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Meet Our Doctors
Dr. Kerry L. Brown, DVM
Dr. Brown is originally from Berwick, PA. He set his sights on a career in veterinary medicine when he was in the sixth grade. His love for nature, wildlife and animals strengthened during his high school years and he entered undergraduate studies in pre-veterinary medicine at Penn. State University in 1966. From there, he entered Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine through a reciprocity program in fall of 1969. Kerry received his BS in animal science from Penn. State in 1970 and his DVM in 1973.
After four years in general practice at the Fayetteville Veterinary Hospital in Fayetteville, NY, he and his wife, Nickolette opened the doors to the Village Veterinary Hospital, in June 1977. VVH was originally a mixed animal practice.
Kerry has a special interest in reproduction and enjoys working with dog breeders. He also enjoys internal medicine and surgery, both soft tissue and orthopedics as well as endoscopy and has a special interest in nutrition. In 1994, Dr. Brown became certified in acupuncture by the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society (IVAS) and added alternative medicine to his areas of special interest. He has found it especially gratifying to see Eastern and Western medicine compliment each other and give his patients the best of both worlds. He co-authored the book “The Holistic Guide For a Healthy Dog” with Wendy Volhard.
The Browns have a son, Eric, who is working towards his PhD. in biomedical engineering and a daughter, Alicia, who is majoring in chemistry, exercise science and “volleyball” with some serious thought of entering veterinary medicine. They also share their home with two Golden Retrievers, Emma and Obe; one cat, Thomas J; and two horses, Lookie and Mr. Megafleet (Bubba).
Kerry is very active in the Lions Club, both on the local and district levels and enjoys working with the Lions youth program. Additionally, he has served on the Board of the Wanderer’s Rest Humane Society since its inception.
Gardening and landscaping are also favorite pastimes and he helps Nickie maintain the plantings and flowerbeds that surround the hospital. His worst obsession is cruising lake Ontario in search of salmon and steelhead. Dr. Brown has his Coast Guard Six-Pac license and captains the Ace of Spays III out of Oak Orchard, NY.
Kerry and Nickie enter VVH’s 31st year with the same enthusiasm they had when they first opened the doors in 1977. They look forward to continued service to their clients and patients with the unrelenting focus on providing the best that veterinary medicine has to offer.
Dr. Frank Capella, DVM
 Dr. Frank Capella is originally from Solvay, NY. He received his undergraduate degree from the Cornell University College of Agriculture & Life Sciences in 1985. Dr. Capella has been a member of the Village Veterinary Hospital team since his receiving his DVM degree from the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine in 1989. He has special interests in ophthalmology, ultrasound and internal medicine. Frank is a past president of the Central New York Veterinary Medical Association and has been an active board member since 1993. He has also been actively involved in the DVM exhibit at the NY State Fair for that entire time.
Frank and his wife Dee live in Chittenango, NY with their two sons, Evan and Jonah. His personal interests include kayaking; hiking; camping; golfing and cooking and catering. Frank is an active leader of Pack 21 of the Chittenango Cub Scouts, and is an active member of the local Knights of Columbus chapter.
Dr. Karen Love, DVM
Dr. Love has been a member of the VVH family since 1996. She was born and raised in Simsbury, CT where her interest in animals developed at a young age. She readily became a pet sitter for all the neighborhood dogs and cats and, at age 15, she began working at two local animal hospitals as a kennel attendant. Throughout high school and college, she worked as a veterinary assistant.
Karen attended the University of Connecticut as an undergraduate (yes, she is a Husky!!) majoring in Pathobiology. While at UCONN, she spent some time working in a research department studying winter dysentery in cows and Crohn’s disease in humans. After three years at UCONN, she was accepted to the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine.
While at Cornell, her family grew. She rescued a Rottweiler carrying muscular dystrophy and two research cats. She also met John, her future husband. During her four years at Cornell, Karen worked in the small animal out-patient practice as a veterinary assistant. She also exercised horses on a treadmill as part of a research project.
She graduated from Cornell in 1996 and since her husband, John, was a Cazenovia native, she sought employment in the Syracuse area. This brought her to Village Veterinary Hospital. Karen has developed a strong interest in dermatology and is a member of the American Academy of Veterinary Dermatologists.
She currently resides in Cazenovia with her husband, two children and menagerie of animals. She is a lifelong horsewoman who also enjoys playing tennis and running.
Dr. John Brandy, DVM
Dr. Brandy grew up in Western Massachusetts. He completed his undergraduate studies at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL where he received a BS in psychology and a minor in economics. Following Eckerd College he enrolled in a post graduate certificate program at Bennington College in Vermont receiving a degree in Pre-veterinary studies. He then attended Tufts Veterinary School outside of Boston, MA. While at Tufts he focused and excelled at both small animal surgery and emergency critical care, receiving the ACVS student surgery excellence award as well as the ACVECC student critical care excellence award. He also completed an externship in surgery at the Animal Medical Center in NYC.
