Dr. Ricarlos Guzman is the founder and owner of Assisi Veterinary Hospital. Born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens, Dr. Guzman is proud to establish a hospital serving Long Island and our neighboring boroughs.

After graduating from Florida Southern College and completing his prerequisites at the University of Florida, he continued his education at Tuskegee University School of Veterinary Medicine. While completing his degree, Dr. Guzman participated in multiple externships including one at The Animal Medical Center in New York City.

After his graduation from Tuskegee University, Dr. Guzman participated in a fourteen month internship at the West Palm Beach Veterinary Referral Service. This internship was focused on surgery, internal and emergency medicine. Dr. Guzman also worked as a general practitioner in Long Beach, New York prior to founding Assisi in 2007. Also in 2007, Dr. Guzman received accredation from the United States Department of Agriculture to perform services in connection with interstate and international animal travel.

In addition to being a Veterinarian, Dr. Guzman enjoys spending time with his wife Mariliz, whom he met in Veterinary School and is also a Veterinarian. Together, they have a wonderful baby boy, Ricarlos Saul and four other children, including two dogs; Jack, a Boxer, and Tito, a Miniature Chihuahua as well as two domestic shorthairs, Harley and Scratch. Dr. Guzman also cares for a 250 gallon salt water reef tank in his home.

Dr. Spar has been with us since September of 2009 and has been a fantastic addition to the Assisi family! Adored by clients and staff alike, this England native has called America her home since 2003.

Growing up she always had animals around, keeping rare breed sheep, horses, ducks and chickens at her family's home. After witnessing the birth of a lamb for the first time, she knew she wanted to be a Veterinarian.

For school, she attended the Royal Veterinary College in London and graduated in 2002 with a special distinction in dermatology. During her studies she completed twenty-six weeks of externships in veterinary clinics around the British Isles, even one on the tiny and beautiful Scottish Island of Orkney!

Since graduation, Dr. Spar worked briefly as a small animal and zoo veterinarian in England before coming to America. For the last 6 years, she has worked in Rockville Centre as a general small animal practitioner. Some of her favorite areas of medicine are dermatology and senior patient care. Dr. Spar is also married to a Veterinarian named Brian, and together they have a three year old daughter named Ella, who enjoys playing with their two cats; Ainsley, and Silvio.

Dr. Chen was raised in Huntington Beach, California. He attended University of California at Berkeley for his undergraduate work and majored in integrated biology. After completing his bachelor's degree, he went on to earn a master's degree in laboratory animal science from Hahnemann University in Philadelphia, PA before attending Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine.

Upon completing his education in 2004, Dr. Chen went on to do an internship at Long Island Veterinary Specialty Hospital in Plainview. During his internship, he rotated through emergency, oncology, ophthalmology, dermatology, internal medicine and surgery before going on to practice at a small animal hospital in Halesite, NY before joining us here at Assisi.

Dr. Chen enjoys every aspect being a Veterinarian and has a special interest in ophthalmology and surgery. At home, he has a 3 year old son named Tyler and a 10 year old mixed breed dog named Maximus who he rescued from the Island of Saint Kitts. He also enjoys doing home improvements, cooking, and gardening as well as skiing, snowboarding, working out, and playing basketball and softball.

Maria came to Assisi with eleven years of experience as a Veterinary Receptionist as well as Reception Manager. She has loved animals since she was a child and found this to be a great field to work in after raising her four children. As our Office Manager, Maria really enjoys tending to our client's needs and seeing the smile on their face when they walk out our door. At home, Maria has three cats; Frankie and Ralphie, both domestic shorthairs as well as Oreo, a black and white domestic long hair. She also has a Pomeranian named Rocko.

Cathy came to Assisi with ten years of experience as a Veterinary Receptionist. She has a genuinely warm nature and loves working at an animal hospital because she enjoys helping pets and their people alike. She loves greeting our furry friends and answering owner's questions or helping them through the sometimes difficult times as well. In addition to working at Assisi, Cathy and her husband Eddie care for two dogs; a chocolate Lab named Katie and a black Lab mix named Carly. She also has two fabulous daughters and two feline grandchildren!

Nicole has been working in the veterinary field for four years. She started as a Veterinary Receptionist in Lynbrook and because of her strong love for animals and desire to help people, she has chosen to continue in that role here at Assisi. She loves meeting all the clients that come into our office and making sure their pets are happy. At home, Nicole cares for two dogs; Dallas and Honey as well as two cats; Speed and Sonny. She also enjoys traveling, movies and relaxing with her dogs. In addition to working at Assisi, Nicole attends Nassau Community College where she is working toward a degree in social work.

Working at Assisi was Jennifer's first experience in the veterinary field, however, she had years of customer service experience and loved being able to apply her skills at Assisi. She loved helping clients and meeting all the awesome animals that visited to the hospital as well as learning as much as she could about animal care. Jennifer worked as a Receptionst, Marketing and Events Coordinator, and Kennel Manager in her time here at Assisi. Since graduating from CW Post in May of 2010, Jennifer has moved on to a Marketing Assistant position at one of the largest accounting firms in the Northeast, and continues to serve as our website manager.  At home, Jennifer cares for a German Shepherd/Husky mix named Emma and a Tabby cat named Max.

