COVID-19 Information

March 27, 2020

Updated March 11, 2022

As many know, effective today, the provincial government has lifted the requirement to wear masks in many circumstances, but left it up to the discretion of each business.

At RainTree we are so excited to see all of your smiling faces again. We also realize that this pandemic is not quite over yet and the health and well being of our clients remains a top priority. As such, we are lifting the requirement to wear masks in most areas. However; we ask that clients continue to wear masks while in exam rooms (as will our doctors) due to it being a confined space requiring close proximity.

We will continue to enforce a zero tolerance sick policy for our staff and ask the clients call to reschedule if not feeling well. And as always, we will continue with enhanced cleaning protocols.

We are excited to be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and we ask for a little patience as we change our rules to adapt to the changing situation accordingly.

Updated December 20, 2021

As covid cases begin to rise once again and as fears of the omicron variant increase, we will be making a few changes to the guidelines we currently have in place. We also wanted to remind clients of some important policies.

• Effective immediately, we will once again be returning to patient treatments outside the exam room. Your veterinarian will come into the exam room and have a brief chat with you but will then take the pet back to the treatment area to assess/treat your pet. This is not something we do lightly or want to do, but it is to reduce the amount of contact time which is a key component of transmissibility.
• We will be doubling down on our sanitization procedures within the clinic.
• All clients are required to wear masks and sanitize their hands upon entry to the clinic.
• We ask you to be vigilant of social distancing both with our staff as well as other clients. Please keep your space. If you see the reception area has more than 3 people in it, please wait outside until someone leaves before entering.
• We continue to have and enforce a zero sickness tolerance policy with employees. If they are sick they are to stay home and get tested if the situation calls for it.

This is not something we wanted to do as we enter the holiday season but the health and safety of both our staff and clients is our primary concern. We want to do our part to ensure everyone has a healthy Christmas. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and will update our guidelines as required. We hope these precautions are short lived but will also increase them if necessary.

Stay healthy friends.

Updated July 2, 2021

With the Province's announcement of Level 3 as of July 1st, we are excited to begin lifting some restrictions and begin a cautious transition back towards a friendlier more personable clinic. Our restrictions were put in place to ensure the health and safety of both our clients and staff and this remains our top priority. We ask for your continued patience and co-operation as we perform ongoing risk assessments to determine which restrictions can be safely lifted while maintaining the health and safety of both clients and staff. Please refer to the below points to see changes to our clinic policies with the implentation of stage 3. This will be reviewed on an ongoing basis and is subject to change without notice.

• Masks will remain mandatory for the time being. As the province has advised masks until two weeks after 2nd vaccinations, our mask policy will remain in place until at least two weeks after all our staff have received their 2nd vaccinations. Our main goal is to have clients present during their pets appointments again, and because of the close personal contact this requires, we believe this is the safest decision for the moment. We get it - we can't wait to lose the masks as well, but lets wait until we are sure we can do it safely. 
• If a client has a cold, flu or Covid symptoms, we continue to ask that you not attend the clinic. Please give us a call and we would be happy to reschedule your appointment. This policy also applies to all staff members.
• Our waiting room is now open once again (subject to occupancy limits). Clients must be masked and are asked to sanitize their hands upon entry.
  • Clients who choose to wait outside for their pet will certainly have this wish respected. 
  • Curbside pickup and online sales will remain available for all clients who feel more comfortable with these methods.
• Clients are now permitted to be present during their pets exam (YAY). If the owner is not comfortable with this, this will be respected and the exam will be conducted in the treatment room while the owner waits in an exam room or outside. 
• All protective barriers will remain in place until further notice and enhanced cleaning protocols for all frequently touched surfaces will continue to be done.

We thank you all for your patience and support as we continue to navigate these waters. We can't wait to see you all in person again and look forward to removing more restrictions as soon as its safe and/or permissible to do so. 

Updated June 24, 2020

As we progress through stage II of the pandemic, we have implemented many new guidelines to ensure all precautions are taken to keep ourselves and our valued clients safe.  We do feel it’s time to work toward allowing you  to come in with your pets again, but must do our very best at ensuring social distancing as guided by Provincial health, our veterinary college and Worksafe BC.

We have a zero-tolerance policy for sick staff, and we ask the same of you, if you or your family members are sick, please stay home and reschedule your appointment.

You must pass all pre-screening questions prior to your appointment being accepted and on the day of your appointments (no history of travel outside of the province for the last 14 days, no current symptoms of illness (cough, fever, sneezing, etc.) and no known contact with a Covid positive person in the last 14 days.

All clients must always wear masks to cover their nose and mouth while you are in the building. We cannot be flexible on this rule.  We ask that you provide your own mask, however; if you are unable to obtain one prior to your appt. we will provide one to you. You will be asked to disinfect your hands immediately upon entering the building. Only one client will be allowed to accompany your pet into the hospital. 

We will maintain a 3-person occupancy limit for the hospital to maintain social distancing in our lobby. If you arrive and you can see that the limit has been reached, please wait outside.

We strongly encourage all drug and food orders and payments still be taken over the phone. You can come in to pick up your order when you arrive. Please refer to our signs and directions. If you prefer curbside pick up, we can accommodate this, just call us when you get here.

