Airmont Animal Hospital: Suffern's Vet for Cats and Dogs Since 1988

For most Rockland pet owners, the vet is not a place you think about until the moment you need one — and then it matters enormously who answers the phone. In Suffern, that answer has come from the same place for nearly four decades. Airmont Animal Hospital, a full-service veterinary hospital for cats and dogs at 18 Indian Rock, has been providing comprehensive medical, surgical, and dental care in Rockland County since 1988.

Thirty-eight years in one spot says something a new sign never can. The hospital's team, led by veterinarians Dr. Lawrence Ness and Dr. Lonnie Kasman, handles the full arc of a pet's life: routine check-ups and vaccinations, diagnostics through in-house testing and external laboratories, dental care, and surgery in the hospital's own suite. The practice is equipped with a well-stocked pharmacy and in-house digital x-ray and ultrasound, so most of what a sick or aging pet needs can happen under one roof instead of across several referrals.

The way the hospital runs reflects that long view. Visits are primarily by appointment, so each patient gets the attention it deserves, but emergency cases always receive top priority. For owners juggling work and school runs, there is also a drop-off option: bring your pet at a time that works, leave them for a couple of hours, and the doctor calls afterward to go over the diagnosis and treatment recommendations. For the safety of every animal in their care, the hospital asks that all vaccinations be up to date and that pets arrive on a leash or in a carrier.

What sets the practice apart is not just the equipment, it is the way it shows up for the community around it. Airmont Animal Hospital partners with Rollie & Hank's Paw Prints on an annual fundraiser that helps local families who otherwise could not afford essential medical care for their pets — every dollar raised goes to those families. It is the kind of quiet, steady community work that rarely makes a headline but keeps pets in the homes that love them.

That steadiness is the point. Pets are family, and a vet practice that has been in the same place since 1988 has watched generations of them grow up — the kitten that became the old cat, the puppy that became the gray-muzzled companion. The hospital's own description of its goal is simple: to help owners enjoy the companionship of their pets for a maximum number of years. After nearly four decades, that is a promise with a track record behind it.

The hospital is open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8 AM to 6 PM, Tuesday from 8:30 AM to noon and 1 to 5 PM, and Saturday from 9 AM to 1 PM; it is closed Sundays. The phone number is (845) 368-3455, and more information is at airmontanimalhospital.com.