Importance of Medical Funds

How many of you have ever been late getting your pets their vaccines? Have you ever missed a month or two of heartworm or flea and tick medications?  Do you always get your dog or cat in for their annual checkup?  Maybe you’ve been faced with an expensive decision about veterinary treatment for a pet and weren’t able to do all you wanted.  Most of us have first-hand experience with at least one of those situations, and usually it doesn’t result in a problem.  The majority of the animals who come into the Tulsa SPCA are just normal dogs and cats like you have in your own home.  They may need to be caught up on a few basic items, but overall are in good health.

On average, the Tulsa SPCA spends about $1,000 on medical, emotional and behavioral testing and care, housing, feeding and training for animals during their stay with us.  This is what we consider basic needs and is sufficient for most animals.  Unfortunately, there are those who come to us with extraordinary needs.  Over the years, we’ve had animals come in with badly broken limbs, luxating patellas, megaesophagus, stomatitis, dental issues, nasal and ear polyps, tick borne illnesses, severe skin issues, embedded collars, gunshot wounds and more.  For the animals with extra medical needs, or who may end up with us for longer than normal, we created the Sammy Fund.  This money allows us to go the extra mile and provide the kind of extra care and treatment some of our animals need as well as to continue providing care for as long as those animals are with us.  Since we never euthanize for space, in some cases animals are with us for extended periods of time.  Without donations to the Sammy Fund, we would not be able to help as fully as we do.

The Save A Life (SAL) Fund is a new addition to the way we assist the animals in our community.  We know, in the overwhelming majority of cases, pet parents want to do everything they can for their animals.  Owner surrender calls are always hard, but even more so when the reason is lack of funds for basic care.  Often this is a temporary situation such as job loss, unexpected expenses or something similar.  The SAL Fund allows us to help owners meet the needs of their pets during a difficult time.  Sometimes this means helping with vaccinations, sometimes with preventatives, sometimes with spay/neuter surgery.  We recognize lack of funds doesn’t mean lack of love and are grateful to have a way to assist.  The SAL Fund helps us keep animals healthy and in loving homes.

Both the Sammy Fund and the SAL Fund are only possible thanks to the generosity of our supporters.  Both funds help us save lives that might otherwise be lost.  The money donated to these funds, or to our agency in general stays 100% here in our community.  We are not affiliated with any national organization and depend primarily on donations from the general public.  Thank you for being a part of our life-saving work here in our community.