HELP COVERING VET COSTS

HELP WITH COVERING EXPENSES

Depending on your pup's injury, and if you have pet insurance or not, you may have expenses that you need help with.  There are tons of organizations that can help with medical and rehab costs, as well as companies that can help you raise money through Crowd Funding, and a lot of people also do their own fundraising events.  Also, keep in mind that a lot of people are able to get a lot of equipment donated by people with huge hearts, or groups of their friends. 

 We have seen some extremely successful campaigns.  Some of our members have had wheel chairs donated, physical therapy donated, surgery costs donated, and neurology consults donated. 

DON'T EVER BE AFRAID OR EMBARRASSED TO ASK FOR HELP!

ESPECIALLY FROM YOUR FRIENDS!!

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Organizations That Can Help with Your Medical Expenses

All too often we hear from people who don't realize there is help out there. You just have to do a little (ok a lot) of research!  There are plenty of organizations and people with huge hearts, and vets, and hospitals that will help, you just have to be persistent, and do your research.  Many will have you complete an application of some kind. Unfortunate there are a lot of people out there who are not so honest.  So be patient with the processes they put in place and keep trying if some groups can't help!  Also do your own research, there are 1000's of organizations NOT on this list all around the world.   And don't forget about crowd sourcing!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD LIST OF ORGANIZATIONS

THAT CAN HELP WITH MEDICAL EXPENSES

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CROWD FUNDING

One of the most effective ways to quickly raise money to help cover vet costs is to build a crowdfunding website or facebook page and reach out to all of your contacts and ask them if they can help by helping share your fundraising page and if they are able to donate, and let them know that if they can donate even a little amount - perhaps the cost of a cup of coffee - that will be a huge help!  Remember if 50 people donate $5 that's $250 you didn't have before. That's more than the cost for your initial Neurologist consult, or a few physical therapy sessions, or acupuncture, or equipment  or items that you may need.   And if those 50 people share with 50 more people and each of those people donates $50  thats.... 50x50 = 2500 + 250 = $2750......   and then if each of those 50 share and each brings in another 50... well you get the picture... it's pretty much all in the numbers and how many people you reach - you see it can add up.

One thing we hear a lot is that people are afraid to ask their friends for help... well.. sometimes you just need to suck it up! Your friends WANT to help you out!  Just as you'd want to help them out if they needed the help.  And your friends also have friends who want to help their friend's friend out... People really do have good hearts.  Swallow your pride and give it a go!  We have seen some amazing things happen when people do this! We've seen wheel chairs donated, physical therapy donated, spinal surgery costs donated, and all sorts of time, and items donated to those in need.

This group also centers around the concept of "Paying It Forward"   We all need help at some time, especially when our pups are first injured... As the pups in the group get better and start to walk again, our members have items and equipment that they donate forward to the next pup who needs it.  If you are a member of our Facebook Group, don't be afraid to ask if anyone has a particular item they can donate.

If you are not familiar with Crowd Funding and how it works, Crowd Funding is a concept where a whole crowd gets together and donates a small amount each and it ads up to a large amount.  This has been used to find all sorts of medical costs, Films, Artists, Educations, you name it!  Below you can find a bunch of links to sites that assist with Crowdfunding.  Facebook also allows you to ask for money through their site as well for crowdfunding (Dont forget to read the small print on everything and there are usually applications.  Some sites have restrictions on when you can get the money, others have different tiers as to when the money will be available, and different percentages that they keep as their fee.  Just keep the fees in mind when you are figuring out how much money you need to raise!

CROWD FUNDING ORGANIZATIONS

Please research any organization you chose to do your crowdfunding campaign through carefully so you understand the terms. Make sure to read all of the fine print about how and when you will get paid .  We do not endorse any specific organization, we are simply providing resources for you to start your research and make your own decisions about crowdfunding. 

