Vet hospital to open at Providence zoo

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - The animals at Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence will soon be cared for in a new, state-of-the-art veterinary hospital. Officials and Rhode Island Zoological Society donors broke ground on the project during a ceremony Monday afternoon.

Shortly before the festivities, medical staff gave a tour of the current medical facilities and conducted an exam on a opossum.

The zoo said it has an impressive veterinary staff, including two full-time veterinarians. However, over the years they have been challenged by the space limitations in the basement of what was orginally a working bar.

The new hospital, which will cost an estimated $3.8 million, is slated to open late 2010 and is part of the zoo's multi-million dollar renovation. It will have 55 percent more square footage than the current hospital. Zoo officials said the location, alongside the Wetlands Trail, will give the animals a quieter place to recover.