Bringing over ten years of experience to Assisi, Sam serves as the hospital's Head Technician. Sam's veterinary career started in Pennsylvania where she attended Lehigh Carbon Community College to obtain her veterinary technician license. While studying for her license, Sam worked at The Allentown Clinic for Cats as well as The Lehigh Valley Animal Hospital. In addition to these general care facilities, Sam also interned at various specialty hospitals during her studies. Sam obtained a Bachelors Degree in Biology and is currently pursuing her Masters Degree in Education. She hopes to be a Biology teacher who can teach veterinary technician students in the future. Having loved animals since she was a child, it comes as no surprise that Sam is the proud Mommy to six pets! She has two rescued Pit-Bulls, Buster and Jada, and four cats; Homer, Phoebe, Squeaks and Jackie. Not to mention the constant flow of rescue kittens that find their way to Sam - her skills hand-raising baby kittens has created some of the best kittens out there, and kittens are often adopted by our clients and friends alike.

Meredith came to Assisi with over twenty years of experience as a Veterinary Technician. She has worked at both general care facilities as well as specialty hospitals. Most recently, she worked in the oncology department of a specialty facility where she performed chemotherapy as well as assisted in surgery. Meredith really enjoys being able to make a difference in the lives of animals and especially enjoys nursing them back to health. At home, she takes care of two dogs; Finnegan, a Border Collie Mix and Savanah, a Catahoulah Leopard Dog. She also has three cats: a Ragdoll named Noodles, a Domestic Long Hair named Nikki, and the newest addition, a Domestic Short Hair kitten named Monkey!

Suzanne came to Assisi with years of experience as a Veterinary Technician Assistant. She is extremely knowledgeable in various areas of animal health, especially holistic care, nutrition, and oral hygiene. At home, Suzanne cares for a Tri-Color Bearded Dragon and a Black Parti Pomeranian named Axel.

Lisa joined the Assisi team in the Summer of 2010. Prior to joining Assisi, she graduated from SUNY Albany with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Biology, and worked in Human Resources for thirteen years. After devoting her weekends for four years volunteering at an animal shelter, Lisa realized she wanted to help animals full-time and went back to school at Suffolk County Community College to attain her degree in Veterinary Science Technology. This allowed Lisa to earn her license as a Veterinary Technician and she has had a career in the field for two years now. She started as a Veterinary Assistant at BrightHeart Veterinary Referral & Emergency Center and also completed two internships at general practices. Lisa's favorite part of her job is being able to make a difference in the life of a sick or injured animal. She also enjoys reading, traveling and caring for her dog Troy, a seven year old mixed breed.

Libby has worked in the veterinary field for over eight years. Her career began in the kennel department of another hospital and she was promoted to Technician Assistant upon joining the Assisi team. Libby has always had a special place in her heart for our four legged friends and especially loves when all the baby kittens are born in the spring and come into the hospital. In addition to working at Assisi, Libby also attends Hunter College where she is studying for her Bachelors of Science Degree. At home, Libby cares for six cats as well as one dog. She also offers pet-sitting services in her spare time!

Sean joined Assisi's team in May of 2008 and has excelled quickly. He began as a member of our kennel staff, and displayed a strong desire to learn more about caring for animals. This desire to learn recently earned Sean a promotion to Technician Assistant! In addition to working at Assisi, Sean attends St. Johns University where he studies Sports Management. At home, Sean and his family care for a five year old Brittany Spaniel.

Jennifer has been grooming since 2003, she started her career at Petco and then moved on to a private salon in Bellmore. From there, she worked at K-9 Ranch and Canine Styles in Manhattan before coming to Assisi. She has always loved animals as well as art and feels that with grooming she can combine her two passions. Jennifer is a patient and kind individual who loves being able to spend her day working with dogs and making sure they have a pleasurable experience. She also enjoys knowing people are happy with the results she creates with their pets. 

Erik is the younger brother of our technician Karina,  and he has followed in her footsteps by coming to work at Assisi and we are sure glad he did! He started in this field by volunteering to help care for foster animals in his home and then began volunteering at the ASPCA Mobile Clinic in 2008 prior to joining us. Erik is hard working and puts a lot of care into everything he does here, he especially enjoys making sure boarding animals feel more at home. At home, Erik assists his sister in caring for their pet squirrel and two rescued pit-bulls. He also attends Long Beach High School and plans on attending veterinary school.

Dolly has been a member of our team since January of 2008. She has previous experience in both graphic design and customer service, but really wanted to work in the veterinary field because of her love of animals. Her favorite part of the job is playtime with our four legged guests, where she really gets to interact a lot and help them enjoy their stay with us much more. Growing up, Dolly had many pets, including dogs, cats, birds, hamsters, and turtles. Currently, she has a cat named Buddha. When she isn't working Dolly enjoys spending time with her daughter, Jadelyne and also likes to read and draw.

AJ has been a member of our team since day one. He really enjoys taking care of the animals who are boarding with us as well as seeing all the different ways to help sick animals feel better.  At home, he cares for three dogs; two Newfoundlands named Sasha and Jasper, and a Labrador Retriever named KC.

Kristin has worked with animals since 2000. She started volunteering when she was twelve and began working in the veterinary field soon thereafter. Her favorite part of working in the hospital is of course, the animals, as well as learning new things everyday. She also loves making our furry friends visit an enjoyable one and sending them home happy, healthy, and smelling fresh and clean! A big animal lover, Kristen has had dogs since she was a baby and currently, her family cares for five of them; Sandi, Remy, Magnus, Lady and Roxie! Outside of work Kristin enjoys hanging out with her friends and playing handball.

Olga has worked in the veterinary field for four years. She came to us from an animal hospital in Queens, joining our team in the Summer of 2010 and has continued doing what she loves to do; caring for animals. In addition to working at Assisi, Olga also takes care of her family and goes to school to study English.