Veterinary & Financial Assistance

The ARL’s Veterinary Assistance is in place to address the critical need for accessible, affordable pet care.

The ARL helps coordinate veterinary assistance for pet owners who are unable to afford the full cost of veterinary services. Funded by generous grants and donations, the program aims to keep pets in their loving homes and prevent them from being relinquished to a shelter due to medical costs. If you are in need of annual vaccinations, or spay/neuter assistance, please visit our Wellness Clinics or Spay/Neuter assistance pages.

 

Pet Support Services

petsupportservices@arl-iowa.org

Important Information for Owners

We cannot assist with or financially help with veterinary emergencies. If your pet is experiencing an emergency, please contact the emergency veterinary hospitals listed below.

BluePearl Pet Hospital
(515) 727 4872

Iowa Veterinary Specialties
(515) 280-3051

See below for other options for financial assistance with veterinary services

The organizations and services listed below are not an endorsement or recommendation. We recommend looking into any organization before seeking financial assistance from them.

Financing Options

  • Care Credit: Provides a line of credit to pet owners in need of veterinary care
  • Scratchpay: Provides simple payment plans
  • VetBilling: Partners with veterinarians to support them in extending installment payment plans to pet owners who do not qualify for or don’t want to use credit-based financing
  • Wells Fargo Health Advantage® Card: Covers care for you, your family, and pets at thousands of dental, hearing, vision, and veterinary offices nationwide that accept the card
  • LendingUSA: Veterinary bill financing for those with good or poor credit
  • United Medical Credit: Helps obtain financing needed for pet’s healthcare procedures
  • GetFin: Personal loans to pay for pet surgery and vet bills
National Resources for Pet Owners in Need 
  • Bow Wow Buddies: Assists with providing medical care funds to dog parents struggling to cover their veterinary bills for serious conditions
  • Brown Dog Foundation: Assists with lifesaving treatments and prescription medications nationwide
  • CorgiAid: Financial assistance for Corgi and Corgi-mixes
  • Fetch a Cure: Provides support and assistance for pets with cancer
  • For the Love of Alex, Inc.: Provides emergency funding for urgent and lifesaving care for pets of low-income families
  • Frankie’s Friends: Provides financial assistance grants to pets in need of lifesaving emergency or specialty veterinary care for those who cannot afford the full cost of treatment
  • Friends & Vets Helping Pets: Assists families who have financial limitations in order to pay for extraordinary veterinary expenses necessary to save a pet’s life
  • Guinness Dunn Foundation: Provides financial assistance for emergency veterinary bills, pet food assistance and mobility carts for disabled dogs
  • Handicapped Pets: Supports handicapped and special needs pets
  • Hope Mending Hearts Foundation: Helps animals who need immediate veterinary care in order to survive
  • Live Like Roo Foundation: Provides grant funded financial assistance to help cover healthcare costs related to pet cancer treatments
  • Lucy the Rescue Dog Inc.: Provides financial assistance for veterinary emergencies for cats and dogs
  • Magic Bullet Fund: Provides financial assistance for cats and dogs with cancer
  • Molly’s Hope: Provides the necessary financial assistance for emergency medical treatment in the effort to prevent financially driven euthanasia
  • The Mosby Fund: Offers financial assistance to qualified applicants to help with non-routine medical expenses
  • My Pet Child: Helps pet owners with financial difficulties
  • Oscar’s Cause: Provides veterinary financial assistance grants to pet owners in need of life saving medical care for their pets
  • The Onyx & Breezy Foundation: Provides funding and support to pets of individuals where medical hardship is present
  • Paws 4 A Cure: Provides financial assistance to help families that need non-routine veterinary assistance for all illnesses and injury treatments, including medication, insulin, heartworm positive treatment and medical equipment such as wheelchairs
  • The Pet Fund: Provides support for non-basic, non-urgent care such as cancer treatments, heart disease, chronic conditions, endocrine diseases, eye diseases, etc.
  • Pets of the Homeless: Provides pet food and veterinary care assistance for homeless individuals
  • Poodle Angels Vetcare Program: Assists Poodles owners who cannot afford urgent medical care, surgical procedures or emergency care
  • RedRover Relief: Provides financial assistance grants and resources for pet owners to care for animals who need urgent veterinary care
  • Tipper & Squirt Care for Cushings Fund: Provides financial assistance for families struggling to pay medical care costs associated with Cushing’s disease
  • Violet’s Friends in Need: Offers financial assistance for urgent or critical veterinary care, surgeries, therapies or mobility solutions that are too costly for pet parents
  • Waggle: Crowdfunding for veterinary bills
  • WestieMed: Provides monetary assistance toward non-routine medical expenses for West Highland White Terriers (Westies) or Westie-mixes who are abandoned, rescued, or recent adoption cases (up to six months) and for whom no other funding is available or is insufficient
  • Wild Hearts: Provides continuous, comprehensive care to animals with mobility issues and support for the people who love them
  • The Wishbone Foundation: Helps people care for special needs pets
  • Zeus Oncology Fund: Provides funding for cancer treatments and surgery for rescue dogs only