Dr. McSweeney grew up in Old Metairie where he attended St. Catherine of Siena School. As a young child he knew he wanted to become a veterinarian. He attended Archbishop Rummell and Vanderbilt Catholic High School when his family moved to Houma.

Dr. McSweeney graduated from LSU Vet school in May of 1984. After graduation he worked at the Louisiana SPCA Hospital where he worked with indigent clients and developed keen surgical and diagnostic skills. For seven years he volunteered his time to do a weekly television segment on WDSU’s morning show which benefitted the Louisiana SPCA and promoted pet adoptions. He continued to volunteer his time for the segment even after he left the SPCA and opened the Animal Medical & Surgical Hospital in 1992.

Over the past thirty years, “Dr. Pat” has focused his practice in the direction of pain management. Trained by Pfizer Animal Health, he has taught pain management seminars locally and throughout the country focusing on anesthesia and analgesia. The Animal Medical and Surgical Hospital has hosted continuing education seminars for local veterinarians regarding this subject. Dr. Pat has also done round table discussions on pain management that included participants nationwide.

Because of his experience with Pfizer (now known as Zoetis), Dr. McSweeney and the hospital have been asked to participate in numerous clinical trials over the last fifteen years. These drug trials require precise data observing and documenting. One of these studies was published in the Journal of Veterinary Medical Association in February of 2012.

When Katrina approached the New Orleans area, the McSweeneys evacuated with their many animals and the hospital’s boarding and hospitalized animals. Dr. McSweeney returned to find his New Orleans home flooded. He borrowed a pirogue and paddled to the second floor of his home in order to recover some belongings. He returned to the hospital only 10 days after the storm with all the animals, along with his wife Beverly and Dr. Carriere and began helping those animals who were left behind. In fact, for months the hospital was basically turned into an animal shelter for those pets left behind who were rescued after the storm.

The hospital also took on another project – helping Lakeview Veterinary Hospital survive the storm. The Animal Medial & Surgical Hospital hosted Lakeview Veterinary Hospital and worked side by side with them for almost a year.

Since then, the McSweeneys have returned to their rebuilt home in Lakeview and Dr. McSweeney has been focusing on disaster preparedness, because in this area, it’s not a matter of if, but when another hurricane or tropical storm will hit. He purchased a motor home for any future evacuations which is parked outside of the hospital.

Patrick and Beverly McSweeney have been happily married since 1984. They have no kids, but have many four-legged children. Dr. Pat loves his pets. He also loves to travel. Although he works hard, he also plays hard. When time allows, he also loves to exercise.

Dr. Carriere was born in the dark ages in New Orleans and grew up in Lakeview, the last of seven children. She graduated from St. Mary’s Dominican High School and went to U.N.O. prior to attending LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, where she and Dr. Pat McSweeney were classmates and became fast friends. Upon graduating from LSU-SVM in 1984, she received the Edward Lloyd Mitchell Memorial Award, as well as the Association of Feline Practitioners Senior Student Award.

Dr. Carriere practiced for five years with Dr. Thomas Rawls at Broadmoor Animal Hospital in New Orleans, then she joined Dr. McSweeney at the LaSPCA for two years. She went on to work with Dr. Lee Capone at Lakeshore Veterinary Hospital in Mandeville and the St. Tammany Humane Society for two years, until finally rejoining Dr. McSweeney at the Animal Medical and Surgical Hospital in 1995.

An excellent surgeon and diagnostician, Dr. Carriere put her veterinary skills and life skills to work after hurricane Katrina when she helped rescue and care for numerous animals injured and left behind. Because her home was flooded and damaged, she lived at the hospital with the McSweeneys caring for animals “round the clock”. Dr. Carriere also used many skills to subcontract and essentially renovate her own home refinishing and relaying floors, installing moldings, cabinets, and painting.

Dr. Carriere is an avid LSU football and baseball fan and has been a devoted Saints fan since their inception. She loves gardening and reading, but her beloved pets have always been the main focus of her life. She considers herself most fortunate in the assortment of animal characters—too numerous to count—she’s had over the years. The most famous of these were Pugsley Carriere, Esq., Attorney at Paw, and his loyal sidekick and co-conspirator, Skeezit. Life during those 16 glorious years with this intrepid duo was wild, but Dr. C. loved it. Though the gang she lives with now is tame by comparison (with a few notable exceptions) Dr. C. still heeds Carmen’s advice: “Watch out!”

