Meet Dr. Kristen Andersen 

Dr. Kristen Andersen has dedicated more than 20 years to providing compassionate, practical, and high-quality veterinary care. Throughout her career, she has worked in some of New York City’s and Long Island’s leading specialty and general veterinary hospitals, always guided by one dream: to bring exceptional, personalized, and affordable veterinary medicine to the community she has always called home.

Raised in Roslyn and Port Washington, Dr. Andersen spent much of her childhood with her grandfather, Harry, whose love of animals helped inspire her own. Along with her family’s many beloved pets, those early experiences sparked a lifelong passion for animal care that ultimately became her calling.

She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from Hofstra University in 2001 before receiving her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2006. During veterinary school, she completed preceptorships in emergency medicine and neurology at County Animal Clinic in Westchester, New York, as well as shelter medicine and behavioral medicine at the ASPCA.

Following graduation, Dr. Andersen pursued advanced clinical training through a rotating internship at Fifth Avenue Veterinary Specialists in New York City. It was there that she discovered her passion for emergency and critical care medicine. She later joined Animal Specialty Center in Yonkers as an emergency veterinarian, where she also served on the boards of the Yonkers Humane Society and HEAL (Humans Enriching Animals’ Lives).

Later she transitioned into private practice, where she enjoyed developing lasting relationships with families and guiding them through every stage of their pets’ lives. As the practice’s only full-time veterinarian, she also gained valuable experience in hospital operations and practice management, inspiring her dream of one day opening her own veterinary hospital.

At the same time, Dr. Andersen volunteered as a surgeon with Helping PAW, a low-cost mobile spay and neuter program dedicated to improving animal welfare throughout Long Island. She continues to support rescue organizations and remains passionate about helping homeless and underserved animals whenever possible.

In 2012, she joined Peace Love Pets Veterinary Care in Commack, where she worked alongside one of Long Island’s most respected internal medicine specialists. During her three years there, she managed a wide variety of complex referral cases, further strengthening her diagnostic and medical expertise.

In 2015, she founded Veterinarian On Wheels, a concierge mobile veterinary practice serving the Port Washington and Manhasset communities. Building close relationships with local families and caring for their pets in the comfort of their own homes has been one of the most rewarding experiences of her career.

Now, after years of planning and dreaming, Dr. Andersen  is thrilled to open the doors of Clover Bay Animal Hospital. The hospital was created with one simple mission: to combine exceptional medicine with genuine compassion, honest communication, and personalized care in a welcoming environment where every client and every pet feels like family.

She looks forward to continuing to serve the community through both Veterinarian On Wheels and Clover Bay Animal Hospital, and is grateful for the trust that local families have placed in her throughout the years. She is so excited to welcome you and your pets to Clover Bay this September.

Dr. Andersen-Mercer has been an active member of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the New York State Veterinary Medical Society (NYSVMS), and the Long Island Veterinary Medical Association (LIVMA) since 2006