Ideas on getting help to pay for emergency vet bills

[robinb]

My sister's best friend Mary is in a pickle and I'm hoping for some ideas from my DIS friends.

Mary's cat Maury jumped from the top of the refrigerator and broke his leg. Mary and her DH Dave took the cat to the veterinarian at the local humane society but can not pay for his care. They relinquished their ownership and the humane society says that they provide the surgical care necessary. The humane society says that they will allow Mary and Dave to readopt the cat but they will have to come up with money to pay for his medical care.

Some background on Mary and Dave. Mary was recently treated for cancer found in late summer and when she was finally cleared to return to work her employer told her that her job of stocking store displays had been given to someone else and they did not have another position for her. This is a very big company so I assume that they did this all on the up-and-up with the FMLA, but I didn't stick my nose too far into it. Since then, she has attempted to find a new job but remains unemployed. While she is a very hard worker and smart she's very overweight and may people don't know that she can work as hard as she does. She usually finds jobs that are behind the scenes or on the phone, but none of them ever really pay a lot. Dave is permanently disabled and on SSDI so he can't pick up the slack.

They really do love Maury and would like to being him back home but they are basically broke and can't pay or even borrow to pay for his medical bills. They started a GoFundMe campaign, but I hate to say that the majority of their friends are in the same dead-end-job situation they are in and will not be able to help them. I'll be able to help some but when my cat broke his leg it cost me thousands of dollars in vet bills and I can't afford to help that much.

Does anyone know of a foundation that helps disabled people pay for emergency veterinary care? Any other ideas?

UPDATE! Maury is home but I don't know how they worked it out. I'll come back and update when I know. THANKS FOR ALL THE ADVISE AND IDEAS!!

Update 2: Apparently Maury didn't need surgery and the humane society cut them a great deal so they could keep him. His treatment was only $250. Mary and Dave received some help from a local cat care organization to help pay for it and they were able to scrape up the rest.

 

[nkereina]

I did a quick google and found this: http://www.leashanimalrescue.org/vetbillassistance.htm -- can't speak to any of the organizations they list but might be a good place for them to start!

Have they looked into CareCredit? My vet offers it as a form of financing. I'm not sure of the details as I don't have one myself, but it's my understanding it's either a credit card or credit line specifically for vet bills. It can be used for situations like this, annual check-ups, shots, etc. A friend of my got approved for it and I know she has horrible credit, so I suspect the interest rate may be high. I don't know. But if they can get approved for it, it will at least allow them to make payments rather than trying to come up with a lump sum.

Did Mary have a 401K she could take a loan from? Probably would be my last resort given the situation, but when/if she does find employment, she would be able to pay it back over time.

 

[aaarcher86]

Can she open up a Care Credit card? Assuming her vet accepts it of course. Or go on a payment plan?

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Have they looked at other vets for more affordable pet care? There is a vet not too far from my house that my daughter was able to go to when one of her cats got an abscess that was going to cost hundreds of dollars. She ended up going to this one vet, and when the alternative was to put the cat down because she couldn't afford the care they brought the cost down to something like $150. They were wonderful.

I wish the best to your daughter's friend. I've been in the same position years ago, and our options were to pay or put our cat down so she didn't suffer. I cried, but there was no way I could pay that cost. We ended up not having to put our cat down (she had nerve damage to her spine), and over months of not picking her up and keeping her in a quiet area she pretty much healed. If she had been in pain we would have had to put her down.

 

[TeamSy]

Will they offer a payment plan or work with them in some way on that end? I feel like a vet office may have been a better place for them to go considering they usually do work with owners. Do they not have a vet for when the animal gets sick? Needs yearly shots, etc? Unfortunately bills like these are part of owning a pet. They are expensive, and they almost always come up unexpectedly.

 

[Jennasis]

Care Credit is great. We have it for any emergency vet bills (2 dogs, a cat and 7 horses), but it sounds like the humane society already paid the vet and now they are looking to be reimbursed for what they spent. Care Credit won't pay for that. It also sounds like though they love the cat, their financial situation isn't conducive to having a pet at this time.

 

[robinb]

I did a quick google and found this: http://www.leashanimalrescue.org/vetbillassistance.htm -- can't speak to any of the organizations they list but might be a good place for them to start!

Thanks! I found other pages with those same links and many of them or are only dogs, or they are only for no more than $50 or they are no longer helping .

Mary already signed over the cat to the humane society so he could have his surgery. I'm not sure if Care Credit will still be able to help them now that they are no longer the official owners of the animal or even if the humane society works with them. I'll mention that possibility to Mary. Mary and Dave use the vet clinic at the humane society for their annual exams, tests and vaccinations. All of their animals (2 dogs and Maury the cat) are up to date on their vaccinations and healthy ... except for Maury who thought it was a good idea to jump from a high place.

I remember the last time I went to the emergency vet I was happy to get of there for less than $200. It ended up costing me close to $1000 when all was said and done and my cat had to be put down. Now, THAT'S the worst when you spend all the $$ and you still end up without a pet in the end.

 

[dotfurio]

So can someone else adopt the cat after it's healed and give it to them?

 

[BigAlsGal]

So can someone else adopt the cat after it's healed and give it to them?

This is what I was thinking. I'm pretty sure if they put it up for open adoption they wouldn't make the new family pay for past care. Get a friend to adopt the cat then give it back to them.

 

[sonnyjane]

This is what I was thinking. I'm pretty sure if they put it up for open adoption they wouldn't make the new family pay for past care. Get a friend to adopt the cat then give it back to them.

