The history of the location of River Rapids Pet Hospital + Clinic 

The location of River Rapids Pet Hospital + Clinic has been an institution in the neighborhood of SW Coon Rapids for almost 30 years.  The clinic is located in the River Rapids Overlay District. 

In 1993, a group of veterinarians bought this location and designed the building for emergency pet care.  It has an efficient layout which allows all pet patients to be heard and observed at all times. The building and veterinary practice are now locally owned by Dr. Jennifer Hale and her family, who live in the North Metro.

After many years of serving the community as an after-hours only hospital, it is now a general practice hospital and clinic. Dr. Hale can help your pet with a wide variety of needs, including preventive care, illness, injury, surgery and dentistry.

Older History:

River Rapids Pet sits along a three-mile stretch of Coon Rapids Boulevard, which follows the path of the historic Ox Cart Trail. Originally a footpath used by indigenous people, the Red River Ox Cart Trail connected rich hunting grounds in the Red River Valley and the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers.

The trail, known for much of its history as the Red River Road, was the main route for travel despite it following the Mississippi River. The Red River Road extended from Winnipeg in the north, west into the plains, and 420 miles southeast to St. Paul’s busy riverboat landings.

In the early 1800s, ox carts were the primary mode of transportation. By the 1840s, they dominated shipping along the trail. These carts, made of wood and rawhide, could be heard five miles away due to their squeaky wheels and sometimes traveled in groups of up to 200. Since the ox carts were entirely made of wood and rawhide, repairs didn't require a blacksmith. The wheels couldn't be oiled because trail dust and mud would stick to them.

The carts carried buffalo hides, furs, pemmican, tallow, moccasins, and other handmade goods to St. Paul, returning with groceries, tobacco, liquor, and manufactured products.

Near what is now the southeast corner of Coon Rapids Boulevard and Egret (about 700 feet from River Rapids Pet) stood the "Dunn House," originally a halfway house for Ox Cart Trail travelers. A barn and blacksmith shop across the road accommodated the animals used for the journey.

By the early 1900s, the fur trade ended, as many fur-bearing animals had been hunted nearly to extinction and settlers were moving into the region.