The original Plymouth Heights Pet Hospital was built by Dr. Elmer Hokkanen in 1969. At that time he was also the owner of Belt Line Pet Hospital which was just south of 36th Avenue on Highway 100. He had been told the county was going to expand Highway 100 and his clinic would eventually be torn down. For that reason, he built a large pet hospital and boarding facility in an area surrounded mostly by farms so he would be prepared for Belt Line's demise and ready for future growth and expansion. For eleven years he owned and staffed both pet hospitals and, after it was decided BLPH would not be torn down, he finally decided to sell Plymouth Heights Pet Hospital. In April of 1980 the practice, land and building were sold to Drs. Tom Corson and Pierce Fleming. Tom and Pierce became very good friends as classmates and roommates during veterinary school and both graduated with the veterinary class of 1978 from the University of Minnesota. Over ten years the clinic grew with the Plymouth area as the farmland gave way to the suburbs. For many reasons, Dr. Corson decided to sell his share of PHPH to Dr. Fleming on January 1st, 1990. The split was amicable and the two remain good friends to this day.
In 1998, we became a certified American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) hospital. This was a huge commitment in time and money but it elevated the level of care we could provide. All AAHA accredited practices voluntarily meet or exceed the association's extensive standards for high quality patient care, equipment, and procedures. AAHA certified hospitals assure their clients they are getting the best in animal health care.
As the practice continued to grow, we became too limited in the space needed to provide high quality care for our patients. When we found that expansion was not a feasible option, we decided to build a new clinic. After 35 years in Plymouth, we found land on the other side of Highway 169 in New Hope and built our new facility. On Valentine's Day, 2004, we moved into our current building with more space, a layout to our specifications, new, state-of-the-art medical equipment and a high quality boarding facility with outdoor runs. The hospital was built surrounding a large open treatment area which allows us to practice better medicine and surgery in a more pleasant atmosphere.
