Emergency/Diagnostic Testing Assistance
Hobo’s Healing Heart provides aid to pet owners who are facing emergency veterinary care expenses for their pet. We aim to prevent the heart-breaking decision to euthanize or surrender a beloved pet because of a financial burden.
Please carefully read through the categories of care of what we do and do not cover before applying.
Categories of Care for Pet Health Care Grants:
Urgent care: Any instance when care for any injury or illness is not immediately life-threatening but requires medical care for which treatment cannot be delayed.
Emergency care: Any instance when waiting to obtain care could be dangerous to your pet’s life or part of their body - can include a bad injury, sudden severe illness, or debilitating pain.
Diagnostics care: Any instance when diagnostic testing is needed to discover the cause of an injury or illness. Pet owners will assume financial responsibility for any ongoing care.
Parvo/other vaccine-preventable illness: Considered for a grant only with proof of vaccination by a licensed veterinarian.
Categories NOT Eligible for Pet Care Grants
Preventive and routine care: We do not cover vaccinations, spay or neuter, routine dental cleaning, exams, or minor injuries not deemed an emergency or urgent by the veterinarian.
Chronic illness: We do not cover ongoing care of previously diagnosed illnesses including but not limited to, diabetes, cancer, and autoimmune diseases.
Eligibility requirements:
You must take your pet in for an initial office visit BEFORE filling out the application.
a. Your application must be received within 14 days of the initial vet visit.
b. Proof of the date of treatment will be REQUIRED from your veterinarian.
c. We will need the details of a suggested treatment plan and/or suggested diagnostic tests along with a high and low estimate of costs.
d. Office visit fees and the routine care associated with the initial visit are the pet owner’s responsibility.You must provide proof your pet is up to date on ALL required vaccines OR proof that required vaccines have been administered within ONE WEEK of pre-approval of your application.
You and your pet must live in one of the following counties:
a. South Dakota: Butte, Custer, Lawrence, Meade, or Pennington
b. Wyoming: Crook
c. Proof of valid (current/not expired or temporary) residency must be provided if requested: driver’s license, state identification card, lease agreement, or mortgage statement AND two utility bills listed in your name for your residence.You must provide proof that you have owned your pet for at least three months (adoption/purchase papers, vet records, and/or rabies certificates for two consecutive “terms”).
Hobo’s Healing Heart will pay up to 50% of the total bill excluding the initial vet visit fee, but no more than 10% of the available bank balance for the county in which the applicant is from.
a. The grant maximum is $900 per household AND pet (if pet is rehomed).
b. Hobo’s Healing Heart will only pay $50 towards the first round of medication needed for a newly diagnosed chronic condition in which Hobo’s assisted with the diagnostic testing.
c. Hobo’s Healing Heart will not cover the cost of needed Rabies vaccines or the initial vet visit.You must be able to prove financial need and inability to qualify for retail/commercial support such as, but not limited to, Care Credit, personal loan, etc.
a. If requested, provide proof of income: IRS Tax Return Form 1040s AND two of the most recent pay stubs OR Social Security statements for ALL working adults (age 18+) in the household where the pet resides.If your income exceeds 250% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, you must provide proof of the hardship you claim (lease agreement/mortgage statement, student loan statement [for loan in repayment], most recent utility bills, most recent medical bills, etc.).
You must grant permission to Hobo’s Healing Heart to use pictures of your pet and provide a summary of your pet’s care and support for the purposes of promotion and fundraising.
You must submit at least one photo of you or another immediate family member with your pet.
You must provide a brief history about how your pet came to live with you, how you came to need the assistance of Hobo’s Healing Heart, and if the grant is approved, what it means to you and your family to receive the assistance.
If approved, grant funds will be paid directly to your veterinarian.
If approved, grant recipients are asked to volunteer 2.5 hours of their time for EACH approved application submitted within one year of receiving the grant to help Hobo’s Healing Heart continue our mission. If you choose not to volunteer, this will NOT impact your CURRENT application, however, it WILL make you INELIGIBLE for future grants.
NOTE: All grants are awarded pursuant to available funds and as such, you may be required to pay more than 50% of your bill. You will need to answer every question honestly and completely for consideration. Please do not elaborate in fields for specific questions, and instead use the description area to provide any additional information. If you do not meet the requirements for a grant, please see our “Resources” tab for fundraising ideas.
By clicking apply I acknowledge that:
1. I read the categories of care to see if my need qualifies
2. I read the eligibility requirements carefully
3. I meet ALL of the requirements to apply
What happens once an application is received?
A member of Hobo’s Healing Heart will personally let each applicant know that their application has been received. If circumstances don’t permit a phone call, we will email and follow up with a call as soon as possible. We or another board member personally speaks to every applicant, even on weekends and holidays. While we may not be able to process an application on holidays or weekends if clinics are closed, we will take the time to connect with applicants and to listen to their concerns.
Emergencies and Diagnostic Care Applications: We will work to gather the information needed from the vet clinic(s), then send the application to the board for consideration. We verify the rabies vaccine is up to date, the date of the onset of injury/illness, and get other needed information on the condition of the pet from the vet providing care, along with the estimate for the cost of care. This information and the application are sent to our Board of Directors who will quickly review the application and supporting information for grant consideration. Once a decision is made, we contact the vet clinic to let them know the decision, then reach out to the applicant to inform them as well. If a grant is approved, all funds are paid directly to the vet clinic. Grant amounts are dependent on funds available.
We are a nonprofit serving only residents in Butte, Custer, Lawrence, Meade, and Pennington Counties in South Dakota and Crook County in Wyoming. Requests from outside these areas will be automatically denied. Our finances change daily. We are a volunteer program that is not fully funded. Although grants are only provided to those in the counties listed, we gratefully accept donations from outside the region. We intend to expand our reach to help other pets and families in need as our funds grow.