Dr. Benjamin Savard grew up raising and breeding standard poodles, frequenting dog obedience shows, and even competing in showing competitions. He’s been drawn to the animal care world for as long as he can remember, and becoming a veterinarian has allowed him to take his passions to the next level!

Born in Wisconsin, Dr. Savard moved to Arizona before he was even a year old. Since the age of 12, he’s been working in the family business in every capacity imaginable. From 2000 to 2003, he attended Arizona State University’s pre-veterinary program, then attended Colorado State University to earn his DVM degree in 2007. After working in two Arizona animal hospitals, Dr. Savard returned to the family business and helped open Raintree Pet Resort’s very own Medical Center in 2013.

Dentistry work is Dr. Savard’s passion within veterinary medicine. Oral health is so impactful to an animal’s overall well-being, he says, and there’s something very satisfying about performing thorough dental care on a pet with a less-than-stellar mouth.

Dr. Savard and his wonderful wife Julia have four children: Elizabeth, Marie, Joshua, and Lucy. The family shares their home with Catalina, a one-year-old cat who attempts to stalk people from the middle of an open room but then races off upon realizing she’s been noticed.

Outside of veterinary medicine, Dr. Savard enjoys reading, playing the mandolin and guitar, skiing, and scuba diving.

Julie never does anything without jumping in all the way and becoming the best—it’s simply in her nature. When she began breeding Standard Poodles, she couldn’t stop until she was a notch above what everyone else was doing! When she discovered that she didn’t feel entirely comfortable leaving her own pets at a kennel, she had a thought: why not open her own resort?

Julie grew up in Wisconsin with two older brothers and a silver toy poodle named Sherrie, which she suspects triggered her love of poodles and animal care. She had been working as a groomer at Raintree Pet Resort when the opportunity arose to purchase the business. In 1990, Julie and her husband Homer jumped at the chance to start a family business based around their love of pets.
Julie is especially proud of the fact that her family’s resort has become somewhat of a trendsetter at the national level. Raintree Pet Resort was Arizona’s first dual-accredited pet resort, receiving accolades from both the American Boarding Kennel Association and the American Grooming Shop Association. Within four months of opening, Raintree was fully accredited by the American Animal Hospital Association. For Julie, creating a state-of-the-art, progressive, safe, and fun-filled cross between pet resort and medical center is the crowning achievement of her life.

Julie and Homer have eight grandchildren, which now keep them busier than ever. Although they don’t keep any dogs at home, Julie thoroughly enjoys her grandchildren’s cats. Needless to say, she and her husband Homer enjoy passing on their love of animals to the next generation!

Homer and his wife were married in 1981, and their first Christmas gift was a silver toy poodle. Ever since then, Homer says their lives were overrun by poodles! It led to an intense passion for training and showing silver standard poodles, and Homer’s life hasn’t been the same. Since 1990, he’s owned Raintree Pet Resort alongside his wife, Julie.

Homer is mainly involved with the development side of the business, working on the layout, design, and financial models. When Homer and Julie decided to add a medical center to their existing facility, Homer spent over half of his working time for a whole year getting everything prepared. Of course, it was quite a challenge managing the remodeling while still running the resort, but Homer emerged victorious. In fact, he was so successful that he’s even led a few consulting projects to help others create pet resorts!

Homer’s success has inspired him to get his Real Estate License and earn his CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member) designation. There are only about 9,000 other CCIMs worldwide!
At home, Homer and his wife have two adopted desert tortoises, Curly and Larry. They hibernate from November to April, so Homer affectionately calls them his “part-time” pets. The family also cares for Max, a female umbrella Cockatoo who has been entertaining the Savard’s clientele since 1996.

Homer’s always been interested in playing music; in fact, he’s been a semi-professional bluegrass musician for 35 years! He plays the banjo and mandolin, and his band even opened the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in 2001, opening the show in front of 10,000 people. He also likes fly fishing with his grandchildren and jumps at every opportunity to do so!

