Pet owners get relief from some veterinary costs with new fund

Dog and cat owners struggling to pay for some of their veterinary care costs now have some relief. The Huntsville Animal Wellness Fund launched in May of this year with the aim of “assisting approved pet owners in need by subsidizing costs for neutering, spaying and compassionate care.”

It’s an initiative that came out of the Animal Shelter of Huntsville, which closed in July 2012 and remained closed after its board of directors determined that the cost of renovations and ongoing operating costs were more than it would be able to obtain to provide a safe and healthy environment for the animals.

In 2013, they received a bequest in excess of $340,000 from a local man and had hoped to garner enough financial support from the Town, the Province, local donors, and anywhere else they could find it to supplement that donation and re-open the shelter.

“We searched all over for capital funding for renovations to the building,” says board chair Elaine Symington. “It was going to cost more than $360,000, which was more than we were bequeathed, and didn’t include the operating costs of around $200,000 a year. We spent a considerable amount of time and effort trying to find funding that would not only support the renovations of the building but keep it going for the foreseeable future.”

The lack of future funding put the board in a quandary, says Symington. “If we took the money we had and put it into renovating the shelter and then it closed again 12 months later because we had no ongoing funding, that would be a terrible disservice to the gentleman who had given us the money to care for animals.”

That’s when the board looked for other options to honour the intent of the bequest, and it created the Huntsville Animal Wellness Fund.

Huntsville Animal Wellness Fund Board of Directors (from left) Peter Reeves, Gregg Evans, Elaine Symington, Kristen Szykoluk, David McPhee, Jennifer Furtney, Erin Monett and Bev Reeves. (Photo courtesy of Huntsville Animal Wellness Fund)

What is funded

The fund provides assistance to cat and dog owners – other types of animals are not funded – for two types of care: spaying and neutering, and non-elective compassionate care, which could include treatment for an illness, for example, but does not cover emergency care. In all cases, the pet owner is required to contribute $100 toward the cost of the care.

The fund is available to families with a combined net income of $35,000 or less, single parents with a net income of $25,000 or less, single owners with a net income of $15,000 or less, and pet owners 65 years of age or older who are receiving the Guaranteed Income Supplement living in Huntsville, Lake of Bays, or Perry Township.

Care must be completed by one of the fund’s four approved veterinarians: one in Huntsville and three in Sundridge.

To access the fund, pet owners in need must submit an application form which includes financial information. Applications are generally processed in less than a week, says Symington.

The fund has supported 25 operations so far and has received wonderful testimonials, adds Symington. “We’ve had great feedback from local veterinarians, too – this is something they’ve been looking for in the area for a long time and they are really happy that the fund is up and running because they’ve seen a lot of people who’ve had to make heartbreaking decisions because they can’t afford care.”

Learn more about the fund at huntsvilleanimalwellnessfund.ca or stop in at Huntsville Place Mall on November 19, November 25, or December 3 and visit their booth.

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