Caring for a dog could be daunting for those who are enduring financial hardship. So many dogs are surrendered, abandoned, or euthanized (some states still use gas which is painful and cruel) because owners don’t have the financial resources to provide adequate care.
There are charities, funds, organizations, and foundations as well as other forms of assistance that are available to provide help. I included those which provide assistance nationwide. A simple google search can help you find assistance in your state or listings by state.
These organizations and charities need support. If you have funds to donate, these charities are in great need of your help!!!! No donation is too small. If one of the charities are able to help you, please make a donation so others can be helped.
Some of the resources listed contain additional resources so please explore them.
Don’t give up. There is still hope.
Emergency & Non-Emergency Veterinary Care
All Pets Wellness Foundation
Provides funds for emergency medical care for pets.
Dr. Steve Abrams Memorial Foundation – PetSavers, Inc.
Dedicated to eliminating Economic Euthanasia by providing grants to pet parents who otherwise would be
unable to provide critical Veterinary Care.
Dylan’s Hearts
Provides financial assistance for the treatment of critical injury or illness that requires a specific treatment.
The Foundation for Animal Care and Education (FACE)
Provides financial grants for animal owners who are unable to partially or fully cover the cost of their pet’s emergency or critical care.
Friends & Vets Helping Pets
Funds treatments for curable lifesaving diseases such as tumors, broken bones, ambulatory care, expensive medication, or post-surgical prosthetics.
Harley’s Hope
This foundation services for low-income pet owners, service animals, seniors, and pets living in short-term foster care.
Pets of the Homeless Pet Veterinary Care Program
Pet food and veterinary care assistance for homeless people.
The Mosby Foundation
The Mosby Foundation They provide financial assistance for non-emergency medical pet care and treatment.
Onyx and Breezy Foundation
Supports medical treatment for animals where hardship is present as well as medication, pet food, spay and neuter.
Ozzy Foundation
Helps pet guardians with the financial costs of veterinarian bills and provides a supportive place for those caring for a chronically ill pet.
Paws 4 A Cure
Helps families that are in need of non-routine veterinary financial assistance for their dog or cat.
Pet Assistance Inc.
Provides funding for emergency medical care for pets.
The Pet Fund
Provides financial assistance to pet owners who need urgent veterinary care to avoid putting their pets down or allowing them to suffer due to inability to afford care.
Red Rover Urgent Care Grant
Provides financial assistance to pet owners and animal rescuers to obtain urgent veterinary care. They also help victims of domestic violence with their pets. This site has several lists of organizations
Sam Simon Foundation Mobile Veterinary Clinic
This mobile veterinary clinic provides free surgical services to families with a total household income less than $40,000/year, and the pet must already be sterilized or be sterilized at the time of the surgery.
Disease Specific
The Big Hearts Fund
Provides financial assistance for the diagnosis and treatment of canine and feline heart disease
Cody’s Club
Provides financial support owners with dogs needing to undergo radiation treatments on a limited income. Cody’s Club also offers emotional support services in the form of a hotline and in-person group that meets monthly.
Frankie’s Friends
Dedicated to finding cures and saving pets with cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
Joshua Louis Animal Cancer Foundation
Under the JLACF’s bylaws as approved by the IRS, grants can only be provided for pets under the care of a board-certified veterinary oncologist.
Land of Pure Gold Foundation
Provides cancer treatment grants for working dogs, and funding research in comparative oncology.
The Magic Bullet Fund
Helps people who have a dog with cancer but cannot afford treatment costs.
The Riedel & Cody Fund
Families with pets that have cancer and have a realistic chance for a positive outcome can receive financial assistance toward medical care.
Stymie Canine Cancer Foundation
Raises funds for families in need of financial support for the cost of cancer treatment for their pets.
Service Dogs for Veterans & Others in Need
Assistance Dogs United Campaign
The ADUC provides vouchers to individuals with disabilities enabling them to approach an ADUC member program to find an assistance dog with the necessary funds.
Canines for Service
Canines for Veterans, a program of Canines for Service, is a national program that provides Veterans with disabilities quality trained service dogs. Service dogs are provided to qualified recipients at no cost to the recipient.
K9s for Warriors
Train specifically for PTSD, TBI for block & cover and teach Veteran how to train the dog for individually needed tasks. No cost for dogs, or lodging. Serves post 9/11 veterans.
NEADS
Formed the Canines for Combat Veterans (CCV) program, which is today known as Assistance Dogs for Veterans (ADV). The Assistance Dogs for Veterans program pairs highly trained NEADS dogs with qualified veterans.
Sam Simon Foundation Service Dogs for Veterans
Provides Service Dogs trained for veterans diagnosed with PTSD as a result of serving in the Iraq/Afghanistan conflicts. Other tasks we may train for include assistance with hearing loss, TBI (traumatic brain injury), and moderate physical limitations due to injury.
