NY State Veterinary Care Fund News
Brunswick Animal Hospital runs fundraiser
Brunswick Veterinary Hospital in Troy had a table set up during their open house to advertise the Veterinary Care Fund. Included on the table were some flyers in stands that showed information about the fund and the QR code. They also displayed pictures of the pets, and a write up for the two medical cases they have...
$25,000 matching grants for 2025
The NY State Veterinary Care Fund had a successful launch in 2024. We provided matching funds for the first five regions that raised $5,000, resulting in a total of $25,000 in grants being awarded. Since our inception, we have successfully awarded 23 grants to NYSVMS member veterinarians who utilize the funds to...
Vet Care Fund helps first 10 animals
We've launched. Over the last few months we have helped 10 animals with a total of $12,635 awarded in grants. In most situations the owners have already contributed significantly to the care of their pet, but have tapped out their credit. Their veterinarians reach out to the Veterinary Care Fund for help. It might be...
Brown Bear helped with $1,000 from Capital District Veterinary Care Fund
Brown Bear, a boxer mix, lives with his owners on a dairy farm that has been in their family for seven generations. Like most small farms, finances are very tight. When Brown Bear was injured in a car accident the owners took him to Dr. Nicole LaMora, an NYSVMS member who owns Brunswick Veterinary Hospital. Her...
NYSVMS Contributes $50,000 to the NYS Veterinary Care Fund
On Friday September 8th, 2023, the Executive Board of the New York State Veterinary Medical Society voted to allocate $50,000 to the NY State Veterinary Care Fund.
The funds will be used over a 2 year period primarily to provide matching funds for regional campaigns.
Here are some of the recent cases where Veterinary Care Funds provided treatment
- Animal presented dehydrated with a swollen abdomen and discharge from the vulva. History of weight loss, lack of appetite, and excessive drinking in the last two weeks.
- A 4-year-old cat that was diagnosed with a condition affecting multiple organs a year or more ago. The owners sought specialty care for the diagnosis and treatment, which cost the family several thousand dollars. The condition is currently managed, but the cat recently developed an upper respiratory infection and a severe eye ulcer. The ulcer is severe and after all the cat and the family has been through, aggressive care and follow-ups are needed to save the eye.
- Upper respiratory infection/pneumonia, teeth issues, decreased hip movement. Treated with antibiotics, probiotics, and Rabies vaccination (excluded from reimbursement request).
- A 1-year-old neutered male cat presented unable to urinate. After examination and X-rays, it was determined that the cat had a urinary blockage. The cat was sedated and a urinary catheter was placed. The cat was hospitalized for over a week, with a urinary catheter placed as needed to aid in urination. The cat was discharged and has been doing well at home since.
- The animal had severe dental disease with inflammation that required extractions.
- Pet needs a knee repair on the left hind leg and will likely need another at some point on the right hind leg.
- The animal was attacked by two pitbulls last week and sustained multiple large puncture wounds to the chest. Initially received pain medication injection and antibiotics and pain meds to go home, the wounds were too large to close at the initial visit. The animal is back today because it is lethargic, unable to stand, not eating, not taking meds, and the wounds are worse. Ideally, the animal would be kept today for hospitalization, IV fluids, IV antibiotics, bloodwork, sedation, wound cleaning, and more meds to go home.
- Abscess of unknown origin on the shoulder drained and flushed by the emergency hospital. Went back to the emergency hospital for worsening of the wound and at that time it was partially cleaned and flushed thoroughly. The wound is very deep with dead tissue edges requiring full surgical cleaning and repair.
- Middle-aged female spayed yorkie with bladder stones. She has had them for a while but the owner is unable to afford treatment. Latest X-rays showed a bladder stone in the neck of the bladder and worsening difficulty urinating.
- The animal has had unexplained weight loss and poor appetite over the past 3 months. A dental procedure was done today to address possible oral pain and the mouth is healthy so the next step would be to do chest and abdominal X-rays to try to pinpoint a problem. X-rays were done today while the animal was under anesthesia to avoid a second sedation procedure.
- Bit by a dog causing eye trauma, needs eye removal – becoming infected.
- Recurrent eye ulcer in the right eye secondary to inward turning of the lower eyelid.
- The cat presented for dental care and was determined to have inflammation with severe dental disease and full mouth extractions were indicated. Due to the severe disease, the procedure was much more complicated than originally discussed with the owner.
- A 7-year-old female spayed Texas Heeler presented to the emergency room for further evaluation of lethargy. On presentation, she was in shock and had blood in the abdomen. She required immediate blood transfusion to stabilize her and it was determined that she had exposure to rat poison causing her clinical signs. She stabilized with the blood transfusion and required fresh frozen plasma as well as vitamin K therapy to treat her toxicity.
- Elbow dislocation unable to be reduced manually under anesthesia. Surgery for open reduction required.
- Recurrent fluid accumulation around the heart with no obvious underlying cause on imaging. The sac around the heart is now thickened and restrictive – causing fluid accumulation in the abdomen. Sac removal is planned which if no cancer is confirmed (the sac will be biopsied after surgery), then the prognosis for complete resolution is very good.
- The patient presented for a complete uterine prolapse after delivery of a deceased kitten. The patient was anesthetized to replace uterine tissue and then was spayed.
Here are some of the situations where help is needed
- Owners are on Social Security and have been declined from Care Credit and All Pet Card.
- The owners have already contributed several thousand dollars to their pet’s care.
- This cat was abandoned to this owner by their niece who claimed she was going to need cat care for 3 months but never returned to reclaim the cat.
- This owner is responsible for the care of 7 other pets belonging to various family members.
- X has been a long-time owner and has always provided veterinary care as needed for her pets. Currently, X and her husband have been dealing with tough times trying to maneuver this strange economy as a family of 5.
- They tried every means of financing to find a way to pay but couldn’t.
- The owner has a friend who pays most of her veterinary bills and drives her to our Veterinary Practice.
- The owner lives on a fixed income and has sustained numerous medical bills of her own recently.
- The owner has already spent several thousands of dollars on emergency surgeries to remove GI foreign bodies.
- The owner just needs the opportunity to financially recover before she can pursue additional expensive procedures for this pet.
- The owner spent all they had at the initial appointment.
- The owner is currently out of work and receiving worker’s comp.
- The owner has recently moved into a homeless shelter.
- We have gotten funds for most of the treatment but there is still some amount needed to pay the bill.
- The owners of Brown Bear make a living by running a 7th generation dairy farm. Finances are extremely tight and this was an unexpected expense.
- The owners were able to pay a large portion of the bill and we are working with them to pay off the remainder of their bill.
- The owners had their first child one year ago and finances have been very tight since the birth of their child.
- The cat showed up at the owner’s home one year ago and they took it in as a friendly stray.
- They have had a recent death in the family and finances have been impacted.
- The owner is unable to afford the full cost of the dental procedure but was able to cover half of the cost.
- One owner just lost their job.
- Both owners and the parents of the owners applied for Care Credit, Scratch Pay, and All Pet Card and all were declined.
- The owner recently adopted the patient from outdoors and is not prepared financially to pursue the full cost of orthopedic surgery.
- The patient requires a new pacing system (again), but the owners are not able to afford another (third) procedure.