Meet Our Veterinary Team
Meet the Veterinarians & Team of Saugerties Animal Hospital. We’re pleased to provide exceptional vet care for your pets.
Get To Know Our Veterinary Team
Dr. Michael O’Neill
DVM
Dr. O’Neill graduated from Cambridge Veterinary School in the UK in 1978.
He spent 30+ years at the Pine Plains Animal Hospital in Pine Plains, NY, where he worked in a mixed animal practice with a focus on dairy cows.
He has a love of agriculture and farm animals.
Dr. Andrew Lang
DVM
Dr. Lang was born and raised in Manhattan and attended the Bronx High School of Science before going to the University of Rochester, where he majored in biochemistry. He earned his DVM degree from Cornell in 1991 and has worked in small animal general practice since, except for nine years at the ASPCA in NYC, where he took care of dogs and cats in the adoption program and consulted on horse welfare issues.
He has a special interest in eyes (possibly because when he was a pup, his aunt told him they are the “windows to the soul,” and that’s how she would know if he was lying), surgery, and is learning basic “point-of-care” ultrasound.
He loves music, old movies & cartoons, reading, and eating plant-based foods. He and his lovely wife Patty are temporarily without a canine companion since their beloved St.Bernard Phoebe passed in the winter of 2022.
Dr. Leslie Jackson-Till
DVM
Dr. Jackson-Till graduated from the University of Minnesota’s Veterinary School.
She has been a part of the Saugerties Animal Hospital team for almost 30 years.
In her free time, Dr. Jackson-Till likes to ride motorcycles.
Dr. Shannon Matthies
DVM
Dr. Matthies grew up in western New York and then moved to the Hudson Valley after finishing veterinary school. She attended Cornell University where she graduated with a BS in Animal Science in 2009. She then went on to receive her DVM from Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2013. Following graduation, she completed an equine internship and then transitioned to canine medicine, working for a guide dog school before joining Saugerties Animal Hospital. She was responsible for providing veterinary care to a large colony of dogs used for both breeding and working. She says, “I have always loved the problem-solving aspect of being a veterinarian – being able to diagnose a problem and provide care for those who cannot speak for themselves.” She has special interests in preventative care, reproductive medicine, and ultrasonography.
She and her husband reside in Rhinebeck with their three young children, and their two German Shepherds, Truman and Renegade. She still has her retired Thoroughbred gelding, and outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family, horseback riding, hiking, and cooking.
Dr. Howard Rothstein
DVM
Dr. Howard Rothstein graduated from Hobart College in 1969. He attended Cornell Veterinary School in 1969 and graduated in 1973.
Six years later, in 1979, he purchased Saugerties Animal Hospital.
Initially, he had a mixed animal practice which included caring for small animals, bovines, and pet horses. After 25 years, he transitioned his focus to cats and dogs.
Dr. Rothstein received his acupuncture accreditation from IVAS in 1989.
He and his wife, Betsy, enjoy spending their time traveling to places where they can hike, backpack, kayak, and backcountry ski.
They have 2 Akitas, Yuki and Aki, and 3 cats, all named “Kitty”.
Dr. Gretchen Cawein
DVM
Gretchen Cawein, DVM, began her career in veterinary medicine in New York City in 1993 as a receptionist, office manager, and kennel aide. She then became a licensed veterinary technician at SUNY Delhi and worked extensively with small and large animals as well as exotics in both private practice and at the Bronx Zoo. She also volunteered as a technician and research assistant in underserved communities in the U.S. and in Africa, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
Doctor Cawein received her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Cornell in 2014. As an extern, she studied surgery and internal medicine at The Animal Medical Center, Blue Pearl Veterinary Partners, and Fifth Avenue Veterinary Specialists in New York City. She also trained in humane law enforcement at the ASPCA’s Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital. Dr. Cawein then worked at an exclusively feline practice in New York City and, later, at a busy general practice on the Upper West Side, until moving to the Catskill Mountains in the fall of 2018.
Dr. Cawein has served as a consulting member of the New York Bar Association’s Animal Law Committee and is also a Category II-Accredited USDA Veterinarian. She is the Catskill Regional Director of the Paw Project, a veterinary collective responsible for the feline declaw ban in New York State. As a certified Fear FreeTM practitioner, Dr. C’s priority is to minimize stress and pain, resulting in gentler, easier veterinary visits for both her patients and the caregivers who love them.
Dr. Cawein lives in West Saugerties with her two feline rescue kids, Morty and Thumper the Terrible, surrounded by the beautiful flora and fauna that call these woods home.