Our Frenchies are family. We love them and want them to live healthy, long lives. So, when an illness or injury happens, we want to be able to do the right thing, which is, rush them to the vet.
And yet with the rising costs of veterinary services, this can quickly become impossible to shoulder. In an emergency, bills can add up quickly, and finding a way to cover them becomes as tough as handling the pain of watching our fur baby suffer.
As a pet parent, it can be very hard to openly admit that you need help with vet bills. But the truth is even the best financial planning can fail, and anyone can suddenly need help with vet bills. And there is help available, you just need to be brave enough to ask for it.
What to Do When You Need to Ask for Help with Vet Bills
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Consult with your vet
The first thing you must do is tell your vet that you are unable to immediately cover the costs of your dog’s vet bills. There often will be solutions your vet can offer you, such as agreeing on a payment plan so you can pay for the costs in installments while your dog gets the care it needs right now.
If a payment plan agreement isn’t on the table, financing the cost of care is another viable solution. Your vet might be working with other third-party billing services like VetBilling that can help you pay in installments if you qualify. There are also credit card programs, such as Care Credit, that can help you cover the costs while paying them off over time.
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Get a second opinion
This might be tough to do, especially if you already trust your vet, but it’s a good thing to try it. There often are different ways to treat medical conditions, some less expensive than others but equally efficient.
While getting that second opinion, consider getting it in areas where you’re likely to be charged less for the same services as in your area. You might end up finding someone who will offer the same medical treatment at a more affordable price.
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Find your local community clinics
It’s no secret that veterinary care is increasing, placing a lot of burden on pet owners. To help with these rising costs and especially when emergencies threaten to make access to vets and medical help unaffordable, there are several community clinics that offer services at a discount or even for free.You can find your local community clinics and see what services they offer through Pet Help Finder.
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Seek out veterinary colleges
Veterinary colleges often operate vet clinics with low or even no fees, geared for low income pet owners.
The best way to find those is to contact the veterinary colleges directly and inquire if they operate such clinics and how you can have access to them.
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Look up your state and local resources
While it often feels that way, you are not alone in getting help with vet bills. There are many state-specific programs and resources available to help you get access to veterinary medical care or mitigate the costs through your regular vet. Since these programs vary wildly from state to state and region to region, make sure you do your own research to find your options. Since a lot of these programs are accessible through veterinarians, talking to your vet first is going to make the process a lot easier.
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Look up relevant charities
There are many charities geared to helping pet-parents get help with vet bills. When in search of financial support for your dog’s medical care, make sure to contact as many as you can at the same time. Often, you can get small support from several charities which adds up nicely if you do so. Here are some of the main programs and organizations that provide financial assistance:
Brown Dog Foundation: Founded in honor of a chocolate brown labrador with a charming personality and many chronic issues exacerbated by his owner’s sudden lack of finances, Brown Dog Foundation aspires to help owners avoid the same situation going forward. Make sure to contact them before you pay any bills, as they do not reimburse bills already paid.
Even if you don’t qualify for their support, they will help you find the most affordable care available and guide you to as many resources as possible to get you through.
The Pet Fund: This charity was founded to help pet owners fund veterinary costs that go above and beyond regular pet care and vet visits. However, the Pet Fund doesn’t support finding for medical emergencies simply out of sheer volume of applications. Make sure to email them first and wait for a representative to reply and guide you through the application process for any vet bill needs that are not emergencies.
Paws 4 a Cure: Paws 4 a Cure will give you help with your dog’s vet bills if it’s sick or injured. They don’t cover costs of regular vet care (vet visits, spay/neuter procedures, vaccinations, etc.) but they will help you with anything that doesn’t qualify as routine. Make sure you work with your vet to get the paperwork right according to the application process.
Frankie’s Friends: If you require emergency care, contact this charity first. The Frankie’s Friends Charitable Pet Foundation will help you cover the costs of treatment for life-threatening conditions or chronic conditions that significantly harm your pet’s quality of life (such as cancer). The charity funds treatment only when the prognosis is good. Involve your vet and provide Frankie’s Friends with all the documents necessary for the application process.
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Try crowdfunding for vet bills
Crowdfunding has become a real option for anyone seeking to cover sudden medical care costs, especially in emergencies. Communities world-wide will come to your aid if you ask for help and tell them your story.
GoFundMe is the most popular crowdfunding platform, so start a fundraiser there as soon as you can.
While making the fundraiser, be clear about what your pet needs. Don’t hesitate to add photos, share updates on how your dog is doing or what new developments there are, and never forget to thank your donors!
If you feel that your local community would be interested in your pet’s story, try contacting the local news by reaching out to journalists that habitually cover stories similar to yours. The media can be a massive help in garnering support.
How not to need help with vet bills
There’s no complete answer on how not to end up needing help with vet bills. Even the best planner among us pet-parents might eventually find themselves in a perfect storm of circumstances that make covering vet bills hard or impossible.
That said, there are things we can do to minimize the risk, and here are some precautions I’ve found work well enough:
Get Pet Insurance
Getting the correct pet insurance can be a literal life saver. Designed to keep you from worrying about financing expensive surgeries or difficult procedures, good pet insurance programs will put your mind at ease for a relatively modest monthly sum.
I’ve already talked about how to choose the best pet insurance for French bulldogs here. I’ve also included a list of the best pet insurance companies I’ve found available in the US.
Focus on preventative care
The cheapest health care is preventative one: minimize the chances of your dog becoming sick or injured as much as possible. A healthy lifestyle can significantly prevent emergencies from happening.
To do that, you must keep up to date with your dog’s yearly vaccinations as well as monthly heartworm and pest preventatives. Don’t let your dog get overweight, since obesity puts it at risk for a wide range of illnesses. Lastly, don’t neglect giving your dog exercise, even if it is just the daily walk and play!
In the end, hang in there
You may do everything right, keep up with every preventative healthcare measure, try to stay financially robust, and still end up needing help with vet bills. It can happen to anyone, anytime. That’s why there are so many resources out there to help when you need it the most. I only listed a few main ones to start you off, but there’s even more out there.
In the end, we are not alone in caring for our pets. We have each other, and that will see us through the tough times when our furry family needs us the most.
