Low-income populations that had some form of work are now laid off and struggling to pay their rent and groceries. They are contacting our organization to assist with emergencies for their pets who often serve as the low-income individual's primary mental health support. Our organization's McVitie Fund currently helps a limited amount of animals in a year and does not have the capacity to take on the number of calls we are receiving each day since the COVID-19 layoffs.

The emergencies have included urgent care cases such as kidney stones, bowel obstruction, and respiratory problems. Most urgent care situations require an exam, xray, blood work and then the treatment, which can vary from a prescription to being kept in an oxygenation tank to a surgery. The resolution of these cases costs between $500 and $3000, which these individuals do not have available. They are forced to make the difficult decision of ending the life of their otherwise healthy companions because of finances. Animal shelters have limited capacity to take in animals at this time, and need to focus on homeless animals as well as cruelty cases.

Support will ensure that we can assist in improving the mental health of individuals who are out of work due to social distancing measures by providing the emergency care their animals need. When we receive calls from these potential clients, we can hear the fear and stress in their voices and we are hopeful that with your assistance we will not have to turn anyone away who is truly in need of this assistance.