I feel awful for the owners mentioned in the OP, and in all truth, what you're suggesting is very possible, but I would hope that this doesn't become something that people learn to take advantage of. I've volunteered at the Humane Society before and it's very expensive to provide medical care like this. The profit margin is very small on adoptions in general and the money lost on endeavors like this is immense. I would hate if people got wind of this and started using the HS as a free vet clinic only to have their friends adopt the animal later and return it to them.

 

[ndelaware]

Sounds like The "Humane" Society is anything but........

 

[sonnyjane]

Sounds like The "Humane" Society is anything but........

They could have euthanized the animal. Are they expected to give potentially thousands in completely free medical care?

 

[TipsyTraveler]

Sounds like The "Humane" Society is anything but........

Feel free to make generous donations to them if you'd like them to be able to provide free vet care to whomever needs it.

 

[LilyWDW]

Sounds like The "Humane" Society is anything but........

What were they supposed to do? Just provide and pay for the surgery out of the good of their hearts? Where would that money come from? What else could it have been used on?

The situation stinks, but the Humane Society is in NO way to blame for any of this. At least they gave the cat a chance.

 

[disneyhand]

My sister's best friend Mary is in a pickle and I'm hoping for some ideas from my DIS friends.

Mary's cat Maury jumped from the top of the refrigerator and broke his leg. Mary and her DH Dave took the cat to the veterinarian at the local humane society but can not pay for his care. They relinquished their ownership and the humane society says that they provide the surgical care necessary. The humane society says that they will allow Mary and Dave to readopt the cat but they will have to come up with money to pay for his medical care.

Some background on Mary and Dave. Mary was recently treated for cancer found in late summer and when she was finally cleared to return to work her employer told her that her job of stocking store displays had been given to someone else and they did not have another position for her. This is a very big company so I assume that they did this all on the up-and-up with the FMLA, but I didn't stick my nose too far into it. Since then, she has attempted to find a new job but remains unemployed. While she is a very hard worker and smart she's very overweight and may people don't know that she can work as hard as she does. She usually finds jobs that are behind the scenes or on the phone, but none of them ever really pay a lot. Dave is permanently disabled and on SSDI so he can't pick up the slack.

They really do love Maury and would like to being him back home but they are basically broke and can't pay or even borrow to pay for his medical bills. They started a GoFundMe campaign, but I hate to say that the majority of their friends are in the same dead-end-job situation they are in and will not be able to help them. I'll be able to help some but when my cat broke his leg it cost me thousands of dollars in vet bills and I can't afford to help that much.

Does anyone know of a foundation that helps disabled people pay for emergency veterinary care? Any other ideas?

Some one I know here in San Diego was in a similar situation a few months ago. She made many calls and finally found this group that helped her before she relinquished her puppy. I don't know if they are national, but maybe your friend could call them and see if they have advice for her for her area. They are called FACE Foundation

• Established in 2006
• 501(c)(3) Charity
• Tax ID: 20-5333261
• Phone: 858-450-FACE
• Fax: 858-457-FACE

 

[Dentam]

I know it's too late for this to work in their situation, but I would encourage pet owners to get a pet insurance policy (I use Trupanion) that will cover these types of bills. With Trupanion, you can adjust your deductible in order to find a monthly payment that works best for you and they cover 90% of the expenses beyond your deductible.

 

[jevs]

I think asking for a payment plan would be the best option for Mary. Perhaps you could go with her so someone else is there that will not get emotional and perhaps be more assertive.

While I understand nothing is free I find that the vet/humane society is being a little harsh in this instance. So many cats do not have a loving home to go to, I'm sure they don't want this one to be another statistic. I'm a bit annoyed on Mary's behalf to be honest that a payment plan was not mentioned as an option in the first instance.

ETA: Finished my sentence.

 

[Jennasis]

I think asking for a payment plan would be the best option for Mary. Perhaps you could go with her so someone else is there that will not get emotional and perhaps be more assertive.

While I understand nothing is free I find that the vet/humane society is being a little harsh in this instance. So many cats do not have a loving home to go to, I'm sure they don't want this one to be another statistic. I'm a bit annoyed on Mary's behalf to be honest that a payment plan was not mentioned as an option in the first instance.

ETA: Finished my sentence.

Perhaps a payment plan was mentioned at the vet's initially (the OP doesn't say either way)...but I'm betting the couple in the OP can't afford the extra monthly payment either.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

What about a story in the local paper or online forum?

 

[sonnyjane]

I think asking for a payment plan would be the best option for Mary. Perhaps you could go with her so someone else is there that will not get emotional and perhaps be more assertive.

While I understand nothing is free I find that the vet/humane society is being a little harsh in this instance. So many cats do not have a loving home to go to, I'm sure they don't want this one to be another statistic. I'm a bit annoyed on Mary's behalf to be honest that a payment plan was not mentioned as an option in the first instance.

ETA: Finished my sentence.

The HS has an interest in doing what's best for an animal, and I'm not saying this was their logic, but sometimes just because a home is a loving home doesn't make it the best home. If a pet owner is just barely scraping by, then the HS could have a legitimate concern about welfare. Food is not the only expense for a pet. A responsible owner needs to be able to afford anything that comes up. I know the HS I volunteered for was very thorough about adoptions. References, job verification, sometimes even home visits. They have a vested interest in making sure their animals go to a good place because if they don't, they'll be relinquished AGAIN. My cat had been given up twice before, so they were very sure I was serious about adopting him.

A private vet may have put the animal down or refused to treat it if they couldn't afford even a payment plan. At least the HS saved the animal.