Our veterinarians

Four doctors, four perspectives.

The clinic has four veterinarians: a founder, an associate who came up through the corporate-to-private path, a fellowship-trained surgeon, and a dentistry-focus doctor who is the most recent hire. Each one has been chosen for what she or he can teach the rest of us — internal medicine, dermatology, surgery, dentistry. The four of us cover most of what a general-practice hospital is asked to do.

Each doctor is photographed with her or his own pet, because the question we get the most often from new clients is "do you have a dog?" or "do you have a cat?" — which is really another way of asking, do you understand what it's like at home. We do. We're vets, but the animals at the clinic are not just patients to us, they are also family.

Founder · 2003

Dr. Priya Bhattacharya, DVM, MS

Medical Director · Founder · Internal Medicine

Dr. Priya earned her DVM at Cornell in 2000, completed a small-animal internship at the University of Pennsylvania in 2001, and earned a master's in clinical sciences in 2003. She opened Maplewood Animal Hospital in October of that year after three years at a corporate practice in West Orange. She has practiced exclusively at this address since.

Her clinical interests are internal medicine and feline endocrinology. Most of the clinic's chronic-renal cases, diabetic cats, and atypical bloodwork-puzzle cases land on her schedule. She is the doctor most likely to spend an hour reading a chronic-kidney case from another clinic before the appointment.

She sees roughly 60% of the clinic's appointments. She is the practice owner, the medical director, the on-call senior clinician, and the person who buys the donuts on Friday mornings. She has lived in South Orange with her husband and two children since 2008.

Outside the clinic she is an active member of the AAHA Member Council, has lectured at the New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association annual meeting twice, and is a member of the American Association of Feline Practitioners. She is on the board of a local cat-rescue nonprofit, which is where Ravi came from — although Ravi is a dog, which she will explain at length if asked.

Ravi. An 8-year-old mixed-breed rescue, somewhere between a hound and a Lab. Adopted from St. Hubert's in 2018. He comes to the clinic most days and sleeps under the front desk; Tina, the practice manager, considers him part-staff.
Joined 2012

Dr. Marcus Chen, DVM

Associate Veterinarian · Dermatology & Ophthalmology

Dr. Marcus earned his DVM at Cornell in 2011. He spent the year after graduation at a corporate practice in Westchester, then accepted Dr. Priya's offer to join Maplewood Animal Hospital in 2012. He has been here ever since.

His clinical interests are dermatology and ophthalmology — the puzzle cases. He is the doctor most likely to figure out the rash that has been three months going, the chronic ear infection that hasn't responded to the standard course, or the cat with the unexplained third-eyelid prolapse. He completed continuing-education courses in advanced dermatology at the North American Veterinary Dermatology Forum in 2017 and 2022.

He is also the clinic's softest touch with anxious large dogs. The German Shepherds, the Mastiffs, the dogs whose ears were back the entire previous visit — they tend to relax around Marcus. He keeps a jar of small bits of cheddar in his coat pocket. The technician team has stopped trying to convince him to stop.

Marcus is married, lives in Maplewood, and is a member of the American Academy of Veterinary Dermatology. He is also a serious bicyclist and rides to the clinic on Saturdays when the weather cooperates.

Tippet. A 12-year-old gray tabby, originally a clinic foster who never left. Has chronic kidney disease at IRIS Stage 2, on a prescription renal diet, and is the unofficial demonstration cat for new-client tours of the cat-only ward.
Joined 2018

Dr. Sarah Okonkwo, DVM

Surgeon · Fellowship in Soft-Tissue Surgery

Dr. Sarah was a veterinary technician for four years before veterinary school — a path that shapes how she works with the technician team to this day. She earned her DVM at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in 2015, then completed a three-year soft-tissue surgery fellowship at the Tufts Foster Hospital before joining Maplewood Animal Hospital in 2018.

She performs all of the clinic's surgical caseload: TPLO cruciate-ligament repairs, TECA (total ear canal ablation) for chronic-otitis cases, abdominal procedures up through splenectomy, mass removals, gastropexy, and most of the longer dental cases that involve extractions. She refers out for procedures that exceed her scope — orthopedics beyond cruciate, oncologic resections with margins, anything thoracic — and she will tell you that directly.

She is the doctor most likely to give you a written surgical-estimate that includes itemized anesthesia, monitoring, post-op pain control, and the realistic recovery timeline. Her surgical-consent conversations are long. We've come to think that's the point.

Dr. Sarah grew up in Jersey City and lives in South Orange with her wife and their two children. She is a member of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (general practitioner affiliate) and the Veterinary Endoscopy Society. She has lectured at the NJ VMA on rehabilitation after cruciate repair and is in the early stages of pursuing the ACVS founding-member rehabilitation certification.

Boudin. A 7-year-old liver-and-white Brittany. Failed bird-dog school, which is to say, became distracted by a butterfly during his second training week and never recovered. Dr. Sarah rescued him from the breeder. He is afraid of his own water bowl.
Joined 2022

Dr. Hannah Beckett, DVM

Dentistry-Focus Veterinarian · Oral Surgery & Periodontal Disease

Dr. Hannah earned her DVM at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in 2022. She joined Maplewood Animal Hospital that same year. Her clinical focus is small-animal dentistry — periodontal disease, oral surgery, dental-pain cases, and the diagnostic-radiograph-driven workups that most general practices don't have time for.

Hannah is the architect of the clinic's current dental program. Every dental case at Maplewood now gets full-mouth digital dental radiography (we added the equipment to the new dental suite in 2024). Extraction decisions are treatment-planned from the radiograph rather than from the visual exam, which is how dentistry is meant to work and how most general-practice clinics in the country still don't do it.

She is also, on a typical week, the doctor who runs the puppy and kitten plan visits — partly because she is comfortable with the wiggle, partly because she likes the long conversation about how to brush a puppy's teeth at six months so that the dental cleaning at three years isn't six extractions. She is patient and explicit. She gives clients written brushing-protocol handouts.

Hannah is from Philadelphia originally, lives in Maplewood with her partner and two cats, and is pursuing additional training in feline dentistry through the American Veterinary Dental College resident-track program. She is a member of the Foundation for Veterinary Dentistry.

Tofu and Edamame. Two Cornish Rex cats — short, curly coats, large ears, very chatty. Adopted as a bonded pair in 2021. They have their own Instagram, which Hannah refuses to publicize on the clinic site.

Schedule with the doctor who fits your pet.

Tell the front desk who you'd like to see at booking. If you don't have a preference, the team will match by availability and case type.

Become a client Call (973) 762-9180