In addition to being our office manager, Beverly is also the wife of Dr. Patrick McSweeney. She attended LSU and UNO and worked as paralegal in the 1980s until she and Dr. McSweeney opened the Animal Medical and Surgical Hospital in 1992. At first the hospital opened with just the two of them, so Beverly was not only the receptionist, but also the veterinary technician and kennel staff. The business grew over the years and has been a part of the lives of many clients, patients, and employees. Beverly and Dr. Pat evacuated for hurricane Katrina with numerous pets and clinic animals. Since their home was severely flooded in the storm, they lived at hospital.

Along with Dr. Carriere, the McSweeneys participated in animal care and rescues after Katrina and housed over a hundred abandoned animals. When people returned to the area, they helped reunite owners with their pets. They also treated pets who needed to be seen as their owners came back to rescue them who had been without food and water for weeks. All of the care was complimentary. After Katrina, the hospital hosted and housed another hospital in our building. Since their building was flooded in the storm, the McSweeneys helped them get back on their feet and save their business. The McSweeneys worked diligently to rebuild and get back to their Lakeview neighborhood and home, becoming fluent in the language of “construction.”

Beverly is very active in her church parish, St. Dominic. A guitarist and vocalist, she directs a music group that plays each Sunday for 10:30 a.m. mass and has done so since 1986. Beverly writes a significant amount of music for the instrumentalists in her group. She was asked to write an article for Oregon Catholic Press regarding her church parish’s recovery from Katrina which was published in 2012. Beverly is kept very busy with all these activities as well as caring for her family’s many personal pets and sanctuary animals. She is also an avid photographer. You may see her swoop in to take a few (or many) pictures of your pet one day.

Dr. McSweeney’s mother Mary has been bookkeeping for the hospital since the business began in 1992—which is extraordinary because she makes the drive in from Houma weekly to do it!

Married to John McSweeney in 1955, Mary is the mother of a magnificent family that includes eight children, 17 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren! She also is the proud owner of three beautiful Dobermans, Maxie, Lily and Red.

Finally, Mrs. Mary is an amazing cook! She miraculously whips up massive holiday feasts for her large family that are deliciously memorable. We are grateful for all she has done for our hospital since we opened for business. She has been our biggest cheerleader and we love her.

Crystal has been working with animals since 2006. She has worked in the veterinary field assisting in the treatment and rehabilitation of small pets, exotics and zoo animals in the Miami, Florida area. Crystal has been with us since 2015 and brings a vast knowledge of veterinary dentistry and emergency medicine to our hospital. Crystal has also volunteered her time at the at the Shy Wolf Sanctuary in Naples, Florida, to further the conservation of and education regarding North American wolves.

With a very active home life, Crystal and her husband are raising two boys along with a long list of fur babies. Adopted dogs, cats and even sugar gliders call Crystal’s house their very own “fur-ever” home. Her older son can be seen playing 1st chair trumpet during Metairie’s infamous Mardi Gras parades or alongside Crystal volunteering his hours here at the hospital. If you’re lucky you may catch a glimpse of her younger son happily feeding treats to our resident hospital cats.

After the AMSH has closed their doors for the day, we are proud to say that Crystal laces up her roller skates and takes to the track with Big Easy Rollergirls and Team Louisiana Roller Derby All Stars competing in national roller derby game play. She also coaches the Crescent City Crushers junior roller derby team. Click here if you’d like more information about the team and its schedule!

Alexis joined our team in December of 2016. She is a premed student at the University of New Orleans pursuing a career as a psychiatrist. Animals are her absolute favorite things in this world and working at a vet clinic satisfies both her love of animals and her passion for helping those in need.

Alexis began volunteering at Animal Rescue New Orleans in 2010, and in 2011 she started fostering cats through SpayMart. Three of her foster kitties, Star, Lyra, and Nova, became her first fur children. Since then she has had the pleasure of adopting her dog Jake, and acquiring her three “step-fur-children”, cats Athena and Oreo, and B.B. the dog. They keep her busy on her path to becoming a doctor, and lift her spirits when things get tough. Likewise, all of the patients at AM&SH brighten her work days; “if you love what you do, you’ll never have to work a day in your life!”

