Veterinary Care Foundation

Veterinary Care Foundation (VCF)​ is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable foundation created for the specific purpose of helping veterinary practices provide care to pet owners in financial crisis.

Donations can be made to our practice or to a specific animal that is being treated by our practice.

Designated funds (for a specific pet) can be used only for that designated pet. 100% of your gift goes to the need of the pet you name in the donation.

Undesignated funds (given to HPH/AEC) will be matched 25% by Highland Pet Hospital/Animal Emergency Clinic. They can be accessed by our veterinarians to treat those pets meeting medical and financial criteria. Again, 100% of your gift AND a 25% match from the business, goes directly to care for our patients who need financial help.

How does my pet qualify for funds from the Veterinary Care Foundation?

  • Cases must be emergencies.
  • A Highland/ AEC veterinarian must examine the patient and confirm that the animal has a good prognosis without fatal injuries or unrecoverable symptoms. Common examples of conditions that are covered by the VCF are:
    • Eye ulcers
    • Lacerations
    • Abscesses
  • You must financially qualify.
  • You must state a financial need.
  • You must apply for Care Credit first, a financing company aimed at people who don’t have a credit card available to them. If you are approved, the full limit must be used before additional financial aid is applied.
  • If your Care Credit limit is exhausted or you are declined for Care Credit coverage, an application for up to $1000 from the Veterinary Care Foundation (VCF) to be applied to your pet’s balance can be made.
  • You can only qualify once per year.
  • Funds must be available​. Needs are great. If donations are not able to keep up with the needs, this fund will not be available to help​.

How to use VCF to help raise DESIGNATED funds for your pet’s veterinary care:

  • Copy the link from our website into your email, Facebook, or Twitter post letting your friends and family know that your pet needs help.
  • Please let them know to specify the funds are for your pet when they donate online or with a check as described above.

We had several owners use similar funding sites to raise money for their pet’s care. While this is fine, the method we are proposing here has no money taken out for administrative expenses and gets to the patient much faster than other sites that we have seen utilized. All donations through this site are tax-deductible.

How to donate online:

  1. Click Here
  2. Your screen will have Highland Pet hospital/Animal Emergency Clinic auto-filled as the veterinary practice.

How to donate by check:

If you would like to send a check, please send the check to Highland Pet Hospital and let us know that this is a donation to the Veterinary Care Foundation. If for a specific animal, please designate this information on the memo line of your check.