, she simultaneously began working with a low cost spay and neuter clinic.
Daria is currently working towards gaining her prerequisites at SUNY Old Westbury with the hopes of becoming a veterinarian while she continues to ride and train horses in the area. She is also an active member of Volunteers for Wildlife where she helps rehabilitate native animals. We are so excited to have someone as talented and dedicated as Daria join Veterinarian On Wheels. Her enthusiasm for making a difference and helping all animals in need makes her a perfect fit!
VOW / Healing Wheels Staff
Dr. Kristen Andersen-Mercer
Co-founder & Chief Medical Doctor
Cody Mercer Co-founder, Manager & Marketing Director
Daria Izad Head Veterinary Technician
Primary Service Areas
Port Washington
Great Neck
Manhasset
Roslyn
Plandome
Sands Point
Roslyn Heights
