Affordable health care isn’t just for humans

By Dr. Beth Leermakers

What do you do if your cat or dog needs emergency veterinary care — or even preventative care — but money is tight? Emergency vet clinics are notoriously expensive (often $1000 minimum). When your fur baby is sick or injured, you want to help him — but you have to be able to cover the bill.

Fortunately, there are several options for (more) affordable vet care in the DFW area. I asked my vast network of animal rescue folks to recommend lower cost vet clinics, and they delivered! 

Disclaimer: I didn’t compare prices at the regular vet clinics, so please ask about prices before making an appointment. 

This is a good thing to do now, before your pet has a medical emergency and needs urgent care. Confirm the hours, services and prices at the spay/neuter/vaccination clinics to be sure they are still current. 

Here’s my rundown of resources to help you provide medical care for your fur baby: 

Petmobile Pet Hospital (petmobile.com; 608 W. I30 East, Suite 411, Garland; 75043; 972-423-PETS). Petmobile offers low-cost vaccinations, tests (e.g. heartworm and FIV), microchipping, spay/neuter, dental care, dog baths and boarding at their clinic. They also offer low-cost vaccinations at mobile clinics in Dallas, Richardson, Garland and Plano. 

Hillside Veterinary Clinic (hillsidevetclinic.org; 6150 E. Mockingbird Lane, #201, Dallas 75214; 214-824-0397). Low-cost vaccination clinic on Sundays from 2-5 p.m. (walk in only, no appointments). Hillside offers reasonably priced vaccination packages (during their Sunday clinics only) for puppies, dogs, kittens and cats. Hillside is open 24/7/365 for treatment of illness/injuries (excluding emergency surgery). They are NOT cheap (and they require a hefty deposit for emergency care), but they may be less expensive than some emergency clinics.

Spay Neuter Network (spayneuternet.org; 2223 S. Buckner Blvd., #203, Dallas 75227; 972-472-3500 for appointments). SNN offers low-cost vaccinations, microchipping, heartworm tests and preventatives, FELV/FIV testing and deworming at their clinic from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Tuesday — Friday (walk in only). SNN also performs spay and neuter surgeries (by appointment only). There are mobile vaccination clinics and transportation services for spay/neuter. The Pet Transport service picks up pets at locations across North Texas and shuttles them to SNN clinics for spay or neuter surgery ($5 fee applies). 

SPCA of Texas (spca.org/resources/clinic/clinic-services; 2400 Lone Star Dr., Dallas 75212; 214-742-7722; 4830 Village Fair Dr., Dallas 75224; 214-742-7722). 

The SPCA offers wellness exams, vaccinations, heartworm tests and preventatives and affordable spay/neuter surgery (by appointment). They also provide several resources to help people keep their pets, including pet food, affordable spay/neuter and medical assistance. Visit spca.org/resources/pet-needs/support-to-keep-your-pet for details and to apply for financial support. 

Texas Coalition for Animal Protection (texasforthem.org; 1235 Northwest Hwy, Garland, 940-566-5551). TCAP offers low-cost spay/neuter surgeries and dental cleaning (by appointment only) and wellness services (vaccinations, FIV/FeLv testing, heartworm testing, heartworm and flea/tick preventatives and microchipping) on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. (walk in only).  

Humane Society of North Texas (hsnt.org/clinic; 2309 Chester St., Fort Worth 76103; 817-332-4768 x112). HSNT offers low-cost spay and neuter surgeries, pet microchipping, humane euthanasia (only $50) and a weekly vaccination clinic.

Other Resources:

Care Credit (carecredit.com). Many veterinary clinics accept Care Credit to cover the cost of medical care. CareCredit is different from a regular credit card. With shorter term financing options, no interest is charged on purchases of $200 or more when you make the minimum monthly payments. 

Wellness plans. Banfield (PetSmart) and VCA Hospitals offer wellness plans that cover a variety of medical services. 

So, don’t feel bad when your pet feels bad just because you don’t have enough money for a vet. Help is available. You just need to know where to look.