Our staff will gather as much information about your pet prior to your appointment, so that we know all your questions and concerns to be addressed for the appointment.  

6 feet social distancing must be maintained at all times. As such, your pet will be taken to the treatment room for exams and treatments.

We have implemented strict disinfection protocols in the hospital for high touch surfaces.

We appreciate your patience during this time. We are really looking forward to your pets having you with them and talking in person again!

Updated May 21, 2020

To Our Valued Clients, 

The College of Veterinarians of BC in conjunction with Worksafe BC have given us permission to gradually reduce some of the strict social distancing requirements that have been in place for the past few months. We have also been cleared to resume offering a greater range of services such as elective surgeries and vaccines. The health and well-being of our clients and staff is our top priority and we want to assure you that we are taking all necessary precautions to keep everyone safe so that we can continue to remain open to care for your pets. We have made a number of changes to our protocols in accordance with guidance from the governement and applicable health authorities that will help ensure everyone's safety as we work towards a new normal. 

Effective immediately, the following procedures are in place until further notice:

• Operations: Our waiting room and reception area remains closed to the public for the time being. We are working towards the installation of Plexiglas shields for the safety of our clients and staff. Once this is accomplished, we will re-open the waiting room / reception with a strict capacity of 2 persons at a time. We ask that you be patient with us as this may require some minor inconveniences as we co-ordinate to ensure we do not exceed this limit. We anticipate the re-opening of the waiting room / reception with these new measures in approximately 2-3 weeks. Until then, we continue to ask clients arriving for scheduled appointments to remain in their vehicle and call reception at 250-941-1145. A technician will take your pets medical history and then come outside to retrieve your pet (Please ensure all dogs are on leash and cats are in kennels). Dr. Robin will examine your pet and then call you to ask any follow up questions and discuss a treatment plan. 

• Social Distancing: If you are feeling ill, showing signs or symptoms of an illness or have travelled in the last two weeks we ask that you not attend the clinic. If your pet needs to be seen on an emergency basis and you fall into previously listed catergories, we ask that you call to discuss alternative arrangements such as having a friend or family member bring your pet in. Please notify us of your symptoms or previous travel at this time as we will need to implement enhanced handling protocols with your pet. All of our staff are doing their best to maximize social distancing with each other as well as clients. We can't be there to care for your sick or injured pet if we ourselves get sick. So please don't be offended by this and respect our attempts to maximize spacing. Worksafe BC advises that we remain at a maximum of 60% of occupancy compared to before social distancing measures were enacted. As such, once our waiting room & reception re-opens, we will still be maintaing strict control of movement to ensure everyone's protection. Please be patient and follow the directions of the staff accordingly. 

• Hospital Sanitization: We have implemented strict employee sick policies which prevent employees from reporting to work and require them to self isolate for a set time duration after symptoms have passed. We also require employees to wear masks when in close proximity to clients or each other. We have enacted enhanced cleaning protocols and you can rest assured that anything you or your pet comes into contact with at the clinic has been sterilized beforehand.

• Food and Medication:  We continue to ask that you call your food and medication orders in advance to allow us time to prepare it for you. When possible, we ask that you prepay via credit card over the phone at the time of order to minimize the amount of interaction required at pick up. When you arrive to pick up your order, please call reception at 250-941-1145 and someone will bring your items out to you. If unable to prepay over the phone, a POS terminal will be brought out to you. 

• Delivery: We are offering free delivery to those who are unable to come to the clinic to pick up their food and/or medication because they are considered to be in the 'at risk' population (seniors, immunocompromised etc..). Please give us a call to discuss your needs. 

• Payment: To maximize social distancing, we request that all payments be made over the phone via credit card when possible. When necessary, we can also bring a POS terminal outside so clients can pay by debit. We ask that cash not be used as a form of payment until further notice if at all possible. 

• Tele/Video Medicine: The College of Veterinarians of BC has now allowed for and provided guidelines for veterinarians to use telemedicine where applicable. To better serve you, we will now be allowing you to consult with Dr. Robin via telephone, video calls (skype) or instant messaging as is appropriate. Note that the use of telemedicine has it’s limits in veterinary medicine; however, there are some things that can be assessed via phone calls, videos and photos. In some cases, a physical exam will be required as diagnosis of many conditions requires us to listen (heart and lungs) or touch (lumps, painful areas) in order to come to a proper diagnosis. When this is the case, we will continue to do our very best to limit human to human contact in as many circumstances as possible. If you have any questions or concerns about your pet, please call us we can decide whether teleconferencing with Dr. Robin is an option for you.

Please give us a call if you have any questions or concerns about your pets health and well being - We are here for you. Our mission has always been to be a small community based clinic where we form personal relationships with our clients. We have so missed having these close connections so much. We are thrilled that we can begin offering routine services and begin re-connecting with our valued clients; however, we can't let our guard down just yet. Unfortunately, we still have to have limits to the physical closeness for the time being which makes it feel less than personal, but that doesn't change how much we value and appreciate all of you. We thank you all for your support and understanding as we make adjustments to these stressful times. Rest assured, we will all get through this together as a family. 

The RainTree Team