It's almost as if Drs. Ina Obernesser and Mary Mansfield, the duo behind Uptown Veterinary Associates, read the comments on Harlem Fur.

For those who are wondering about the new Harlem vets on 112th and Frederick Douglass Blvd, Uptown Vets is having its Grand Opening Sunday, November 4th, from 10am to 6pm. Nabe residents, two and four-legged alike, are invited to come meet the staff, take a tour, have some drinks and snacks, and take home some goodies.

Uptown Veterinary Associates, P.C.
295 West 112th Street
New York, NY 10026
212-222-1221 office
212-222-5681 FAX

Posted by Chris at 02:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Curse my not being around this weekend. I open the inbox this morning to see that Uptown Veterinary Associates opens today! Doctors Ina and Mary have brought vetrinary care to central Harlem (or south Harlem, or west Harlem, or whatever it is called this week).

And curse my not having my photos with me. Uptown Veterinary Associates will run the right way from the start, with a state-of-the-art paperless office that will allow all records to be easily accessible to the vets there. I took a few shots of the network going in, and will post a shot of its lazer-aided installation later this week.

Previous: Harlem Veterinary Race Is On.

Posted by Chris at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Some of our readers have written in to ask if life in Harlem is all about couture fashion, which wine shop to choose, or culinary explorations. Yes, we regret to inform you, Harlem is all about that. However, there are discounts to local businesses as well as a comprehensive directory to shopping and dining in Harlem at Experience: Harlem. You may find, among other things on the site, the veterinarian hospital check-up and pedicure discount to your liking.

Posted by Chris at 11:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Remember back in the day, October of '06, when North Korea tested its first nuclear weapon, Rep. Mark Foley's come-ons to young male staffers were shaping the final days of the midterm elections, and a woman named Ina sent an email to Harlem Fur telling us not to despair over the nabe's lack of pet services, that she was looking at spaces to rent for a veterinary clinic?

Okay, even we needed some help remembering the last one.

When Harlem Fur received Ina's email, it was filed in a folder specifically for archiving such promises (seriously, there is one). Since the Fur had begun bemoaning a lack of nearby vet services a year ago, nearly 30 emails promising a new pet sheriff in town pilled up, all unfulfilled. So, we had assumed that Ina's promise would be like all the rest.

Harlem Fur is happy to admit being wrong.

D.V.M.'s Ina Obernesser and Mary Mansfield let the Fur know that they have signed a lease, began construction, and are planning to open Uptown Veterinary Associates this summer on 112th St. and Frederick Douglass Blvd. They are determined to be South Harlem's first veterinary clinic, and will offer state-of-the-art diagnostics, surgery, a comprehensive pharmacy, and dentistry.

Ina and Mary have only one question. "Just read your post about Animal General looking for a space in the same neighborhood......any news on that?"

That's it, Harlem Veterinary Race 2007 is on, and Uptown Veterinary Associates just pulled into the lead.

· Uptown Veterinary Associates [Official Site]

· Animal General Looking For Space In South Harlem [Harlem Fur]

· Filling Harlem Vet Void, Petland On 117th St. To Hold Two More Vaccination Days [Harlem Fur]

Posted by Chris at 11:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Harlemite, member of the Friends of St. Nicholas Park, and avid dog lover Julia is looking to launch a new pet carrier aimed primarily at dogs (but it can be used for cats too, especially by those who enjoy taking their cat to the park). To make sure the carrier is the best it can be, Julia is looking for local feedback.

If you live in Harlem and own a dog between 5 and 15lbs, we're looking for you! I'm launching a Harlem-based dog carrier line and will be holding a focus group to get feedback on our new product. We need volunteers who love their dogs! We have a couple possible dates and will require only 2 hours of your time. Food and beverages will be served. For details, please contact Julia at papooch |at| gmail |dot| com.

We haven't seen the carrier yet, but Cheryl and I are excited for a neighborhood-inspired prodcuct for transporting Cimbi to and from Central Park this summer, as well as to and from a South Harlem vet...

Posted by Chris at 02:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

(Letter from day three in Cimbi's Uptown Hound stay.)

