Banfield Hospital, a full-service veterinary clinic, opened on Feb. 11 at Sunnyvale's new PetSmart store.

Banfield provides complete pet care services from vaccines to spaying and neutering under the same roof where pet owners can purchase their pet supplies.

Kholood Hassan, who has been with Banfield for one year, will provide medical care and surgical procedures there. She previously worked at the hospital in the Campbell PetSmart store.

PetSmart is considered the nation's largest pet product retailer, and Banfield claims to be the nation's largest private veterinary practice with almost 500 hospitals in the United States, two in the United Kingdom and one in Mexico.

The Banfield and PetSmart relationship began in 1999 when the veterinary hospital became the exclusive operator of veterinary facilities inside PetSmart stores. PetSmart holds a 31 percent equity position in Medical Management International Inc., the operator of Banfield Hospitals.

Hassan says in addition to providing a comprehensive range of medical services, the business model and mass of Banfield Hospitals offers a unique benefit to pets and their owners.

Banfield has a centralized medical database, which stores the records of several million pets. When pet owners relocate and find a Banfield hospital near their new home, the vet there will have immediate access to the pet's health history.

Consistency in the examination rooms and other areas of the hospital is helpful to doctors and veterinary technicians who work in more than one hospital.

Examination rooms in these hospitals are set up similarly; supplies are stored in the same drawers and cabinets. When Hassan is on vacation, another Banfield doctor can walk into her hospital in Sunnyvale and, for example, know that the muzzle is kept in the drawer on the right of the counter in each examination room. This kind of planning and organization helps the medical professionals focus on the pet instead of spending time searching for the right tools or equipment, Hassan says.

Preventive care is an overriding theme at Banfield, and the company promotes a "wellness plan" with four plan options. Each plan--which should not be confused with insurance--includes two scheduled comprehensive physical exams, plus additional services with each step up in cost. Typical pet owners take pets in for annual examinations, but Hassan says yearly check-ups might allow time for a small problem to grow into a big problem.

Twice-yearly exams could catch a tumor in its infancy, which allows doctors to begin treatment at earlier stages.

There is a one-time membership fee of $69.95 for each healthcare plan, plus the annual plan cost, which ranges from $239.40 to $419.40. The plans can be paid for in monthly installments as low as $19.95. However, it's not necessary to belong to the healthcare plan to take a pet to the hospital.

Banfield operates 70 hospitals in California--several in the Bay Area--including one in Campbell and one soon to open in Mountain View. Only three of the company's hospitals are not located inside a PetSmart store.

Banfield Hospital is located inside the PetSmart store at 770 E. El Camino Real, 408.733.2094, for more information on Banfield go to www.banfield.net.