There are groups that offer financial assistance for veterinary care…
As much as we try to keep our pets safe, sometimes an emergency vet bill is inevitable. And that doesn’t just mean a trip to the emergency vet – it could also just mean an unexpected trip to your regular veterinarian with a bill you didn’t budget for. If you are facing a large bill you aren’t sure how you’re going to pay, there are now some organizations out there to try and help, so that euthanizing or relinquishing your dog to a shelter don’t become your only options. Below, you’ll see a list with links of groups that offer medical financial aid for your pet.
First step, though, is try and talk to your vet. You might be able to work out a payment plan or do some odd jobs around the clinic to pay off the bill. You never know until you ask!
Related: Why Your Dog Needs to Be Spayed or Neutered
If that doesn’t work, here are a list of resources that might be able to help (Taken from Dog Fancy Magazine, Nov 2014).
Groups that offer medical financial aid for pets:
- Modest Needs. www.modestneeds.org; a national non-profit organization that allows people to make small, emergency grants to low-income people, with or without pets, through crowd funding.
- The Dog and Cat Cancer Fund. www.dccfund.org; works directly with vets to help needy families obtain treatment (and funds) up to $1,000 for their pets diagnosed with malignant cancer.
- Red Rover. www.redrover.org; national non-profit organization that focuses on bringing animals out of crisis and provides financial aide for urgent vet care and humane education.
- Best Friends. www.bestfriends.org/resources/financial-assistance-for-pet-guardians; an animal welfare society with a no-kill policy.
- ASPCA. www.aspca.org/about-us/faq/finincial-help-my-vet-bills
- Banfield Charitable Trust. www.banfieldcharitabletrust.org/pet-owners/vet-care-assistance ; offers financial aide to owners struggling to pay for preventative and emergency care.
- IMOM. www.imom.org; A non-profit organization. According to their website: “IMOM will always do everything we can to help a sick, injured or abused companion animal regardless of species or breed.” They also had a helpful list of resources here.
- Care Credit. www.carecredit.com
With most of these, owners apply online, and the organization evaluates the application and consults with your vet on treatment. Once the procedure is approved, the vet receives a grant to cover a portion of the procedure, or maybe all of it. Organizations can be limiting in funding, depending on their area of interests. For example, they may only fund specific breeds, rescues, service dogs, or senior dogs. Another example is only funding dogs who need mobility equipment or treatments for specific illnesses. You will have to do your research to determine if any of these organizations will fit your specific case, but at least it’s a start!
I hope you found this list helpful!
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