SUDBURY -- A veterinary clinic that offers specialized care for northern Ontario pets is moving.
This fall, the Espanola Animal Hospital will relocate to Sudbury.
It will offer care that pet owners currently have to travel to southern Ontario to access.
The $3.5 million building will be 12,000 square feet and will be located on the corner of Long Lake Road and Highway 17.
"There is a lot of patient care that is not being met right now, simply because of distance and to some degree, cost as well," said veterinarian Dr. PJ Rocheleau.
The new facility will is expected to drastically improve access to veterinarian care.
"Bring in new equipment, like an MRI planned for the future. There are many things we will be able to do to provide more care for the pets of northern Ontario and make it more accessible," said Kali Holz, a registered vet technician.
The relocation and expansion will offer oncology care for dogs and cats.
"If you currently have a patient, for instance, that needs cancer treatment and you live in Timmins, you are on your way to Guelph or Toronto. And for most pets, that means you are not getting treatment," said Dr. Rocheleau.
The facility will offer 24-hour care and also telemedicine.
"It's very difficult to get a specialist to come up to a remote area to see patients, so if we can shrink the distance to zero, we have a much better opportunity to get people access to care, say to a neurologist or another surgeon that specializes in cancer treatment," said Dr. Rocheleau.
Dr. Rocheleau does a lot of orthopedic surgery and the new facility will include a canine rehabilitation unit.
"What that is going to allow us to do is house the equipment, such as pressure-sensitive walkways and underwater treadmills, that will help my surgical patients be able to walk again," said Dr. Rocheleau.
The land at the corner of Highway 17 and Long Lake road has started to be cleared and shovels will be in the ground in about a month.
The new facility is expected to open this November.