When she moved to Phoenix in the early months of 2012, Ashley set a goal for herself: she was going to find a job working with animals, even if it meant picking up after the elephants at the zoo! Ashley was delighted when she was offered a position here at Raintree Pet Resort + Medical Center. She’s worked her way up from her initial post as a dog walker, and now serves as one of the Resort Managers.

In high school, Ashley joined a program in which she took veterinary assistant classes and completed an externship at a local vet’s office. Although she adored her time there, Ashley moved away from the veterinary field for a while. It wasn’t long, though, before she realized that nothing made her feel as fulfilled as she had while working with animals! As soon as she started here at the resort, she knew she’d made the right call.

The busy holiday seasons at Raintree Pet Resort + Medical Center are Ashley’s favorite time of year here. There’s never a dull moment at the front desk, and Ashley can’t get enough of it!

At home, Ashley has three dogs: Bentley, a purebred Boxer; lab/pit bull mix Sophie; and Micah, a pit bull mix that Ashley found behind a Circle K. She also has two cats named Nigerian and Dinah.

Stephanie is an Arizona native and grew up not far from Raintree Pet Resort + Medical Center. For her, getting to help the pets and animal owners of her hometown is a dream come true! Stephanie is proud to serve as the Medical Manager here at the clinic.

While attending college, Stephanie started working part-time at a veterinary practice in Phoenix. It didn’t take long for her to realize that she’d found her true calling—Stephanie has been working in the veterinary world ever since. Now, she’s enjoyed more than 20 years in the animal-care field and simply couldn’t imagine doing anything else! Stephanie became a member of the Raintree Pet Resort + Medical Center family in February of 2018. She makes it her mission every day to keep the clinic running like a well-oiled machine—making a difference for the area’s families is her ultimate motivator.

At home, Stephanie enjoys the company of one pet: Maynard, 10 pounds of orange fury who brings light to Stephanie’s life every single day.

There are countless childhood pictures of Amber holding a beloved family pet close, a big grin on her face. As she grew a bit older, her passion became even more evident—Amber knew that she wanted to pursue a career in animal care. Now, she’s proud to say that her dream has become a reality; Amber is the Resort Manager here at Raintree Pet Resort + Medical Center!

Amber grew up in a small farming town in Oregon with her parents, two brothers, and plenty of lovable pets. Upon moving to California, she had the opportunity to volunteer at an animal shelter; less than a year later, Amber was hired on as a full-time caretaker. She knew that she had found her calling—Amber signed up for classes to study veterinary technology, and she hasn’t looked back since.

Amber moved to Scottsdale when her husband accepted a job here, and started working with the Raintree Pet Resort + Medical Center family in February of 2016. Her passion for problem-solving made her a natural fit for management, and she’s proud to now serve her team members, the area’s pets, and the animal owners of Scottsdale as the clinic’s Resort Manager.

In her time away from work, Amber can be found watching sports, visiting family back in Oregon, scrapbooking, reading, adventuring—she just took her first rappelling class, and she recently conquered class-five rapids on the White Salmon River in Washington State!—and spending time with her own canine companion at home. She and her husband, Jason, share their lives with Jake, a mischievous Yellow Lab who knows just how to use his charm to get treats.

Christina grew up in the Savard family business—she’s the daughter of owners Homer and Julie! The bond between pets and owners has always fascinated her, and now she gets to be a firsthand witness to that as the Marketing Manager of Raintree Pet Resort.

Christina grew up in Cave Creek, Arizona with her parents, older brother, and many poodles. Currently, she and her husband Mark reside in Phoenix with their four children: John Gabriel, 9; Evagrace, 6; Amelia, 3 and 3 month old Simon. The family has a 2 cats named George and Trey.
Christina is also a licensed associate mental health counselor with a Master’s Degree in counseling. When she’s not working, she enjoys gardening in her aeroponic gardens, which use no dirt and far less water than traditional gardens! She has a passion for both nutrition and preventative health for the two legged and four legged members of her family!