Brittany has been a part of our team since 2009 and brings thirteen years of hospital experience, working closely with our doctors, clients, and their beloved pets. She has a lifelong passion dedicated to the care and wellbeing of animals. Brittany graduated from UNO in May 2014 with her bachelor’s degree in biology.

Brittany is a busy Mom. Her daughters, Caylee and Emily enjoy spending their time with their mom and their dad, Andrew, taking loving care of their cat, four dogs, two bunnies, five turtles and seven chickens on their small farm in Covington. We appreciate that she travels so far to work with us. We can’t imagine the hospital without her. Brittany spends her spare time volunteering at adoption events for the Northshore Humane Society in Covington.

Bruce has worked with animals almost all his life. He began his animal career at the Louisiana SPCA Hospital in 1984 where he met and worked with Dr. McSweeney as a kennel attendant and vet assistant. Bruce and his family kept in touch with Dr. McSweeney when he left the SPCA and opened the Animal Medical and Surgical Hospital in 1992. Bruce followed him a few years later joining our hospital team in 1997 and has been working with us ever since.

Bruce’s mom passed away in 2006 and he now lives with the McSweeneys. Bruce loves music, especially classical music. He is also a huge football fan and loves to coach from the couch. His assistant coach is Cheeto his orange tabby.

Corey has been a member of our team since 2007 when he was in high school. He was in the waiting room one day with his family when one of our resident cats was quite smitten with him and chose him to work with us. While working with us at the hospital, Corey attended Tulane University where he received a degree in computer programming and graphic design.

Cory also has a passion for music and produces computer generated music with the program Reason. He has made numerous recordings including some played on WTUL. He and his lovely wife, Sydney, are the proud owners of four fantastic cats named Felix, Pudding, Graybee, and Black. Over many years, it has been a privilege to work with Corey and watch him become an essential member of our staff.

Samantha is a lifelong animal lover who has dedicated her life to the field of animal rescue. She graduated from Cabrini High School in 2013 and attended LSU in 2014 studying Animal Sciences. Samantha is now attending the University of New Orleans, pursuing a degree in Biological Sciences with the long-term goal of becoming a veterinarian. She has been working with us since 2015 and has also worked with other local hospitals in her six-year animal health career. One of her passions is working with animal rescue organizations including the LASPCA, ARNO, Jefferson SPCA and Spaymart. Her volunteer work with animals started at the age of 13 and continues to this day. Samantha is an active TNR (trap, neuter, return) participant, feral cat rehabber, foster mom, animal trainer, and regenerative farmer.

At home, Samantha has a menagerie of pets that consists of her five cats, Oreo, Nova, Lyra, Star, and Athena, her dogs B.B. and Jake, her three chickens Lucille, Lucii, and Lillith, and a colony of ten hermit crabs. In the past, she has owned snakes, crested geckos, rats, and various insects. She has also fostered and found wonderful homes for over 38 animals of many species. For Samantha, all animals are delightful and a joy to provide care for!

Born and raised in New Orleans, Lindsay grew up with two loves: dance and animals. After graduating from high school in 2002, she turned one of those loves into an 18-year career, travelling and teaching dance to children of all ages. After her 2017 wedding, she decided to make a career change and pursue her other love, caring for animals. Lindsay attended Animal Behavior College and became a veterinary assistant, and then went on to further her education with Penn Foster, becoming a registered veterinary technician. She worked for the Plaquemines Animal Welfare Society last year. We are very grateful to have her on our team and grateful for the experience she now brings to our hospital.

Lindsay is mother to six fur babies, including three dogs, Hope, Odin, and Buddy, as well as three cats named Chester, Gracie, and Cleo. Lindsay’s future goals include having a home rescue where she can save shelter animals from being euthanized.

Picture & Bio Coming Soon.

Picture & Bio Coming Soon.

Picture & Bio Coming Soon.

Picture & Bio Coming Soon.

Picture & Bio Coming Soon.