NOTE: If your animal requires emergency veterinary care and you cannot afford treatment, contact nearby veterinary colleges that may have programs. The closest colleges to Fulton County, NY are Cornell (Ithaca, NY) and Tufts (North Grafton, MA). If you are unsure what qualifies as emergency veterinary care, call your veterinarian and describe the symptoms.
Working with veterinarians
- Negotiate a payment plan with your vet. If you’re a client in good standing, they may be happy to work out a weekly or monthly payment plan. However, a vet you’ve never been to may not agree to such a plan.
- Get a second opinion. You may pay a consultation fee, but another vet may have other, less expensive ways to treat your pet.
- Use a vet in a less expensive area. Vets in smaller towns may charge lower fees.
- Check out local veterinary schools. Many run low-cost clinics for limited income clients.
Fundraising and temporary credit
- Ask if your veterinarian accepts Care Credit, a credit card specifically for health care expenses, including for pets.
- Try a fundraising platform such as GoFundMe, which enables you to create a personal fundraising page.
- Consider Waggle, a pet-dedicated crowdfunding solution that channels funds directly to verified veterinarians for a pet’s care.
Low-cost Clinics
Need to spay or neuter your pet? A List of area low-cost spay/neuter clinics can be found here.
General Assistance
Find food assistance, help paying bills, and other free or reduced cost programs: findhelp.org
Need help with pet food? Visit your local food pantry or contact us, we are often able to help.
The Family Counseling Center D.V. Hotline – Gloversville (24/7): (518) 725-5300
Nationwide assistance
Each of these national organizations provide financial assistance to pet owners in need. They are independent and have their own set of rules and guidelines, therefore, you will have to investigate each one separately to determine if you qualify for assistance:
- American Animal Hospital Association
- American Veterinary Medical Foundation: (veterinary care charitable fund)
- Banfield Charitable Trust — assists struggling pet owners with pet care needs
- Bow Wow Buddies
- Brown Dog Foundation
- Canine Cancer Awareness
- Diabetic Cats in Need
- Feline Veterinary Emergency Assistance (FVEAP)
- Frankie’s Friends
- Friends And Vets Helping Pets
- Handicapped Pets Foundation – donates wheelchairs
- Help-a-Pet
- IAADP Vet Care Partnership – emergency financial assistance for IAADP Members (guide, hearing, and service dogs)
- IMOM
- Joshua Louis Animal Cancer Foundation: (grants can only be provided for pets under the care of a board-certified veterinary oncologist)
- Land of Pure Gold Foundation: (cancer treatment grants for working dogs (e.g., assistance, search and rescue, animal-assisted therapy, etc.)
- Magic Bullet Fund: (cancer-specific)
- The Mosby Fouundation
- The Onyx & Breezy Foundation
- Paws 4 A Cure
- Pet Food Stamps
- The Pet Fund
- Pets of the Homeless: (pet food and veterinary care assistance for homeless)
- The Riedel & Cody Fund: (support for pets suffering with cancer)
- RedRover Relief
- Shakespeare Animal Fund
- The Shamrock Fund
- Waggle Foundation
https://www.gofundme.com/c/blog/help-with-vet-bills
https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/are-you-having-trouble-affording-your-pet
https://www.avma.org/resources/pet-owners/yourvet/financial-assistance-veterinary-care-costs
https://lafeber.com/mammals/resources-to-help-pay-vet-bills/
http://all4petswny.org/otherresources.html