This iz my favorit plas to stay in the stor. And luk! I hav my pilo, too. Jen tuk it to the stor thiz morning. I wuz so happy it wuz ther. I slept on it all day and it wuz niz and cozee.

I like it here so much. I even spelt that rite! Luk, I am tryin to be asleep but Jen keep taykun pikturs. Go away. I am sleeping. Zzzzz.

See you tomorrow, Mom and Dad!! Sorree I am a bad speller!

XO-

Cimbi

· Cimbi's Vakashun Part I
· Cimbi's Vakashun Part II

Posted by Chris at 01:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

(Letter from day two in Cimbi's Uptown Hound stay.)

Saturday, April 7, 2007

Thaz me! Im likin fur my dad and mom. Jen tuk me and that dawg to the stor this morning and we all had brekfust. then some ladeez kam and they had a meeting. I lukd out the window a lot. The besk iz warm and I lik to be on it.

See? I do lik the desk. And it iz kloz to the treets, so the ladeez don't furgit to giv them to me!

· Cimbi's Vakashun Part I

Posted by Chris at 05:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Cheryl and I visited her parents just outside of D.C. this weekend for Easter. Being that Cheryl's kids, who are extremely allergic to cats, rode down with us, Cimbi became a point of concern. We could not bring our small animal along, and leaving Cimbi either at home or a boarding facility posses complications.

If we leave Cimbi home, even with neighbors stopping by to feed and play with her, she gets mad at having to sleep alone and pees on something. We already know that Nature's Miracle works, so no need for further testing. The one time we brought her to a boarding facility -one that we chose after a ton of research- she came back a different color and harboring a cold that brought a vet bill larger than the cost of boarding her.

So this weekend we tried Uptown Hound. Instead of Cheryl and I giving our take on her stay, we'll let Cimbi's daily letters fill that role. Pardon the spelling, she is a small house cat.

Friday, April 6, 2007

Today wuz a gud day, then dad tuk me to Uptown Hound and he wuz sad and i wuz lyk, "What iz yur prawblum? Theez ladeez ar niz." Jen wint hom to wash a dawg and Karoleen stayd with me fur a wil. Then, Jen kam bak and tuk me hom with hur. Hur haws is niz and there iz a dawg there and I likd him and he dint bother me. There is a other kat, too, but she wuz hidin frum me! I had sum treets and we all wint to bed and I slept on the bed with Jen and the dawg.

More tomorrow!

Posted by Chris at 08:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

In these dark days before the arrival of Animal General to South Harlem, we have only Vet My Pet events at Petland.

I am giving ample notice of the Sunday, April 29th Vet My Pet day at Petland on 117th St and Lenox Ave to absolve myself of having missed posting on the Sunday, March 25th date. (I was a little distracted preparing the words I gave at the Kazakh New Year's concert, which, btw I am not posting on here, as I don't know how the performers and dignitaries I met would enjoy being on a site that largely chronicles animals peeing in, and people crapping on, my apartment.)

The event, which runs from 2 to 4pm Sunday, April 29th, offers three vet packages for dogs and cats whose titles seem inspired by a Chinese take out menu: Happy Puppy/Kitten ($45), Happy Dog/Cat ($45), and Happy Dog/Cat Plus ($61). The Happy Family multi-pet package is not listed, but if you stick around long enough, I am sure at least one pet will serve up a poo poo platter. Speaking of which, bringing a stool is recommended. For more info, call 914-557-6812.

And as an addendum, if your pet is showing any signs of illness or change in behavior, and you have fed your little companion any of the 3.8 trillion types of food produced by Menu Foods, please do not wait until April 29th to seek vet care. For solid coverage of the Menu Foods pet poisonings, read Poop City.

Posted by Chris at 11:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Harlem Fur could not have picked a better first 365 days to be in existence.

First, we had Posh Paws open, and with it Harlem had high-end pet products. Next, Morningside and St. Nicholas Parks made great steps in local dog run creation, giving our canine companions an off-leash place to smell each others' rear ends. Then, Animal General let us know that it is seeking to expand into the hood, and with it will come quality vet care.

