"There's something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man."-Winston Churchill.
An equine changed Thomas Caltabilota's life. In 2001 Caltabilota started working at the Monmouth Park Race Track as a sophomore at Long Branch's Shore Regional High School. The gig was just what Caltabilota needed. Calibilota's brother Frank died tragically while attending Seton Hall University.
"I was dealing with awful trauma," Calibilota recalled. "My brother had just died. That trauma led me to the race track. Someone offered me a job with the racing commission."
Caltabilota did post-race blood and urine tests while checking for performance enhancing medication.
"It was a great summer job," Caltabilota said. "It altered the direction of my life. I wasn't the best student then and I started hanging out with the wrong crowd. I felt this rebelliousness and had a lot of anxiety running through me. But when you're working around horses they can feel that in you. You're forced to be calm, confident or you will be dragged or trampled. You have to be cool around a horse."
The thoroughbreds at Monmouth Park Race Track enabled Caltabilota to relax. "The horses helped me to calm down and breathe," Caltabilota said. "They forced me to be calm and I just loved being around them."
The experience inspired Caltabilota to enter Rutgers' Equine Sciences program. "I worked in research and it was amazing," Caltabilota said. "I developed such a passion working with horses. Beyond that I just loved working with animals."
One good thing led to another as the West Long Branch native met his wife, Avery Kasten, who was pre-Veterinary at Rutgers.
Caltabilota, 40, graduated from Rutgers and enrolled in a masters program in Equine Sciences at LSU. "I did research," Caltabilota said. "I studied diabetes in horses and just loved what I was doing."
After graduating from LSU, it was time for Caltabilota to return home where he opened City By the Sea Veterinary in 2018 on Memorial Drive. Their mission is to provide compassionate care and quality medicine to all pets, even those that aren't equines, who come for treatment.
City By the Sea Veterinary provides full-service veterinary medicine and surgery for pets.
What separates City By the Sea Veterinary is that it's an independent facility. "Many of the veterinary practices are corporate owned and have investors looking over everyone's shoulders," Caltabilota said. "Some of these practices are floundering after COVID. They invested in a lot of older veterinarians, who have retired. We don't look at the bottom line. We're trying to provide the best service and with that we try to earn the trust of everyone. Working with animals is an emotional experience. Our team helps people understand what their options are when their pets are sick. Our team is doing our best to help the community here in Asbury Park."
City By the Sea Veterinary has eight veterinarians on staff and two veterinarians in their urgent care facility. "The general practice is in a big building and has more space than what we need," Caltabilota said. That will be our home for the next 30 or 40 years since we will do our best to serve the community. We're all about making a long-term commitment in Asbury Park. This is our home."
Caltabilota handles the business side while his better half is City By the Sea's medical director. "It's a great situation for us," Caltabilota said. "We love how it's going."
The couple, who reside in Ocean Township with their six-year old son, Marco, work with Catsbury Park, a cat rescue in Asbury Park. "We're all about the community here," Caltabilota said. "We started working with other rescues. We developed a program with the high school (Asbury Park High School) across the street so students can be exposed to animal treatment and medicine. We helped clean up that area around the school. We dealt with overgrown weeds and shattered windows and dealt with variance issues. But it's been worth it. The kids coming out of high school can see that building as their future. The kids need hope. We wanted to turn that building into something wholesome for the community. We just wanted to make it better. We're not just a business in this community. We're part of the change in Asbury Park."
City By the Sea Veterinary takes part in beach clean up and sponsors little league baseball teams. "It's fun to do those sorts of things and try to make a difference," Caltabilota said. "We hope the community doesn't just see us as the local veterinarian but also as a neighbor."
When Caltabilota is not in the office he hangs out at the beach with his family. "We're just a few blocks from the ocean," Caltabilota said. "That's where my wife, son and I go."
There are two fortunate pets, who reside at the Caltabilota home. The veterinarians adopted a three-legged cat named Freddy, who resides with Rubble, a French bulldog, who has one ear and a myriad of allergies.
"What's great is that these two animals found the right homes," Caltabilota said. "Each of our pets have lifelong issues but the great thing is that they live in a house with two veterinarians. It's perfect for them. We can provide all the care that our cat and dog needs."
Caltabilota doesn't own a horse. He's not a horse doctor but he can still be found at Monmouth Park. "I still love it there," Caltabilota said. "Going to the racetrack is something I still enjoy. It all started there. The horses had such a huge impact on me. Horses are so beautiful. I like being around them. It's like therapy for me. I wouldn't be where I am without that (initial) experience with them."
We're trying to provide the best service and with that we try to earn the trust... Working with animals is an emotional experience. It's tough when animals get sick."
We're not just a business in this community. We're part of the change in Asbury Park.