6 Ways You Can Get Help Paying for a Pet Care Emergency

Few moments are more challenging for a pet parent than facing a sudden medical emergency. The stress of needing immediate, possibly life-saving care for a beloved animal is often compounded by the overwhelming cost, which can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars.

Of course, we never want to compromise the quality of care our pets receive because we simply can’t afford it. So, what options do we have? Paul Greene, chief financial officer at Schwarzman Animal Medical Center in New York, gave us a few tips about how to pay for care in an emergency situation. 

Ideally, you’ll have pet insurance in advance. 

When my dog had a medical emergency a few years ago, his bill came to about $7,000 — an eye-popping amount, and more than I was able to afford out of pocket. Luckily, he had insurance, and his care was covered under his plan. If you’re reading this before an emergency has happened, you might want to take it as a sign to enroll your pet.  

“Pet insurance can certainly help in an emergency,” Greene tells Kinship. Plans vary in monthly cost, deductibles, and what they’ll pay for, so Greene says it’s important for guardians to understand exactly what kind of coverage they have before an emergency happens. “Not all policies are the same,” he says. Employers are increasingly offering pet insurance as part of their employee benefits packages, too, so it’s worth checking if you can opt into that option. 

Many veterinary offices accept CareCredit.

CareCredit is a healthcare-specific credit card designed to help people pay for either human or animal healthcare that isn’t covered by an insurance plan. Many veterinary offices accept it, and Greene says you can even sign up for it on-site at Schwarzman Animal Medical Center.

The card allows you to pay for treatments or procedures upfront and then make monthly payments over time, often with interest-free periods if paid in full within a specified time frame. But remember, it’s still a credit card: Make sure you understand your repayment plan so you aren’t hit with a high interest rate for late payments. 

Related article

Can’t Pay Your Pet’s Vet Bills? These Orgs Can Help

When the bills rack up, these resources have your back.

Look into pet-specific financial assistance programs.

A lot of organizations and financial assistance programs are designed to ease the financial burden on pet parents, ensuring pets get the care they need. Some are general and some are species- or breed-specific. Greene listed a few for consideration, each of which has its own guidelines and requires its own application to request assistance. 

RedRover provides the RedRover Relief Urgent Care grants to help people cover the cost of emergency veterinary treatment. Brown Dog Foundation helps those who are in temporary financial crisis by providing funding for veterinary care to save pets’ lives. Feline Veterinary Emergency Assistance Program specifically assists cat guardians in need of help with emergency care, and Friends and Vets Helping Pets provides grants for serious medical conditions.

Paws 4 A Cure helps pet parents afford emergency veterinary care, especially when faced with expensive treatments that could save their pets' lives. The Pet Fund offers financial aid for non-basic, non-emergency care, like cancer and heart disease. The Magic Bullet Fund focuses on helping pets with cancer receive the necessary treatment, and The Mosby Foundation supports dogs requiring critical medical care.

And there are even more beyond that. A few additional options: 

• The Riedel & Cody Fund

• Dylan’s Heart

• Frankie’s Friends

• The Onyx & Breezy Foundation

• CorgiAid

• Pets of the Homeless

• Shakespeare Animal Fund

Check with your rescue, shelter, or breeder.

Some rescues and shelters have funds for emergency care. If you adopted your pet, check with the shelter or rescue you adopted from to see if they have (or know of) a local fund from which you can request assistance. They might also be able to help you fundraise. If you purchased your dog from a breeder, check your contract to see if there’s a health guarantee that would require the breeder to contribute to or pay for health services.

See if a nearby veterinary college can help with lower-cost care.

Veterinary colleges can be a valuable resource for pet parents facing emergency situations. Some run low-cost clinics, or offer low-cost care, for those with limited funds. You can search veterinary colleges by state on the American Veterinary Medical Association’s website, and contact them to see if they offer subsidized services. 

Ask your vet if you can set up a payment plan. 

If a veterinary college isn’t right for or available to you, it’s worth asking your veterinarian if they can offer a payment plan to allow you to pay for your pet’s care in installments. You can also ask if they use VetBilling, which breaks down veterinary bills into smaller, manageable installments over time.

Related article

9 Tips for Saving Money at the Vet

Ways to lower your bill — without compromising your pet’s health.

Consider crowdfunding. 

If you’re like me, you’ve donated to countless crowdfunding campaigns for animals in need of veterinary care. If might be time for the universe to pay it forward and provide you with the same thoughtful financial help from your community.

Consider setting up a GoFundMe for your animal’s care, or check out Waggle, a pet-specific crowdfunding platform that helps publicize your pet’s campaign, and transfers the funds directly to your veterinarian. 

Try to protect your pet before they have an emergency. 

I know it’s easy to say now, but Greene points out that it’s often much easier to prevent an emergency than it is to deal with the aftermath of it. “We see a lot of foreign bodies ingested by dogs, such as socks, toys, corn cobs, baby toys, dental floss, and toxins like marijuana, baking chocolate, human meds,” he says. “Best to remove the hazards in home that will lead to a $3,000-plus emergency visit.”

And if you’re in a high-rise apartment building, he recommends avoiding leaving screenless windows open to prevent your cat from accidentally falling out — something he, unfortunately, sees a lot. 

Offer a donation.

As you can see, so much of the financial help available to animals in need of emergency services comes from the donations of individuals. If you aren’t currently experiencing an emergency, and you’re in a position to donate, consider calling your local animal hospital and asking how best to donate to those who need access to emergency funding. Even humans need good karma.