When Mariia and her family fled war-torn Ukraine in October 2022, they left behind loved ones, friends, and nearly everything they cherished to seek safety for their family. After settling in Queens, the family began to rebuild their lives and struggle to regain a sense of normalcy.
So when Lary, their beloved 12-year-old Cocker Spaniel, developed a papilloma on his head that was growing larger, Mariia and her family were devastated. Without the funds to pay for the surgery to remove the growth, they feared they might lose him.
“Lary is our member of the family,” said Mariia. “We love him very much. My children can’t imagine their lives without him.”
So they reached out to the Mayor’s Alliance for help.
The Alliance does not provide medical grants. But we routinely refer pet owners to low-cost veterinary clinics and hospitals in the NYC area. So we referred Mariia to a low-cost provider for Lary’s medical care. But the estimate for his surgery was still out of reach for her family’s budget.
As luck would have it, the Alliance’s director of communications, Steve Gruber, had a fortuitous introduction that week to Evan Stoopler, who, with his wife Aimee, founded URvet Care in New York City. URvet Care is a veterinary franchise that provides urgent, specialty, and primary care for pets. With locations on the Upper East Side and Tribeca, and soon-to-come locations in Midtown and on the Upper West Side, URvet Care is a welcome addition to the ecosystem of veterinary care in New York City.
Evan had contacted Steve to discuss the hospital’s goal of working with NYC’s rescue community to provide affordable veterinary services for the animals in their care. Introducing Evan to shelters and rescue groups in NYC fit squarely into the Alliance’s role as a connector, and we were delighted to begin to make introductions to our rescue contacts.
Recognizing Evan’s deep commitment to collaboration to help animals, Steve told him about Mariia’s plight with her dog Lary. Without hesitating, Evan offered URvet Care’s services to help this family in need.
“My family and I have always been supporters of the Ukrainian people as well as in our business, as all of our interior signage is from Ukrainian artisans,” says Evan. “The opportunity to help Mariia’s family was one that resonated with us deeply. We are grateful to our Chief of Staff, Dr. Andrew Karmin, for immediately stepping in and offering to perform the necessary surgery, ensuring that Lary received the necessary and appropriate post-care.”
Mariia is beyond grateful to Evan and URvet Care. “I want to express my great gratitude for the invaluable help Evan has provided,” she says. “Thank you, URvet Care team, for your time and attention to my pet Lary. Thanks from my children – you saved their friend and now they are happy to play again with him. May your kind hearts be happy and loved, and may peace be upon you and your families.”
Evan and the URvet Care team demonstrated the very best of the veterinary profession in providing lifesaving care for Lary. Over the past two decades, the Alliance has worked with numerous veterinary practices and hospitals. We have witnessed firsthand acts of generosity and goodwill on behalf of members of the veterinary community. They are heroes, and URvet Care has clearly joined their ranks.
We are delighted to welcome URvet Care into NYC’s veterinary community and we encourage NYC’s shelters and rescue groups to reach out to Evan to explore partnership opportunities. To learn more about URvet Care and the services it provides, visit URvetCare.com or email Evan@URvetCare.com.
And we welcome Mariia, Lary, and their family to their new home in NYC where they will find New Yorkers to be some of the most welcoming and pet-loving people in the world!
Slava Ukraini!