Pine Tree Veterinary Hospital

08/14/2025

You may have noticed a new face around Pine Tree lately. Let's all give Dr. Allyson Drummond a big, warm welcome! 🎉 A native Mainer born and raised, and a proud "crazy cat lady" (though she does love our canine friends too!), we are thrilled to have her join our practice! 😻 And though new to us, Dr. Drummond is not new to the field, having worked at other clinics in the past, including working 2 years at a feline specialty practice before returning home to central Maine. Her special interests include feline medicine, cardiology, internal medicine and dentistry. Fear-Free certified, Dr. Drummond is committed to creating a positive experience at every visit 🤗💗

Dr. Drummond is excited to become part of the Pine Tree crew, and looks forward to meeting all of you and your pets! 🐱💕🐶

08/07/2025

For our 🍀 Lucky 7th year 🍀 running, staff have been busy gathering donations for the Greater Augusta Back to School Program's school supply drive. This is an event we've loved participating in the last several years and are happy that once again, it has been a great success! 🎉 Staff and friends managed to collect ~$1,800°° dollars in supplies this year (in addition to a generous monetary donation from Dr. Davis) for students in need ✏️📚📓

If you know any families that have children that attend school in the Greater Augusta Area (which includes Augusta, Gardiner, Hallowell, Manchester, Sidney, Readfield, Winthrop, Whitefield, Chelsea, and other surrounding towns), the event is being held on ‼️Sunday, August 17th, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM‼️ at the Augusta Civic Center. They'll have the backpacks already stuffed with supplies and ready to go, along with other fun things such as face painting, snacks, free haircuts and more!

07/03/2025

As a notice to our clients: we will be ‼️CLOSED‼️ tomorrow, July 4th and Saturday, July 5th in observation of Independence Day weekend (and to give our staff a much-needed break). We will reopen on MONDAY JULY 7TH for our regular business hours.

We hope everyone has a great holiday weekend! We have provided some tips below to help ensure a safe celebration. Stay safe, and stay cool! 🎆😎

06/23/2025

With summer in swing and a heatwave descending on us, we wanted to take some time to go over heat safety. Please take a look at these handy infographics and prepare yourself and your pets for the warm days this week!

Key things to remember:
🚗 NEVER leave your pet in a hot car! Even if the windows are down. Even if "it'll only be a few minutes". Cars heat up fast and can become deadly for pets!
🐾 Pavement heats up fast in the summer sun. If it's too hot for your own hands and feet, it's too hot for theirs!
🫗 If you must be outside, take plenty of activity breaks, and always take care to have water readily available
🥵 Watch out for heat stroke (signs include rapid panting, bright red tongue, thick saliva, weakness, lethargy, vomiting, and diarrhea)

04/10/2025

We here at Pine Tree would like to give a warm welcome to our newest "staff member" - Voo Doo! For years (since 1990!), a shih tzu has always walked the halls of Pine Tree, and little Voo Doo here is the next to carry the torch. After only a couple weeks, he's already settling in beautifully and befriending staff and clients alike. We are excited to see what new experiences and energy the little guy brings to the table! Thank you to Mollie at Tatnicland Shih Tzus for breeding & raising such a wonderful pup 💕

For those wondering why we didn't pick a rescue/shelter pet, we did explore those options! Unfortunately, the leads we had did not pan out, including a delightful short-term foster that unfortunately was not a good fit for the busy environment here (don't worry- he was promptly and happily adopted by his previous foster mom once he went back to the rescue!). When appropriate, we highly recommend adopting a rescue or shelter dog, but we also support ethical breeders who strive to better their breed of choice. It takes a certain type of dog to thrive here, and Voo Doo checked all the boxes. Plus, Denise has admired the shih tzus from Mollie's kennel for years and is delighted to have gotten the chance to bring one home!

So let's give a warm welcome for Voo Doo! 🤗 He has some big paws to fill, but we're sure he'll do a spectacular job in creating his own legacy to be proud of 💖🐾

02/06/2025

Due to the inclement weather, we will be closing up early in a few moments at 4:00pm. Stay safe, stay warm, and we'll see you tomorrow morning for our regular Friday business hours of 7:30am-5:30pm! 🌨️☃️

01/29/2025

You may have heard of Avian Influenza H5N1 that's been going around. This is a highly pathogenic illness that is spread largely by wild waterbirds and domestic poultry, but has been seen to infect other domestic animals. Though the risk for dogs becoming infected is very low, several cats have become infected and experienced severe symptoms since the outbreak in dairy cattle began in 2024.

