You can’t put a price on the love a family has for their pet. However, many families don’t have a lot of extra money for emergency medical expenses if their dog is hit by a car, or their cat eats a bag of hair ties.
No one should be faced with the terrible choice of having to give up a pet, or euthanize them, because they don’t have the money for veterinary care.
Below, we’ve put together a list of resources to help you get the care you need for your pet, so they can be healthy, happy, and home with you.
Resources for Low or No Cost Veterinary Care
- RedRover Urgent Care Grants are given for urgent and emergency veterinary care to help fill a financial gap.
- Waggle is a crowdfunding website designed specifically to help people with the cost of veterinary care for their pets.
- Findhelp.org is a database created by Aunt Bertha to find a variety of assistance, including support for veterinary care costs.
- National Frankie’s Friends Fund provides grants for pets who need life saving or specialty veterinary care when their families can’t afford it.
- Friends and Vets Helping Pets provides grants to families who need support covering their pet’s veterinary care costs. They also have a database of veterinarians that they work with directly to help reduce costs.
- Care Credit is a credit card that can cover medical expenses for both people and pets, allowing people to split the cost into payments rather than paying a large amount of money up front.
- Scratchpay provides flexible payment plan options for medical bills to spread out the unexpected cost, rather than paying everything at once.
Local Resources for Low or No Cost Veterinary Care
Austin, Texas – Austin Pets Alive! Positive Alternatives for Shelter Surrender
Austin Pets Alive!, our local shelter has a Facebook group dedicated to people helping each other with their pets. PASS is a page that allows people in central Texas to rehome their own pets or, in some cases, get mutual support through food, medications or even creating fundraisers for a surgery or other medical issue. That way a family can get additional support for their pet so they can keep them, rather than having to surrender them to the shelter.
Kansas City, Missouri – KC Pet Project Pet Care Assistance Program
Human Animal Support Services pilot shelter, KC Pet Project provides financial assistance to families who cannot afford the cost of emergency veterinary care for their pets as part of their Keep ‘Em Together, KC initiative. Applicants for assistance must be residents of Kansas City, Missouri.
Indianapolis, Indiana – Indy Cares Pet Care Assistance
IndyCares, created by Indianapolis Animal Care Services, provides support for people who need help with medical care or supplies for their pet.
San Diego, California – San Diego Humane Society Support Services
San Diego Humane Society is another Human Animal Support Services pilot shelter. They provide financial assistance for emergency or specialty veterinary care when a family can’t afford it.
Washington, DC – Humane Rescue Alliance HOPE Program
Our pilot shelter, Humane Rescue Alliance provides support to people and pets through their Help Out, Partner, and Engage (HOPE) Program. Support includes free spay/neuter surgeries, vaccines, and deworming, as well as supplies.
San Francisco, California – San Francisco SPCA Financial Assistance
San Francisco SPCA offers financial assistance for people who need help covering the cost of their pets’ veterinary care. Applicants for assistance must be located in San Francisco.
Southeastern Pennsylvania – Sam’s Hope
Sam’s Hope provides financial assistance for families located in Southeastern Pennsylvania who need help with the cost of veterinary care for their pets.
Colorado – Harley’s Hope Foundation
Harley’s Hope supports families who need assistance covering treatment costs for pets. Applicants must be Colorado residents.
If you’re a shelter, consider how you can provide low and no-cost veterinary care options for your communities. Take a look at our External Facing Medical Care toolkits to learn how.
Know of another low or no cost veterinary care resource that should be on this list? Let us know so we can update this list and get more people the help they need for their pets.