A Washington Post Article about how Crowdfunding is being use to help cover costs of Pet's Medical Bills 

"The Crowd-Funding Craze Hits the World of Pet Surgery" - Written by Hallie Golden, Published December 9, 2014

"Crowdfunding:  The New Way to Pay Vet Bills" - by Jane Davidson, Published June 20, 2015 - Vet Times

• Go Fund Me
• You Caring 
• Just Giving
• Plum Fund (just for pets)
• Petfundr 
• GoGetFunding
• Crowdfunder (UK)
• Love Animals
• Crowdrise
• Kiva
• Give Forward
• Donors Choose
• Fundable
• Causes
• First Giving
• FundRazr
• Fund Anything

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HOLD A FUNDRAISER!!!

Partner up with local businesses

• Contact your local pizza joint and ask if they'll donate a portion of the proceeds for a weekend & promote the event
• Reach out to your favorite  coffee shop or bar and ask if you can get the promotion for a specific drink - promote the event
• A FaceBook Group Member teamed up with an online Esty seller and the proceeds from crocheted roses for dog collars, that were promoted by our member - went to her pup's medical expenses - she raised $2000!!!
• Make a Custom T-shirt and sell through an online store like cafepress (there are others - do your research! You may get better prices and more profit)

Hold an Event

One of our Facebook Group members held a dinner dance - all silent auction items, music,  and location, and food & drink were donated!!!   You just have to ask!!!  People want to help but need to be asked!   over $2000 was raised!

Bake Sales and Lemonade Stands!

There is a reason these have always been popular! They work!  Set up shop outside of the train station when people are heading home.  Ask your local school or church or club or organization if you can set up shop and sell your goods!

White Elephant Sales / Yard Sales

It never hurts to sell any items you don't need or haven't been using.  Ask friends & neighbors to join in and donate items and have the proceeds go towards your expenses

Ebay & Craigs list

Great places to sell items!

Be Creative Come up with your own ideas!

There are COUNTLESS ways you can help raise money to cover costs! You may be surprised how much you can raise!  Don't be afraid to think outside of the box!

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PICK UP SOME FREELANCE WORK

With the internet there are some amazing opportunities to pick up some extra freelance work and work from home when ever you can!    There are some amazing online freelance sites and you can easily make $200 - 2000  a week depending on the freelance work you pick up.

You can do anything from write a song, proof read a movie script, provide marketing support, be a virtual assistant, do data entry after hours, do online research, record tutorials, make something, you name it!   And you don't need to leave your house - it can all be done from home!

These jobs may be slow to pick up in the very beginning but keep trying, once you land one, you'll get another and then another.  You pick your own hours, how much you want / can work, and how much you want to make.  Keeping in mind it's a supply and demand world, so you don't want to over price yourself.

Once you're in these systems you will get paid every week, through the website, by direct deposit, unless you specify otherwise.    These are GREAT ways to make extra cash!

Here are some Freelance websites to look into

• Upwork*
• Fiverr
• Elance
• Freelancer
• iFreelance.com
• Project4hire
• Toptal  ( developers or finance)

* Members of our FaceBook Group have had a lot of success with Upwork. You can be based anywhere in the world too and work for clients anywhere in the world!.  I have personally hired and done work on Upwork and can vouch it's a great site. The talent I hired was fantastic and so were my clients!


There are a lot more groups - keep researching if none of these meet your needs

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Instant Credit Programs to help Cover Costs

There are many companies out there, all around the world, that offer instant credit to help cover your vet bills and give you time to pay them off. You can apply to these programs on the spot, right in the vet office or vet hospital, and get an immediate answer within a few minutes.  Often these programs have very high acceptance rates (they also are used for human care too) and even if you are out of work they can help you. Interest rates can vary depending on the program and your plan to repay. We've seen programs with zero interest for a few months to a full year to more standard interest rates.  Ask the receptionist, or vet tech or veterinary specialist or doctor about an application and they should have them for you.    Below are a few programs and we encourage you do do your own research as well.

• Care Credit (U.S.)
• PetCard (Canada)
• CareFree Credit (UK)
• Emergency Credit Cards (global)