King Animal Hospital: The Compassion Of Animal Health Care

Article appears in DOLCE. Watch the video here.

October 16, 2024

Recently opened King Animal Hospital north of Toronto takes an innovative new approach to the finest in animal welfare.

Many people do good things, but one true test of character is that good people will dig even further to do more. Good people such as Rob Scheinberg and Danielle Eden-Scheinberg, the dynamic husband-and-wife team behind the world-renowned Dog Tales Rescue and Sanctuary, have taken their commitment to animal welfare to the next level with the recent opening of their King Animal Hospital, set on 50 acres amid the rolling farmlands of King Township, just north of Toronto.

This cutting-edge 60,000-square-foot four-storey hospital will revolutionize animal care by bringing together specialists and advanced technologies to offer a comprehensive range of services for both small-animal and equine (horse) patients. The facility boasts seven operating rooms, 12 exam rooms, a state-of-the-art laboratory and pharmacy and specialized areas including a separate cat ward and a Medical Device Reprocessing Department (MDRD) sterilization room.

“We’ve created a space where diverse experts can work together efficiently and effectively to find solutions quickly,” said Scheinberg at the official ribbon-cutting in August 2024. “Our goal is to provide a calm environment for both patients and their owners, accommodating all creatures great and small.”

King Animal Hospital is an innovative and new approach to animal welfare, where a personalized approach to care is married to the latest technology to offer a multidisciplinary referral and emergency facility. Features include an indoor arena for equine assessments, outdoor paddocks for horses and green spaces for dogs, a heated outdoor ramp for horses and trailers, water therapy facilities for both horses and dogs, an auditorium for knowledge exchange and continuing education, and a Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber, the only one in Ontario for veterinary care. It also includes advanced diagnostic imaging equipment including two MRI machines, one recumbent CT scan for small animals, one standing CT scan for larger animals, nuclear scintigraphy, C-Arm fluoroscopy and digital X-rays.

But beyond the impressive technology, according to Eden-Scheinberg, it has always been the incredible level of passion, commitment to care and dedication of the facility’s employees, now more than 180, that has made the difference at King Animal Hospital since it opened its doors in January 2024.

“It’s important to understand it is the people who work here who are at the heart of this hospital,” says Eden-Scheinberg in a recent interview with Dolce Magazine. “It’s not just coming to work 9 to 5 — they all have compassion for the animals. They came to this profession because they care. These are unique individuals who do amazing things — truly very hard things. There are a lot of laughs and joys, but there are also some very sad stories in this profession. But they all pull together to save another life and then another life, and it’s not easy. I’m sure lots go home and cry, but it is an amazing group of people that we have. I always say they don’t work for us, they work with us, because we’re all in this together. That’s very important to understand.”

King Animal Hospital is just the latest example of Scheinberg and Eden-Scheinberg’s extraordinary commitment to animal welfare in Ontario since they opened their Dog Tales Rescue and Sanctuary in 2014. In its first decade, Dog Tales has rescued and rehabilitated approximately 3,000 dogs, and they all went to loving homes. These rescued dogs had often been neglected or abused, a fact that is not lost on Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who attended the August opening ceremony.

“Congratulations to everyone at King Animal Hospital on the opening of this state-of-the-art facility,” said Premier Ford. “Veterinary medicine is so important to keeping pets and other animals healthy and safe, as well as supporting public health more broadly, which is why our government is proud to be investing in veterinary training to improve access to animal care across Ontario.”

The grand opening of King Animal Hospital marks a significant milestone in animal health care, offering a revolutionary approach to veterinary medicine, which combines technology, expertise and compassion in a calming and welcoming purpose-built environment to ensure that all animals receive the utmost respect and diligent care during their stay.

But the animal-loving husband-and-wife team of Scheinberg and Eden-Scheinberg are not stopping there — they continue to evolve and push boundaries. As the hospital moves to achieve its final vision as a campus of care, more services will continue to be added, with ambitious plans for the future.

“We want to build a whole-care facility here on the property,” Scheinberg told Dolce. “We want to expand our oncology as we are seeing a lot more cancer in animals, unfortunately. So we want to build a separate building for oncology, and we want to add an Emergency Room for equines and that’s in the planning process as well. We want to be the most unique facility in Canada in terms of care, for research, for study, for employment, for animal dietary advancements and, of course, for the care of the animals and their owners. So everything — the whole package — you will be able to find here on the property.”

Good people doing good things. By bringing together the best specialists with the most advanced technology to ensure every animal patient, whether large or small, has access to the most comprehensive care, Rob Scheinberg and Danielle Eden-Scheinberg and the experts at King Animal Hospital are making a difference as catalysts for knowledge exchange in the veterinary field.