Pet Owners

Categories of Care for Pet Health Care Grants

• Urgent Care: Evaluation and care for short-term acute injury or illness such as traumatic wounds, acute illness not immediately life threatening but needs care
• Emergent Care:  Evaluation and care for short-term, life-threatening acute injury or illness
• Diagnostics & Stabilization: Initial evaluation and care of a chronic or potentially chronic illness or injury often done by or with guidance from a veterinary specialist where client will assume financial responsibility for ongoing care.

Categories Not Eligible for Pet Care Grants

• Preventive and Routine care:  Vaccination, spay or neuter, routine dental cleaning and exams.
• Ongoing care of previously diagnosed chronic illness

Information about you and your pet

• You and your pet must live in Monterey County, California
• Your pet must be under the current care of a veterinarian in Monterey County, California
• You and your family must be able to pay for at least half of the expenses necessary for your pet’s care.  At no time does the Foundation cover all costs for evaluation and care.
• You must be able to prove financial need and inability to qualify for commercial support such as but not limited to CareCredit
• You cannot delay the appropriate and necessary care of your pet while waiting for processing of your application for a pet health care grant.  You must be able to pay for care to stabilize your pet while the grant application is processed.
• You must grant permission to the Foundation to use pictures of your pet and a summary of your pet’s care and support for the purposes of promotion and fundraising.

Information from your veterinarian

• Your veterinarian must participate with the Foundation and assist in the application process
• Your veterinarian must provide a professional opinion that  a positive outcome is likely for your pet if a pet health care grant is provided.
• Your veterinarian must grant permission to the Foundation to use pictures of your pet and a summary of your pet’s care and support for the purposes of promotion and fundraising.

Exclusions

Regardless of other eligibility criteria, the Foundation will not provide assistance if any of the following circumstances apply:

• The condition being treated could have been prevented through routine vaccination, spay/neuter, or more timely veterinary evaluation
• Injury or illness is a result of neglect or abuse
• You or a direct family member has received a grant from the Foundation within the previous two years.
• Evaluation and treatment has already been completed

• Obtain initial evaluation, treatment plan and cost estimate from participating veterinarian
• Determine what financial resources you have available to meet your pet’s care needs
• Apply for CareCredit and obtain available funds if approved
• Only if not approved, or not enough to cover the remaining balance, complete an Application and gather requested materials  Give copy of application to treating veterinarian
• Treating Veterinarian completes Initial Evaluation/Treatment Plan and Estimate, and Application review and submits them to at
• The treating veterinary hospital must download complete the boxed portion underneath the owner’s signature on the application.
• Once your complete application, supporting documents, and your veterinarian’s initial review and plan are received, they will be sent to the MHPF Committee for review.
• MHPF aims for evaluation and review within 48 hours of receipt of a complete application.  In emergency cases we will make an effort to expedite review.
• All applications will be reviewed without bias or consideration of race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, national origin, age or marital status.
• MHPF will then notify both the pet owner and treating veterinarian of approval or denial.

Click here to view veterinary service and practice partners

We’d like to work with your Monterey County veterinarian. If you don’t see their practice on the list, just ask them to become a partner!