The article below, put out by the AVMA, has helpful information on H5N1 as it pertains to cats.

We also recommend checking out the CDC's page ( https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/virus-transmission/avian-in-other-animals.html ) on H5N1 and pets as it also has a lot of helpful information and links. Stay safe!

Since the U.S. outbreak of avian influenza A (H5N1) in dairy cattle began in March 2024, dozens of cats are known to have contracted the virus, including barn and feral cats, indoor cats, and big cats in zoos and in the wild (e.g., mountain lions, tigers, leopards, and bobcats).

01/02/2025

IN MEMORY OF DAI YU
7/11/07 - 12/24/24

Today, we have a sad announcement. Dai Yu, or "Mr. Dai" as he was known to many, passed away peacefully in his owner's arms on December 24th. Since puppyhood, Dai has walked the halls of Pine Tree, serving for over 17 years as our hospital mascot, and even serving as "office security guard" in his younger days.

He was always ready to entertain staff and clients with his repetoire of tricks, and was a "love sponge" that always had affection to give. He supported the staff, always ready to be hugged and held if someone was feeling stressed or sad; he had a knack for brightening up bad days, and making good days even better! 💕

Though this may be sad for us, he was tired, and he was ready. Across the Rainbow Bridge, he is young again, and can hear and see perfectly once more. And we know his sisters Lotus & Rowan, and his special cat friends Tw***ie, Isosceles, and Mr. Kitty were waiting to greet him as he arrived 🐾🌈 Rest in peace, dear friend- you've earned it 💟

12/31/2024

As a notice to our clients: we will be closing EARLY today at 3:00pm, and we will be CLOSED ALL DAY TOMORROW, Wednesday January 1st, in observation of New Year's Day. We will reopen for our regular business hours on Thursday, January 2nd.

We wish you all a 🐾pawsome🐾 new year! We hope 2025 is full of love, laughter, and new adventures for all! 🐶🍾🐱

12/26/2024

Every year, the staff at Pine Tree partners with the South Parish Congregational Church UCC, Augusta, ME to do a food "basket" for a local family in need (though as years go on, it has certainly grown past the basket stage!). Pine Tree staff worked hard, and were able to collect a bounty of food, household supplies, and pet food. Not pictured but included as well were fresh fruits and veggies, eggs, dairy, a turkey and a ham. Last week, we sent the collection off to its family. Helping our community doesn't just stop at helping the pets; it's the people too! 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦💝🏘️

Shout out and a big thank you to Misty & Roger at Twilight Cleaning Company LLC! Not only do they always keep our building looking amazingly shiny and clean, but they went the extra mile and chipped in to contribute various cleaning, first aid, and other supplies to our donation basket! 🤗🙌

Speaking of donation drives, we also would like to thank everyone that contributed to our pet food drive at the beginning of the month! 🐾 We know the timing wasn't ideal this year, sandwiched between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, but regardless we were able to collect a fair amount of monetary donations which we used to purchase many large bags of cat food, dog food, and litter for The Amy Buxton Pet Pantry. (Unfortunately, due to the hustle and bustle, we weren't able to get a picture of the donated pet food this year) So to those that donated, or shared and spread the word- THANK YOU! Your efforts will make a big difference in the lives of hungry pets in need. 🐱💕🐶

12/26/2024

Today is truly a special day in that both Christmas and the first night of Hanukkah share the 25th this year!🎄🕎

So for those who celebrate Christmas- we hope you had a wonderful day full of laughter, love, and cozy moments. We hope you got all you wanted today- and more! May your Christmas be merry and your new year be happy! 🎅👼

And for those who celebrate Hanukkah- Chag Urim Sameach! We hope you enjoy this Hanukkah season filled with love and light, and may this Festival of Lights bring you health and happiness into the new year! 🕯️✡️

So no matter how you celebrate and with whom, all of us here at Pine Tree hope you have enjoyed a wonderful day and a joyous holiday season 💕✨🐾

12/25/2024

✅ Stockings hung by the chimney with care
✅ All settled in for a long winter's nap
✅ Cookies and milk set out for Santa (and tested for QC)

We hope everyone has a peaceful and warm Christmas Eve, and a wonderful Christmas day tomorrow! May your holidays be filled with peace and happiness 🎅🎄 💝