Now, Uptown Hound has opened a storefront on Adam Clayton Powell and 121st Street, offering dog walking, pet sitting, grooming, behavior training, bespoke William Wegman Crypton fabric pet beds, and- what few ever imagined Harlem would be home to- DOG YOGA! Yes, Harlemites can now take yoga classes with their dogs.

Owner Jen Cox has more energy than most dogs, and used it to run through a sample of her current customers:

- Milo, 6-month old Boston Terrier/Beagle mix, who is also part lovable crazypot. Milo is, in my opinion, a reincarnated ninja who uses a technique I like to call "death by ball", wherein he makes you throw him the fuzzy ball until you pass out from exhaustion, then he kills you by jumping up and down on your chest in a vain attempt to make you get up and throw the ball again. Genius.

- Peedee, a 4-month old Westie who is cute beyond belief, but who will also kill you (his technique is death by lick)

- Truman, a 1-year old Cairn Terrier (or, Terrorer, you can be the judge. His favorite food is rubber balls.)

- Molly, a 14-year old Yellow Lab (who won't kill you ... unless you have a chicken bone in your pocket)

- And, my dog, Louis, a Collie/Great Pyrenese mix, who really couldn't care less about you or anyone else. And this makes us love him the most. It's always the one you can't have ...

We have Louis in the top photo, and walk-in customers Janell and Pebbles right below him.

For those who are in the area this Tuesday, March 13th, Jen will be interviewed by the BBC at 4pm for part of a program on Harlem entrepreneurs.

Store hours are Tuesday thru Sunday, 12pm to 7pm, and Monday by appointment only.

· Uptown Hound [Official Site]

Posted by Chris at 11:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)

This is the type of pet-rification Harlem Fur was born to post on.

Animal General called me recently not to check up on Cimbi, as they do even for their healthy patients, but to ask if I knew of storefront space in South Harlem for an expansion of their practice. I don't, but maybe someone reading this does know of 1,700 animal-friendly sq feet in the nabe.

You may remember that back in May I was bemoaning the lack of veterinary services in South Harlem. After seeing long lines each day the Petland on 117th Street and Lenox Ave held a Vet My Pet event, I checked Switchboard.com for vets in the area to see what options are available. Here is what I found:

For the vets closest to us, Switchboard returned Henry M. Fierman, DVM at 250 W 108th St (212-864-3631), who is 1.5 miles to the South, the 145th Street Animal Hospital at 454 W 145th St (212-234-8087), which is 1.8 miles to the North, and Oliver's Dog & Cat Clinic at 2232 1st Ave (212-348-7070), which is 1.6 miles East... This leaves a huge section of Central Harlem without a vet close by.

Cheryl and I take Cimbi to Animal General at 87th and Columbus, which is 2 miles away- not that much further away than the other vets. Also, being that it is close to the 1/9 stop at 86th Street, it is much easier to get to than vets requiring cross-town travel.

But more than travel convenience brings us to Animal General. After the first visit, Cheryl and I knew that the doctors and clients at Animal General really care about pets. As we were waiting for Cimbi to have her first check-up, a woman in the lobby explained that a beloved neighborhood dog was in for surgery, and residents from the block like her were stopping by at different times to keep the pooch company. I thought, 'why can't we have a place like this in our neighborhood?' Now we soon will.

· Animal General [Official Site]
· Filling Harlem Vet Void, Petland On 117th St. To Hold Two More Vaccination Days [Harlem Fur]

Posted by Chris at 12:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)

Harlem saw two great openings this weekend, and Harlem Fur was kinda there.

Bonus: If you read to the end, you can find out how a free bag of Innova cat food, courtesy of Posh Paws, can be yours!

Minton's Playhouse
Minton's Playhouse was a raging success on Friday. The jazz was hot, the joint was packed, and the drinks were surprisingly well priced. I know most of this because I took photos like the one below.

I will be posting more shots from Friday night at Minton's on Flickr. Take a peek by clicking on the photos in the right-hand side bar. I have a shot of Mr. Earl Spain, the jazz impresario who did what Robert DeNiro could not and re-opened the birthplace of be-bop. The first person to point out Dean, my co-op's president, wins a Posh Paws logo food lid.

