Help with Vet Bills

We know that vet costs can be overwhelming. Ask your veterinary clinic if they accept payment plans. If they do not, look for one that will. Or try some of these options:

• Pet Vet runs mobile clinics out of Tractor Supply stores in Frederick County and has a walk-in clinic in Hagerstown, MD. They offer vaccinations, testing (heartworms and FIV/FeLV), microchipping, and flea/tick preventatives without charging an exam fee. You can provide documentation of the vaccinations to your regular vet so their records remain up to date. 
• Find a low-cost veterinary clinic. These clinics aim to help ensure that no pets go without the care they need:
  
  • Metropolitan Animal Emergency Hospital (MEAC), in Rockville, MD, offers lower-cost dental procedures.
  • Spay Now, in Laurel and Grasonville, MD, offers a wide range of surgery and dental procedures at low cost.
  • Promise Animal League in Boonsboro, MD, provides low-cost surgeries, vaccinations, and other procedures.
  • Helping Hands Vet in Richmond, VA, offers affordable surgery and dental procedures.
  • Spay Spa & Neuter Nook in Davidsonville, MD, provides reduced-cost spay/neuter, vaccinations, dental, and tests.
• Low-cost rabies vaccination and microchip clinics are offered occasionally by Frederick County Animal Control (call 301-600-1546, option 0, to find out more), and low-cost rabies vaccination clinics are offered by the Frederick County Health Department (call 301-600-1717).
• Some veterinary clinics accept the Care Credit Card, which offers short-term, interest-free payment plans.
• Scratch Pay provides payment plans at participating veterinary clinics.
• One company that handles payment plans for vet clinics, VetBilling, allows you to find a veterinary clinic near you that allows payment plans using their service. (Many other vets also allow payment plans that do not use an intermediary such as VetBilling, so be sure to ask your vet before assuming that they will not agree to a payment plan.)
• For very large or unexpected veterinary expenses, you may be able to raise some of the money needed using a fundraising platform such as Companion Bridge.

Many organizations—local and national—offer financial assistance to pet parents for veterinary care. Each organization has a specific focus—either on a particular species or a particular type of veterinary care (e.g., cancer treatments). Click on the links below to learn more about each organization and how they might be able to help:

Financial Assistance for Pets with Various Medical Needs 

• Frederick County Humane Society
• Animal Welfare League of Frederick County
• Hope Funds from Banfield Foundation (Provides assistance for pet owners whose pet is suffering from an immediately life-threatening condition. You do not need to be a current Banfield client. For more info, contact a local Banfield Pet Hospital.)
• Companions in Crisis
• Paws 4 a Cure
• Harley’s Hope
• The Pet Fund
• Pet Assistance, Inc.
• Oscar’s Cause
• The Mosby Foundation
• Red Rover Link
• Star Relief and Pet Assistance
• The Onyx and Breezy Foundation
• Frankie’s Friends
• Hearts United for Animals, 911 Emergency Assistance
• Feeding Pets of the Homeless

Financial Assistance Only for Pets with Cancer

• Magic Bullet Fund
• Canine Cancer Awareness
• The Riedel and Cody Fund
• Feline Veterinary Emergency Assistance (only for vaccine-associated sarcoma.)

Financial Assistance and Resources for Pets with Other Illnesses or Disabilities

• Diabetic Cats in Need
• Deaf Dog Education Action Fund
• List of organizations assisting owners of special needs pets