Banfield (pet hospitals)

Banfield Pet Hospital is a privately owned company based in Portland, Oregon, United States, that operates veterinary clinics. Part of the Mars, Incorporated family of companies, Banfield owns clinics in the United States, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. Founded in 1955, the company operates many of its 800 plus clinics inside PetSmart stores. Banfield is the largest privately owned veterinary practice in the United States. On April 2, 2014, Banfield Pet Hospital announced its headquarters would be relocating to Vancouver, Washington.HistoryBanfield was founded in northeast Portland, Oregon, in 1955 by Warren J. Wegert. The name comes from the nearby Banfield Freeway. In 1987, Scott Campbell purchased the single veterinary hospital which had about $2 million in annual revenues. Medical Management International, Inc. (MMI) was created to own the clinic, and in 1994 the pet store chain PetSmart teamed up with MMI to open pet clinics in their stores initially called VetSmart. By 1996 the private company had grown to in excess of 150 locations in 18 states with over 600,000 pets treated annually and 1,100 employees. PetSmart received rent and a share of the profits from the clinics, and owned part of MMI as part of the deal between the companies. In 2000, Banfield purchased PetSmart’s other clinics named Petsmart Veterinary Services.The company grew to more than 250 clinics by 2001. That year MMI launched BluePaw Family Pet Insurance Company to sell health insurance for pets. After a lawsuit by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, the name was changed to TruePaws in August 2001. In January 2004, the company bought a property for $2.3 million from the Portland Public Schools for a new headquarters on NE 82nd Avenue. They also opened a clinic in England, their first international location, and operated 360 clinics in all.