Dear Friend,

It's been a while since we found our way to your inbox! We hope you and your pets enjoyed a wonderful summer and are braced for the rainy days ahead. It's been a busy few months for us at Raintree, with a number of unique and interesting cases ranging from emergencies rushed to us from far-off cities (followed by some amazing recoveries), a series of foreign objects retrieved from the stomachs of too-curious pets, and even a few procedures that involved collaborating with fellow vets and human doctors alike to save animal lives. As always, we have attended to numerous night emergencies (perhaps more so than usual), and as always, we have found ourselves feeling inspired and amazed by the resilience of animals. We hope to inform, inspire, and uplift your spirits as you scroll through this email. But before we move forward, we must share a difficult update...

While the last few months have been both challenging and fulfilling from a veterinary perspective, it is with the heaviest of hearts that we inform you we lost an integral member of our family recently. Our beloved Blue the therapy cat, who brought such unbridled joy and comfort to so many of us, passed away a few months ago. While our hearts continue to ache from this terrible loss, we know deep down that Blue never truly left us. Even as we write to you now, we feel his loving personality and healing spirit through every happy recovery at our clinic. This is why, in Blue's honour, we have decided to rename our animal welfare initiative, formerly the Raintree Relief Project, to Friends of Blue.

While the work we do will continue to remain 100% unchanged as we redirect proceeds from our Raintree Essentia store towards treating a certain number of stray/homeless animals that are rushed to us in various states of distress each month, by renaming this initiative, we hope to keep Blue's memory alive and remind ourselves every day that he continues to watch over us all at Raintree: furry, scaled, feathered, and human alike.

We hope you will continue to support us in our efforts to bring quality, compassionate veterinary care to all. 

With love,
Team Raintree

As pet parents ourselves, we know this might be frightening to read, but it’s important to understand that emergencies like GDV can worsen in a matter of hours.

As vets, we'd also like to emphasise that no procedure at Raintree is ever recommended unless we truly believe it is the best decision for your pet. Surgical decisions are carefully weighed and informed by comprehensive diagnostics, years of experience dealing with cases just like these, and shared knowledge from the global veterinary community. While it's important to be well-informed, it's also equally vital to have a primary vet you trust -- and trust that they have your little one's best interests at heart!

If you'd like to learn more about GDV and recommended precautionary measures, please click here.

In this issue of our Did You Know? series, we hope to spread awareness about the importance of flea control and its connection to tapeworm infections in dogs and cats.

Visually, tapeworm segments can sometimes be seen stuck to an infected animal’s fur, and will look like grains of white rice or cucumber seeds. Occasionally, they can even be seen on the surface of freshly passed faeces. If you spot these segments, or if your pet has been biting or scooting their bottom across the ground in response to irritation around the anus, it’s important to inform your veterinarian as soon as possible. Other symptoms to keep an eye out for include increased appetite and stomach upsets.

We know this may sound a little scary, but treatment for this particular kind of tapeworm (Dipylidium caninum) is fairly straightforward, and while it's important to be informed about the different kinds of ailments and infections that could affect our pets, it's equally important not to panic. If your pet is scooting, it could be for a number of other reasons. Never self-medicate your pets. As always, your primary vet will be the best person to provide a definitive diagnosis and treatment plan.

We hope you found this helpful! If you have any suggestions or requests for our Did You Know? series, please let us know.

From seeing Puchki the kitten find her happily ever after to reuniting with Peaches the indie girl (now no longer a pup) for a wonderful afternoon at her new home, the last few months have infused us with joy and hope for rescued animals looking for homes. Thank you to every single one of you who opens their home and heart to a rescue in need!

PS: We currently have a gorgeous, sweet-tempered rescue cat who is looking for a wonderful family to take him home! If you'd like to be that family for him, please write to us today.