Following his graduation from Tufts, he took a position with the Village Veterinary Hospital where he has continued to develop his special interest in surgery and emergency/critical care. He is an active member of the Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care Society and he annually attends the IVECCS conference. He is an active member of the American Veterinary Medicine Association and the Central New York Veterinary Medical Society.
Dr. Brandy enjoys his free time with his wife Kiri and their daughter Madie and brand new baby, Jack. They share their home with a dog, Bryce and two cats, Nickie and Cooper. He especially enjoys the outdoors - kayaking, hiking, snowshoeing and gardening. He also likes to relax in his woodshop.
Dr. Maria Santaguida, DVM
Dr. Santaguida is a lifelong resident of North Syracuse, NY. Maria dreamed of being a veterinarian since childhood and to attain that goal she attended the State University of New York at Albany for her undergraduate studies and received her DVM from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Dr. Santaguida first came to Village Veterinary Hospital in 2003 when she shadowed Dr. Fank Capella. She officially joined VVH in June 2005. Although her main focus is in small animal medicine, she does have a special interest in exotics and pocket pets.
While attending veterinary school Dr. Santaguida worked in the University of Illinois Wildlife Clinic for 2 years helping to rehabilitate and release injured wildlife ranging from orphan baby squirrels to great horned owls. Maria honed her surgical skills by volunteering at a spay/neuter clinic on the Apache Indian reservation in Arizona during the summer of 2003.
Maria is a member of a large Italian family and has one cat, "Ziele." She enjoys spending quality time with her family, eating big spaghetti dinners and playing Texas Hold-em Poker. Dr. Santaguida is an avid reader and movie connoisseur. She also enjoys rollerblading in Onondaga Lake Park and camping with friends in Watkins Glen.
Dr. Barb Roach, DVM
 Dr. Roach’s aspiration of becoming a Veterinarian began at a very young age. In 1985, she started working after school at a local Veterinary Hospital on Long Island where she grew up. In 1986, Barb was accepting into the State University of Delhi’s associate program for Animal Health Technology. In 1988, she was then accepted into the State University of Binghamton’s Bachelor of Science program, majoring in biology. In 1993 she began studies at Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine and graduated with her DVM in 1996. Dr. Roach worked at another local hospital from 1996 until 2000 where she not only eagerly enhanced her small animal medicine and surgical skills but also developed a keen interest in exotic medicine.
Dr. Roach joined Village Veterinary Hospital in January of 2000 and has continued not only to have a passion towards and professional interest in exotic medicine but also small animal surgery, medicine, diagnostic imaging, and cardiology. Dr. Roach is a Member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the New York State Veterinary Medical Association, and of the American Association of Avian Veterinarians. She also has served as secretary for the Central New York Veterinary Medical Association since 2006.
In 2000, Dr. Roach also took a position with the Onondaga County Health Dept as the director of Animal Disease Prevention. Each year, she provides approximately 19 Rabies clinics throughout all of Onondaga County. She also is involved in assisting with the development of an emergency preparedness plan for the county and works closely with the department of emergency management on this.
Dr. Roach met her husband Chris after moving to Syracuse in 1996. Chris is a pilot and manager at Milton Caterpillar in Syracuse. He is originally from Troy, New York. Barb and Chris don't have any children right now but all their pets keep them quite busy. They have a houseful of pets consisting of two mix breed dogs, Phoebe and Missy and a bulldog name Chance. They have also two rescued Umbrella Cockatoos, Charlie and Alfie. Finally, they have a special cat named Swashbuckler.
The Roachs' love all sorts of outdoor activities but their favorite past time is taking their boat Tenacious out on the Erie Canal and St. Lawrence River. They also love biking, running, skiing, and competing in marathons and triathalons.
Dr. Jaime Hopper, DVM
Dr. Hopper was born and raised in northern New York and aspired to be a veterinarian from a young age. She volunteered at the Watertown Zoo for two years, and then went on to work at Old McDonald's Children Farm in Sackets Harbor, NY throughout high school. In 2001 she left the northern New York area to complete an associate’s degree in animal science at SUNY Cobleskill . She then transferred to Cornell University to complete two more years of animal science for a bachelor’s degree in 2003. After taking a year off from school to work at veterinary hospitals in the Syracuse area, Dr. Hopper was accepted at Cornell University Veterinary School in 2004 and completed her degree in 2008. Dr. Hopper’s special interests in the veterinary field include oncology and imaging.
While attending Cornell, Dr. Hopper met and became engaged to her fiancé Kevin, a fellow veterinarian. She and Kevin have two dogs, Jessie and Ruger, with whom she spends most of her free time. Dr. Hopper also enjoys sailing, kayaking, gardening and fishing but most of all she enjoys taking her dogs swimming.
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