Scooter the Jack Russell Terrier just decided that playing “chase the squirrel” was the absolute number one thing on his list of priorities. But what Scooter didn’t know was that darting across the street in the middle of traffic would be a recipe for disaster.
Scooter’s rushed to the animal hospital by his owners where the veterinarian’s diagnosis calls for surgery. Those pangs of dread start to rise in his pet parents’ hearts. In this economic climate, how could they possibly afford the expense? They love Scooter, but need help.
It’s hard to imagine finding help in this situation. With most people focused on the state of human health care in the United States at this moment, you’d be hard-pressed to find many people scrambling to gather funds for animals in need of medical assistance. But in 2005, the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) did just that and filled a huge gap in veterinary care. They formed a fund focused on helping pet parents under financial hardship pay for their pet’s medical needs.
AAHA came to their aid by forming the AAHA Helping Pets Fund to, as their website describes, “Help those in need access quality veterinary care for sick or injured pets.” Funds are distributed among AAHA-accredited veterinary practices across the United States and Canada (3,000 practices) for animals needing emergency and non-elective veterinary care.
Tamara Fox, Fund Administrator for the fund and the woman at the helm behind the scenes, says, “The foundation’s mission overall is to improve the life of pets.”
The fund helps not only low-income families, or families suffering temporary financial hardship, but also helps selfless veterinarians trying to get care for abandoned animals that have come into their facilities. AAHA Helping Pets helps them, too. In essence, AAHA Helping Pets is the emergency Santa Paws for many animals and their families, granting holiday miracles year round.
“We work on keeping pets with their family,” says Fox with great humility. “When a family is faced with a huge medical expense, they’ll opt for euthanasia or leave the animal with animal shelters.”
Fox says that AAHA Helping Pets focuses on these particular families, hoping that they can keep animals in homes and do their part in relieving the shelter overpopulation crisis.
“We are trying to fill a niche that hasn’t received a lot of attention, and in turn reduce the amount of euthanasia that’s based purely on economics,” says Fox. “There’s so much attention on stray animals and animals in shelters, and that’s a huge problem as well, but if you can control how many are being given up, then the burden of shelters can be reduced as well.”
With this type of foresight, AAHA Helping Pets, with Fox successfully navigating a smooth grant-making process, is helping hundreds of pets get the medical care they need. In April 2010, they’ll celebrate their five-year anniversary, as well as celebrate having helped nearly 3,000 pets over the years.
Yet, despite the fund’s success, just like every other organization, company, and individual, the recession came knocking on their door this past year.
In March 2009, USA Today mentioned AAHA Helping Pets in their USA Weekend Magazine. While discussing the recent economic crisis, they directed pet parents in financial need to call AAHA for help with their pets’ medical bills. Fox says that pet parents did just that. The overwhelming influx of grant applications exhausted their last eight weeks of funds in just two weeks. By April, AAHA Helping Pets had completely run out of funds for that fiscal year (AAHA’s fiscal year ends in June).
“We had to suspend grants for six weeks,” says Fox. “Luckily, VPI Pet Insurance called us because they had heard we suspended grants. They called AAHA’s executive director and asked what we needed to start up again.”
In fact, an avid Twitterer, Fox sent word of the fund’s financial problems to her followers on Twitter with no particular agenda, other than to garner support. It was via this unconventional outlet that VPI heard about the fund’s troubles. VPI was able to help the fund continue through the end of their fiscal year.
Still, though VPI saved the day at that time, Fox is worried that the same problem will occur this fiscal year. Since being mentioned in USA Weekend, AAHA Helping Pets has seen a steady increase in the number of requests, a tell-tale sign of the need for such a fund.
“At this point, I’m receiving 50 to 60 applications every month. Even with our cap funding, that’s close to double of what we’re bringing in every month in donations,” says Fox. “Donations are down this year, while grant applications are up and we’re concerned that this year we’ll hit that point where we’ll have to suspend grants again.”
AAHA Helping Pets receives most of its funding from its gracious members, veterinary practices across the nation and Canada. They also reach out to the veterinary industry, but funds are not always guaranteed.
“It’s sort of like a federal grant, you can’t really depend on it,” says Fox. “In a recession a lot of people focus on assistance for humans and so it is harder to get your name out there if you work with animals.”
With so many competing for the same funds, it becomes more difficult to plead the case for emergency veterinary funds when equally-deserving and well intentioned organizations and rescues, such as the ASPCA and others, are in equal need. The national focus continues on helping animals already in shelters find homes, while AAHA Helping Pets presents an unconventional way of keeping animals out of shelters and away from euthanasia that many may have never considered.
The fact that it’s an organization helping people with pets in financial need might be another reason why many might not suspect that the organization itself may be in financial need to continue its mission. But, AAHA Helping Pets Fund is most definitely in need of the support of animal lovers who believe in their cause.
“Did you know that it is the modest donor that enables charitable causes to thrive? Large numbers of small gifts are the lifeblood of charitable giving. Furthermore, educating others about the need and ways they can help is just as valuable as a monetary gift,” reads their website.
Spreading the word is exactly what Fox says supporters can do to help the initiative. She asks that supporters not only help with monetary donations, but also make it a point to tell everyone they know about the fund.
“We have a lot of people who share our name with people who need financial assistance for their pet’s medical needs, but not enough people advocating for the fact that we need help raising the funds to do this,” says Fox.
Fox described how one supporter threw a birthday party for her pet, and rather than accept gifts, asked her friends and family to make a donation to AAHA Helping Pets in her dog’s name. Fox says that no matter how large or small, the donations make a difference, and help them take care of animals in need. An innovative idea such as this one also gets AAHA’s cause into more households and onto more pet lover’s lips. As the word spreads, the funds increase.
This holiday season, consider making a donation to AAHA Helping Pets. Find A Vet is trying to do its part by telling our readers about AAHA and Fox’s wonderful dedication. Please do your part and forward this article on to every pet lover you know. Your support and donation will help an animal in need, and keep him or her in a happy healthy home.
Monetary Donations in the form of a check can be mailed to:
AAHA Helping Pets Fund
12575 W. Bayaud Avenue
Denver, CO 80228
You can also make your gift online at www.aahahelpingpets.org.
Note: The AAHA Helping Pets Fund is currently the only charitable organization that provides financial aid for necessary veterinary treatment of sick and injured pets throughout the U.S. and Canada.
PHOTOS: AAHAHelpingPets.org and courtesy of Tamara Fox
Tags: AAHA, AAHA Helping Pets Fund, aspca, Jack Russell Terrier, squirrel, Tamara Fox, Twitter, USA Today, USA Weekend Magazine, VPI Pet Insurance