Joy harbored a natural love for animals ever since she was a little girl, but she wasn’t allowed to have pets while growing up. That combination created an obsession that hasn’t quit to this day! As fate would have it, Joy now helps animals as a veterinary professional—she’s one of Raintree Pet Resort + Medical Center’s Veterinary Technicians.

Joy is originally from Cutoff, Louisiana, where she grew up in a close-knit Cajun family. When she found out that her local veterinarian’s office was looking for help, she jumped at the opportunity—Joy has been helping pets live healthier lives ever since, and even holds an Associate’s degree in veterinary technology.

Joy moved to Arizona in the summer of 2018 and joined the Raintree Pet Resort + Medical Center family shortly afterward. Her favorite part of the job is the team that surrounds her; Joy loves working alongside professionals who enjoy the veterinary care field as much as she does!

When she isn’t at work, Joy can be found dabbling in arts and crafts, playing video games, longboarding, and relaxing with her family and pets at home. Along with her significant other, Jarrod, she shares her life with a Bassett Hound named Babeaux, a black and white dog who goes by Lil Momma Dog, and a pair of Sulcata tortoises named Batman and Robin.

When Taylor watched one of her family dogs give birth to a huge litter of puppies, she instantly felt an innate desire to learn more about animal care. Ever since she can remember, she’s wanted to use her skillset to help as many pets as she possibly could. For Taylor, a career spent caring for pets through the power of medicine simply made sense!

Taylor attended the Bel-Rea Institute of Animal Technology in Colorado for her Veterinary Technician schooling, then spent four years in fast-paced emergency work at a clinic in Tennessee. Next, she relocated to Arizona to launch her career in general practice—Taylor was thrilled to join the Raintree Pet Resort + Medical Center family in June of 2018, and she’s been caring for the area’s pets as a member of the Veterinary Technician team ever since.

Here at the hospital, Taylor likes helping puppies receive their initial vaccinations and watching them grow into healthy adult dogs as the years go by. She’s also fond of the quick pace of routine surgical work. Taylor’s favorite part of every shift, though, is knowing that she’s made a lasting difference for the families of the Scottsdale area!

Aside from her interests in the animal care world, Taylor enjoys hiking, kayaking, and swimming in the great outdoors; she has fond memories of hiking volcanoes in Iceland during her childhood, which she suspects led to her love of the outdoors as an adult! At home, Taylor and her son, Dexter, share their lives with two dogs: Beefy, a French Bulldog whose name describes him perfectly; and a skittish yet lovable Terrier mix named Myers.

Christina always felt a deep sense of sadness and anger whenever she witnessed animals suffering at the hands of other people. That’s why she decided to do something about it—Christina joined the veterinary profession in order to better the lives of as many pets as she possibly could! Now, she’s a Veterinary Technician and gets to use her skillset to help animals every day.

Christina grew up in Southern California before her parents moved her and her brother to southeastern Arizona. She attended the PIMA Medical Institute in Tucson to become a Licensed Veterinary Technician, then worked in emergency medicine for three years in the city before relocating to Scottsdale. In the early summer of 2018, Christina joined the team here at Raintree Pet Resort + Medical Center, and she’s been tending to the needs of the area’s pets ever since.

Medically, Christina is interested in X-ray and ultrasound work, as it allows her to see exactly what’s going on with a patient for a quick, effective diagnosis. She’s also fond of the rewarding nature of surgical work. Most of all, Christina loves to meet new pet owners and their adorable companions on a daily basis!

When she’s not here at the clinic, Christina can be found racing and working on all-terrain vehicles, dirt bikes, and trucks; attending concerts; camping; or spending time with her own pets at home. She has three rescued dogs: a pair of Rednose Pit Bulls named Hennessey and Harry, and a Dogo Argentino named Echo who Christina adopted back in Tuscon.