Celebrating 80 Years of Service...

Founded by Carl and Mary Ellen Dolphin in 1941 as a private ambulance service and medical equipment rental service, Dolphin Rents began its humble start in Pasadena, California. Dolphin Rents transported patients to and from local hospitals and nursing homes, and offered those in need of “sickroom supplies” rentals on a short or long term basis.

The company then contracted with Los Angeles County to provide for the emergent medical transportation needs of residents in unincorporated areas. Later, a contract with the City of Pasadena to back-up the local city ambulance service was signed, and the company had officially been accepted as a community based service.

Doctors and nursing homes became aware of the service and began ordering medical equipment along the lines of wheelchair's, hospital beds, walkers, etc. Physical therapists referred patients for orthopedic wheelchair's, crutches, walkers and rehabilitation equipment. Occupational therapists ordered bath safety equipment (grab bars, safety frames, toilet accessories, etc.), for patients who were anticipating their discharge from the hospital.

The company expanded to larger quarters twice over a twenty-year period, both times increasing inventories and territories. By the mid 60’s, the company was faced with some important decisions. The founders were retiring and their two sons were interested in taking over different parts of the business.

Joseph Dolphin, one brother, offered to run the ambulance service and train personnel to become paramedic. Once the paramedic program was introduced in Los Angeles County, the ambulance service took off. It quickly became the largest contract paramedic service in the country.

Patrick Dolphin took over the rental service and by the mid 70’s, introducing party and special event rentals. Aggressive marketing and Medicare billings grew the division to astronomical heights. As the special event business evolved in recent years, the company has emerged as a leader in designing and manufacturing event rental equipment servicing California and Nevada for fairs, festivals, golf tournaments, award shows, ethnic celebrations, graduations and weddings.

Today, Dolphin Rents offers equipment rentals for any size special event. Everything from tables, chairs and furniture, umbrellas to dance floors, structures, canopies and concession equipment. Non profit organizations, cities, colleges, universities, and places of worship have all become repeat customers who have enjoyed an excellent working relationship with the company.
Typically, our most common event is a wedding reception, banquet or, a country club or hotel renting tables and chairs, china, flatware, etc. Event planners and caterers partner up with us for food warmers, commercial ranges, serving trays and gas grills, and consult with our experienced event coordinators to determine dance floor sizes, tent locations and the like. As licensed contractors, we can secure city permits for corporate and non-profit events.

And we are perfectionists when it comes to creating layouts with our 3-D CAD diagramming system and Google maps which gives us a distinct advantage over the competition. CAD drawings allow us to show clients the look of their event before it happens. We can even duplicate an event location, insert the requested rental equipment into the equation, and look at it in 3-D to offer the client a remarkable to scale rendering of their event. CAD even allows us to present a clear and concise quotation detailing all the necessary rental equipment.  We also provide the highest quality service throughout the entire process to ensure an easy and seamless experience for our Customers.

Dolphin Rents has been successfully serving all of California for 80 years. As our extensive inventory grows with fresh new trends and our service territory expands state wide, our goals remain the same: to provide clients with quality rental equipment where VALUE is one of our company's values, and to offer impeccable service that makes our clients experience " THE DOLPHIN WOW FACTOR", and keep coming back!!!