Posh Paws
Cheryl and I made our first purchase at Posh Paws on Sunday. We bought Cimbi a blue Flexi-Mat pet bed for the windowsill. The attractive and durable fabric is machine washable and dryable, which makes it ideal for cleaning before our allergic friends come over.

Cheryl and I also met the owners, Doris and Helen, two warm people who are very knowledgeable about companion animal supplies.

Please don't think Cimbi will eat just any cat food, or Cheryl for that matter. Previously, we tried giving our animal Greenies, as we ended up with 20 or so sample bags from a cat show at Madison Square Garden. Neither the cat nor Cheryl showed any interest in them. Not knowing what to do with the remaining bags, we gave them out to Trick-Or-Treaters last year while keeping straight faces. (We didn't live in Harlem then.) Cheryl is sitting next to me right now saying, "don't worry, it wasn't malicious... the kids couldn't get sick... and if they read what it was before eating it, they could give it to their pets."

Now for the good part, how a bag of Innova cat food, courtesy of Posh Paws, can be yours. If you are a Harlem resident, send a photo or two of your cat with a brief bio and a memorable anecdote to editor [at] (no spam) harlem fur [dot] com. I will post your kitty on Harlem Fur and mail you the bag of food. Please specify regular or lite food.

Posted by Chris at 07:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

As mentioned before, I am ecstatic for Posh Paws' opening this Friday. Having a well-stocked pet store with high end products fills the supplies part of South Harlem's void in companion animal services.

Of the other two missing parts, veterinary care and grooming, the Petland on 117th and Lenox is helping with the former by hosting two more Vet My Pet companion animal vaccination days: Sunday, May 28th and Sunday, June 25th, from 2pm to 4pm each day.

Cheryl and I take Cimbi to Animal General at 87th and Columbus (212-500-5815), and out of curiosity, I checked on Switchboard.com to see if there were any vets closer.

For the vets closest to us, Switchboard returned Henry M. Fierman, DVM at 250 W 108th St (212-864-3631), who is 1.5 miles to the South, the 145th Street Animal Hospital at 454 W 145th St (212-234-8087), which is 1.8 miles to the North, and Oliver's Dog & Cat Clinic at 2232 1st Ave (212-348-7070), which is 1.6 miles East. For comparison's sake, Animal General is 2 miles away, which is not that much of a difference. This leaves a huge section of Central Harlem without a vet close by.

And speaking of missing pet services...

NYCityPets is wondering where all the cat websites are. Although not strictly a cat blog, Harlem Fur offers HuntGrunt. Anyone who can teach a cat to use the toilet should be nominated for everything.

Or, maybe the people at this weekend's Empire Cat Club show know.

Posted by Chris at 12:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This Friday will not only be the re-opening of be-bop's birthplace, Minton's Playhouse, but it will also be the opening of Posh Paws pet store on Frederick Douglass and 114th Street. I am ecstatic.

As a great example, Cheryl and I had to get on the subway to find usable cat litter after 7pm in 2003. Petland, on 117th Street between Lenox and 5th Avenue, was the only place in Central Harlem that carried Feline Pine litter, and its 7pm closing time made it virtually inaccessible during the week. One night when we could not wait until the weekend to refill the litter box, I broke down and purchased a bag of Hartz pH, the only thing offered at three different delis. The stuff gave off enough dust in the apartment to give us both sore throats by the morning. I can't imagine what it did to the cat.

When we moved back to Harlem late last year, I was happy to see that Fine Fare on Lenox and 116th now carries both Feline Pine litter and a large selection of Fancy Feast flavors with gravy, Cimbi's favorite. However, I am more happy to know that Posh Paws, which will carry Wellness, Innova, California Natural and many more products, will be open at the week's end.

Now, all we need is a good vet and groomer.

Posted by Chris at 11:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

The Petland at 56 West 117th Street (212-427-2700) is holding a Vet My Pet event on Sunday, April 30th from 2pm to 4pm. They will have vaccination packages for dogs, cats and ferrets. Ferrets are asked to arrive between 2pm and 2:30pm.

Of course, for the animals' safety, Petland is asking that all dogs be on a leash and all cats be in a carrier. I am guessing they expect the event to be well attended, as Petland is asking owners to bring a stool.

Posted by Chris at 11:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)