Bay Shore twins provide twice the care for pets at Twins Veterinary Hospital

Pets and their "parents" who go to Carlos and Gilbert Cintron for veterinary care might wind up seeing double during their visit — but that’s not because of a vision problem.

The 47-year-old brothers are identical twins who own Twins Veterinary Hospital in Bay Shore. And there’s a lot of buzz about them among Long Island pet owners who find the unusual business partners intriguing, and visits to see the Cintrons interesting and fun.

"My parents had done a bunch of research and found them," said Katrina Sheridan, 45, of Massapequa, who works in advertising sales. She takes her 3-year-old black Lab, Jett, to the twins’ hospital — and her parents, who live in Babylon and have a 3-year-old Bracco Italiano, also go to the brothers’ facility for vet care.

Sheridan added the Cintrons also were highly recommended by friends. The brothers hold doctor of veterinary medicine degrees from Ross University School of Medicine in St. Kitts in the West Indies.

"They got a lab from my same breeder in Massapequa and they said the twins are really good with the dogs — that they’re really caring, and the office staff is great and very responsive," Sheridan said of her friends.

Sheridan said she initially took Jett to the twins’ hospital for his first wellness visit three years ago, and he returns for visits "once or twice a year." She’s only seen both brothers at the same time "when in passing I’ll see them kind of running through the hallway" as they make their way from one "patient" to another, she said.

Since both are "Dr. Cintron" and look alike, Sheridan said, she’s not even sure which one is seeing Jett during his visits. She added she "thinks" Jett is seen by the twin that’s available.

Whichever twin is tending to her dog, "I know they’re so loving and sweet to Jett, and they make him feel comfortable," Sheridan said. "They’re good at calming him down — he gets excited to see the other dogs."

Asked if she might have ever noticed any difference between the brothers, she doesn’t believe she has, Sheridan said. But "I haven’t seen them stand in front of me together."

While the two doctors are aware that their veterinary business is unlike most others because they’re twins, they say that what’s most important is to give the best care possible to the animals that visit. The two have been animal lovers since their days growing up in Puerto Rico.

Today the pair live together in Bay Shore and have a domestic longhair rescue cat who’s almost 2 years old named Floof. Their dog Nanook died six years ago at the age of 9.

Key for the Cintrons is to have like-minded people working at their hospital.

"We try to find staff that are animal lovers and share the same views of happiness in life," Gilbert Cintron said. "We all must work together as a team, but often we’re like a family."

Carlos Cintron recently spoke to Newsday. Answers have been edited for space.

Are you close, as many twins are?

Yes, we are very close. Sometimes one of us takes charge more than the other — it depends on the day — and we always balance each other out.

When did you open the hospital?

2012.

Besides dogs and cats, what other animals do you see at your hospital?

We mainly see dogs and cats, but we also see exotics such as birds, pocket pets, pigs and goats.

You were born in the Bronx, and when you were 5 your mother moved to Puerto Rico. Why did she decide to move from New York to Puerto Rico?

Mother was born in Puerto Rico, raised in New York and went to college in New York. We moved to Puerto Rico because she didn’t want a city life for us. She wanted a slower, calm childhood for us.

You’ve called Puerto Rico a "rescue haven." What do you mean by that?

It was an island full of a diverse range of animals that we would love to take care of.

Why did you start loving animals when you were children?

We loved the genuine, unconditional love that animals offer us. One of our favorite dogs was our dog, Rusty. He was like our big brother.

What were some of your other pets when growing up?

We had three dogs, five turtles, 30 budgies, fish, hamsters, snake, rabbits and pigeons.

What’s the most popular type of dog these days, and most popular type of cat?
French Bulldogs, Labrador retrievers, domestic shorthair cats.

Have you seen the relationship between pet owners and pets change over the years?
As time goes by, more people are choosing not to have kids, or by circumstances cannot. Pets are becoming the family that fills the space. They are loved as much as a child.