Sam Simon Foundation Hearing Dog Program
Provides Certified Hearing Dogs for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Star Relief Pets for Military Vets Reimbursement
Provides financial reimbursement to military veterans for life-saving medical treatment for adopted shelter dogs.
Warrior Canine Connection
There is no fee for the dog or for the training, but they DO NOT automatically cover your transportation costs to their facility to train with the dog. They might be able to help financially with those costs.
Other
Brown Dog Foundation
Provides medication for dogs when pet owners are enduring a temporary financial crisis.
Handicapped Pets Foundation
Helps caretakers get the financial support they need through donations from individuals and organizations to get wheelchairs for their pets.
Pets of the Homeless Pet Food Program
Pet food and veterinary care assistance for homeless people.
Red Rover Resource Page
Provides lists of organizations that provide financial assistance to pet owners and animal rescuers to obtain urgent veterinary care. They also help victims of domestic violence with their pets. This site has several lists of organizations that provide aid based on category (i.e., by state, disease-specific, breed-specific…).
Star Relief Home For Life
Offers assistance for emergency medical care, emergency boarding/foster care, spay & neuter, and routine medical care (vaccines, microchip, etc).
Top Dog Foundation
This foundation provides permanent care for dogs whose owners want to ensure lifetime care in the event of their deaths. They also re-home senior dogs.
Pet Food Assistance
Onyx and Breezy Foundation
Supports medical treatment for animals where hardship is present as well as medication, pet food, spay and neuter.
Petco Foundation Food Bank Program
Petco has food bank partners which are funded in order to provide pets food to those who are unable to afford to feed their pets.
Pets of the Homeless Pet Food Program
Pet food and veterinary care assistance for homeless people.
Star Relief Pet Food Pantry
Provides free pet food to those who are experiencing financial hardship.
Pages with Many Links for Assistance
Doggington Post
Provides lots of resources (state as well as national).
Low-Cost Vaccinations
Vetco
Type in your zip code and Petco service locations and times of program operation will be listed.
IT IS CRITICAL THAT YOU READ MY ARTICLE: Are Dog Vaccines Really Safe? and Vets Cash in on Vaccines BEFORE GETTING VACCINATIONS.
Low-Cost Spaying & Neutering
Sterilization is critical! There are enough incompetent people who are allowing their dogs to breed and too many dogs in shelters because of it!!! Please read below to understand that sterilization doesn’t necessarily mean that a dog should have his or her gonads completely removed.
Read Dr. Karen Becker’s article: Illegal in Scandinavia, Surgical Sterilization Is Still Routine in America.
To make matters worse, dogs are spayed & neutered (de-sexed) very early. Spaying and neutering are safer when it is performed after a dog has fully matured as opposed to during puppyhood to give the body a chance to develop.
To make matters even worse, most vets were never trained to do these procedures and probably never even knew that such procedures are in existence for dogs!
If there is no other option aside from spay or neuter then just do it. I would spay or neuter if I couldn’t find a vet who is competent in performing other procedures. If you follow my articles then you know that I am VERY picky when it comes to my dogs’ health.
Healthier Procedures to Consider:
Females: An ovary-sparing spay procedure involves removal of the uterus while leaving the ovaries in place. It renders the dog sterile, but still able to produce important hormones to keep the body balanced and healthier.
Males: there’s a drug on the market now called Zeuterin, which is a zinc-based solution designed to be injected into the testicles. If injected slowly, there is minimal discomfort (it is the pressure of injecting too rapidly that is uncomfortable). It can be given to any male dog over the age of three months. The zinc solution causes degeneration of the part of the testes where the sperm cells are developing. The injection renders the testes no longer capable of producing sperm. Testosterone can still be produced keeping the body balanced and healthier.
So the sad (and pathetic) reality is that the more appropriate procedures above aren’t available to most people. In other words, most of us don’t have any other option except for doing what vets are trained to do.
ASPCA
A nationwide search engine to find clinics which provide low-cost spay and neuter clinics and referrals.
SpayUSA
North Shore Animal League America’s SpayUSA is a nationwide referral network for affordable spay and neuter services. Just type in your zip code and it will show you what clinics and programs provide low-cost spaying & neutering.
A possible option for those on Medicaid is to do a google search and find resources for Medicaid – spay – neuter.
Crowdfunding & Fundraising
Financing
Care Credit
A credit card company for health care, including veterinary care.
VetBilling
An alternative to Care Credit. There is no interest, no finance charges, just a $25 processing fee to enroll, and a flat $3 service charge is added to each installment payment. They are serving approximately 25 states and expanding.
This list was created in November of 2015. I will continue to update from time to time.
