Meredith Davis, DVM, MS
Dr. Meredith Davis graduated from Cornell University, College of Veterinary Medicine in 2000. Upon graduation, she continued her education at The Ohio State University, completing a residency in poultry medicine and a Master’s degree in Veterinary Preventive Medicine. For the past 23 years she has pursued her passion in the field of avian and exotic medicine. Although originally from Long Island, Meredith initiated her career in Northern Virginia. In 2014, Meredith and her family moved back to New York, where she practiced at Island Exotic Veterinary Care as an Associate Veterinarian for seven more years. In February 2022, Meredith acquired the practice from Dr. Heidi Hoefer and continues the tradition of providing quality veterinary care to companion avian and exotic pets. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, reading, playing board games, traveling, and kickboxing.
Brooke Dolega, D.V.M, B.S.
Dr. Brooke Dolega joined the Island Exotic Veterinary Care Team in July 2022. A Long Island native, she graduated from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine in February 2021 after completing her clinical year at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Medicine in Edinburgh Scotland. Dr. Brooke has always had a passion for exotic animals, and her special interests include husbandry, behavior, and wildlife conservation. When out of the office, she enjoys reading, writing, running half marathons, traveling, and spending time with family and friends. She has 2 dogs, a hamster, a bearded dragon, and a rabbit.
Dr. Alexandra Colella
Meet Dr. Alexandra Colella, our newest team member! Dr. Colella recently graduated from St. George’s University in 2024 and completed her clinical year at Louisiana State University. Before that, she earned her Master’s in Infectious Disease and Global Health from Tufts University in 2020. Her heart has always been drawn to exotics, which is what brought her to our clinic. She’s excited to bring her expertise and passion for animals of all kinds to our team! When she’s not caring for animals, you can find her hiking the scenic trails of the Catskills or painting beautiful animal portraits. Dr. Colella is the proud mom of an Alaskan Malamute named Mako (who loves to lead the way on hikes) and two curious black cats, Tahiti and Fiji. She can’t wait to meet your furry (or scaly!) friends!
Dr. Greene
Dr. Greene joined the practice in October 2023. A Long Island native, Dr. Greene attended St. George’s University, graduating in January 2023 after completing his clinical training at the University of Illinois. Dr. Greene has always had a special place in his heart for exotic animals, ever since he first thought about becoming a veterinarian, and is excited to join the practice. In his spare time, Dr. Greene enjoys hiking with his dogs, swimming, cooking and playing the guitar. He has 2 dogs, 3 turtles, 2 sugar gliders, a parakeet and a bearded dragon.
Heidi Hoefer, DVM, Diplomate ABVP
Dr. Heidi Hoefer has been treating birds and exotic pets only for over 30 years. She is a 1987 graduate of Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine. She completed an internship in small animal medicine and surgery at the Animal Medical Center (AMC) in New York in 1987 and continued there in a two year residency program in avian and exotic pets. From 1990-1998, Dr. Hoefer maintained a staff appointment in the avian and exotic pet department at the AMC, and she has been board-certified in avian practice since 1993. Dr. Hoefer opened Island Exotic Veterinary Care in 2007 as Long Island’s first specialty avian and exotic pet hospital. After 35 years in practice, she is now retired from clinic’s but remains on staff as a consultant. She is continuing on as an adjunct professor of Special Species at Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine where she is inspiring the next generation of exotic veterinarians.
Kelly
Licensed Veterinary Technician
Kelly is a Licensed Veterinary Technician that began working at Island Exotic Veterinary Care in 2010 as a veterinary assistant. She graduated from the Suffolk County Community College Veterinary Technician program and took her VTNE in 2013. Although Kelly has previously worked in wildlife rehab and with dogs and cats, the majority of her clinical experience and passion has always been with exotic companion animals. Kelly is active in the rabbit rescue community and has a special interest in client education; especially when it involves rabbit husbandry and environmental enrichment. When not working, Kelly enjoys spending time with her daughters and caring for her fluffle of senior and differently abled rabbits.
Ashley
Licensed Veterinary Technician
Ashley began working at Island Exotic in 2015 as a veterinary assistant. She graduated from the vet tech program at Sanford Brown in 2016 and passed her VTNE in 2017. Ashley has previous experience with emergency medicine, but her heart has always been with exotic companion animals. She has a unique appreciation for reptiles and small rodents. She enjoys educating clients on reptile husbandry and enrichment and aims to improve the lives of our captive reptiles through education on proper care. Ashley shares her life with 2 ball pythons and a mischief of rats.
Ariel
Veterinary Assistant
Ariel went to School of Visual Arts and graduated with a BA in Fine Arts in 2018. She freelanced for several months at small companies and realized she would much rather spend her time with her animals. She attended Adelphi University and graduated in 2022 with a BA in Biology. Ariel has been working as a veterinary assistant for Island Exotic Veterinary Care since August 2022. In her spare time Ariel volunteers at North Shore Animal League and Volunteers for Wildlife
Lydia
Veterinary Assistant
Lydia graduated from Texas Tech University in 2021 with an Agricultural Education degree and recently completed an internship at the New York Aquarium working with the Sea Lions. Lydia has always loved working with animals and looks forward to helping your furry, feathered, and scaly friends here at Island Exotic Veterinary Care. In her spare time Lydia enjoys some friendly video game competition with friends.
Kimberly
Veterinary Assistant
Kimberly has always had a love for animals and volunteered at the East Hampton Animal Hospital while in high school. In addition to working here at Island Exotic Veterinary Care, she also works at Westhampton Beach Animal Hospital and is currently enrolled in the Penn Foster Veterinary Technician Program. She loves and cares for all animals and has 3 dogs at home: Mosquito, Rufus, and Teza. In her free time she likes to crochet, rollerblade and do 3D puzzles.
Shana
Client Service Representative
Shana has worked as both a veterinary assistant and receptionist at Island Exotic Veterinary Care for almost 11 years and prides herself on making sure everyone has the best experience possible! Shana’s passion is birds but love all species. She runs the Long Island Budgie Rescue with a mission to reunite lost/found birds with their owners, rehome birds whose owners can no longer care for them, and adopt out birds that need a forever home. Shana also enjoys camping with her family in Pennsylvania.
Nina
Client Service Representative
After 24 years in the corporate world at Estee Lauder Co. and 10 yrs running her pet sitting business, Nina joined Island Exotic as a receptionist & assistant. Her interest in exotic veterinary care began when she became a ferret mom back in 1986. Seeing the need for a ferret rescue group, Nina initiated and became President of AFC-FERRET CLUB & RESCUE, a 501c3, for 14 yrs and still continues to rescue ferrets to this day. She currently shares her home with a rescued cat, 4 rescued ferrets and 6 goldfish- one being a carnival win, now 12 yrs old! Nina has been working at Island Exotic Veterinary Care for 15 years and continues to make a difference with understanding & compassion towards our clients and their beloved pets.
Heather Mattinson, Licensed Veterinary Technician
Forever in Our Hearts
It is with great sadness that we announce the loss of our long time team member and friend, Heather Mattinson.
Heather was an integral part of the Island Exotic team for 14+ years caring for so many of your family’s pets and helping to guide the next generation of Assistants and License Technicians.
To honor Heather’s legacy and contributions, we have dedicated our Surgical Suite to help watch over guide our future Veterinary Technicians.