Dr. Porter’s Dog and Cat Hospital opened on Highway 7 in 1947.
The story begins in 1860 when Thomas Portier brought his family to Shell Rock, Minnesota, from his birthplace in Quebec to homestead. His name was most likely changed to Porter when he entered the U.S. Thomas was a farmer and also a “horse doctor.” In those days, you didn’t need a veterinary degree to work on animals. You learned from someone else that was doing that job. Thomas also raised stallions in addition to his farming and animal doctoring.
Thomas’s son, Bennett J. Porter I, was the first “official” veterinarian in the Porter family. Dr. Porter I was born in 1858 in Toronto and came to Minnesota with his family at the age of 2. He graduated from Ontario Veterinary College in 1906, although in the 1900 Census his occupation was already listed as “Veterinary Surgeon.” He wasn’t a kid at the time he graduated. He had already been married, and remarried since he lost his first wife to typhoid fever in 1893, leaving him a single father with three children. Bennett married his second wife, Edith Adele Prescott Clark, in 1896. Edith had also lost her spouse to typhoid, and was widowed with three children. Edith had no formal training but played an important role as a veterinarian’s wife. She helped brew the concoctions, rolled the pills, and could diagnose and dispense when her husband was on call. Together, Bennett I and Edith had three more children for a total of nine.
Their ninth child, Bennett J. Porter II, was born in 1904 and carried on the family tradition. “It never occurred to me that I would be anything else but a veterinarian,” he recalled later. It wasn’t easy. His father, Bennett I, died in 1919, leaving Edith a widow with a young son. She moved to Ames Iowa and ran a boarding house to help support her family and provide for the education of her youngest son, Bennett II. “Not many went on to college in those days. I had trouble finding a college offering training for veterinarians.” This was the time of the Great Depression, and the bank with his life’s savings had closed. Bennett, like many others of his time, wondered how he was going to survive. Luckily, however, more than 86 percent of his money was returned in quarterly installments “just in time to pay tuition and book fees.” Bennett II earned his veterinary degree from Iowa State College in 1931. He first practiced in several locations around Albert Lea, Minnesota.
Bennett II opened Porter’s Dog and Cat Hospital at 4925 Highway 7, east of Highway 100, in St. Louis Park in 1947. He picked St. Louis Park because of its proximity to the University of Minnesota and for its expanding population. At the time, there was very little else in the neighborhood. He started in a temporary metal structure. That building was later donated to the Village during the time the annual carnival was held in a lot next to Lincoln School. Below are two photos of that metal building.
When he started to build a permanent building, Bennett II discovered that it was on top of the Bass Lake lakebed, and had to put down 50 foot pilings to support it. The new brick building was opened on May 24, 1950: “This new, modern, fireproof hospital is scientifically equipped to give your animal the best care possible.”
Bennett II and his wife Violet had three children. Two of his children, Thayer (Gene) and Bennett III, became veterinarians. Bennett III remembers going out with his father on large animal calls and helping around the clinic, which developed a natural interest in caring for animals. Bennett III and Gene graduated from St. Louis Park High School and went on to graduate from the University of Minnesota in veterinary medicine: Gene in 1959 and Bennett in 1961.
Doctors Bennett III and Gene Porter have seen many changes in their profession. Their father and grandfather were proud to be known as “horse” doctors because that was mainly what they treated. Small animal practice was mostly euthanasia. Today people view pets as family members and take their health seriously. They want them to be healthy and happy. When Dr. Bennett II started his practice, the only drug available was sulfa. Today there many drugs available to treat diabetes, heart disease, and cancer in animals.
In 1973 Bennett III founded Westgate Pet Clinic at 4345 France Ave. in Minneapolis. Meanwhile, Bennet III had four children with his wife, Mary Jean (Jeannie). His son, Dr. Bennett Porter IV, also went on to become a veterinarian, graduating from the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine in 1982. He purchased Westgate from his father in May 1996. In 2000 Dr. Rhonda Downie became a partner in the clinic.
Dr. Porter IV and his wife Mary Jo have two children, Bennett V and Mathew. Neither went on to become veterinarians.
Inevitably, the “new modern fireproof hospital” on Highway 7 became inadequate for the level of care possible today. The Doctors Porter decided to build a new hospital clinic at their Westgate location at 4345 France Ave. So. They now have a high tech veterinary clinic with computers and the latest technology closely mimicking human treatment facilities.
The new building was completed in June 2005 and was dedicated to Dr. Bennett Porter I and his wife, Edith Adelle Porter.
On June 1, 2005, Park Pet was consolidated at its Westgate building on France Ave., and no longer had a presence in St. Louis Park. It left behind many fond memories of pets who were cared for there for over 50 years.