Making Veterinary Care Accessible: How the “Yes to Care” Initiative Supports Pets, Families, AND Veterinary Professionals
- Liz Weiner
- May 8
- 6 min read
Updated: May 12
How guaranteed payment, non-credit-based payment plans & community donations to support medical care can keep families together, and how you can bring this to your practice.
As an Intake Specialist at a municipal shelter, I work with pet parents to overcome barriers to care and help more pets remain in loving homes. In a time when the human-animal bond is increasingly valued, affordable access to care is supported through low-cost vaccine clinics, spay/neuter services, and grant opportunities (varies greatly regionally).
But navigating and securing non-routine, urgent care gets tricky.
When you get into the nitty-gritty, private grants have limited funds, eligibility requirements, and can be overwhelming for some pet owners - especially in the midst of a medical crisis when funding may not be able to wait.
“Safety Nets” like pet insurance and credit cards intended to finance veterinary care aren’t the answer either.
Pet insurance can be cost-prohibitive, and even with coverage, most companies require payment for services upfront. As for credit services, many pet parents are either denied entirely or are approved for only a portion of the funds they need. And if approved, once introductory offers end, these cards often impose predatory interest rates, retroactive penalties, and monthly fees that make it extremely difficult to pay off the balance.
When essential care is out of reach, it becomes increasingly difficult for families to stay together.
A study led by Open Door Veterinary Collective and funded by PetSmart Charities found that by offering payment options that balance the clinic’s and the client's needs, clinics were able to maintain client relationships, provide the care patients need, help preserve the human-animal bond, and increase practice revenue. In the absence of payment options, 35.8% of clients researched said they would be “very likely” to give up their pet to a shelter or another person, or put their pet to sleep.
We need other options.
Addressing problems at their core.
What if we could prevent the need to surrender a pet to a shelter in the first place?
What if there were a way to help families in our own communities?
What if, instead of donating to the organization that takes the pet into its care, we could donate directly to help that same pet stay with its family?
Make funding more accessible.
What if there were a transparent payment plan that supports the needs of both pet parents AND veterinary providers?
What if there were a payment plan that guarantees payment to the provider, while remaining affordable and accessible to the client?
Now, there is. The shift in access to veterinary care we’ve been working towards is here.
The “Yes to Care” initiative, generously funded by the Dave and Cheryl Duffield Foundation (also the founders of Maddie's Fund), is dedicated to closing the access-to-veterinary-care gap in the U.S. by eliminating financial barriers to pet care. The initiative includes:
Setting up a veterinary practice with a platform ("Angel Fund") that gives people the opportunity to make tax-deductible contributions to help pets in their own community.
A guaranteed payment plan that allows practices to work with clients facing financial challenges that credit-based tools cannot address.
Sounds too good to be true, right?
Right there with you.
To put it mildly, I was skeptical. Determined to find the “catch,” armed with a list of fine-print questions, I was connected to Heather Camissa, Program Director at Pethelpfinder.org, a project of the non-profit Open Door Veterinary Collective.
The first thing that brought my guard down was Heather’s background: with over 20 years in the animal welfare community, her experience ranges from working as an Animal Control Officer to serving as president of an animal welfare agency. She wasn’t just holding a title—she’s been in the trenches and knows firsthand what is needed to make meaningful change in access to care.
And as for the “catch,” I can’t find it.
Now that I’ve sorted through all the details and all of my fine print questions have been answered, here’s my breakdown.
“Yes to Care” is a bundling of three entities:
myBalto
Varidi
Open Door Veterinary Collective.
The Platform that Manages a Clinic’s Tax-Deductible Angel Fund
With the mission of making pet care more affordable and to improve the lives of pets, owners, and veterinarians, myBalto was established by Dr. Robert, an emergency care veterinarian, and his brother, Nathan.
Dr. Roberts saw firsthand the painful reality of pets going without care because their owners face financial hardship.
To ensure that no pet would suffer due to financial constraint, their collaboration led to the development of a system that allows veterinary practices to establish their own Angel Funds.
How it works:
When a clinic joins the “Yes to Care” initiative and uses the tools, they are set up with an Angel Fund that allows tax-deductible donations. Upon initiation of the “Yes to Care” tools, a $5,000 donation is made to the fund thanks to the Dave & Cheryl Duffield Foundation.
$4,500 is deposited into the clinic’s Angel fund.
$500 covers the cost of integrating the Angel Fund into the practice management software.
Sustainable fundraising solutions for your Angel Fund.
A “round-up” at check-out option (the same kind of thing we see when checking out a pet supply store.
I find this a deeply meaningful way to honor a beloved pet—past or present—and express gratitude for the care they received at the practice.
Donation links and tools
Contributory vendor relationships that then support the Angel Fund (even if you already use the vendor).
myBalto manages legal compliance, bookkeeping, donor communications, and reporting, so providers can concentrate on delivering care.
The Guaranteed Payment Plan
People are often quick to criticize veterinary providers for not offering payment plans, but it's not that simple. While providers may want to offer a payment plan, doing so poses significant financial risk if clients are unable to make payments.
This is where Varidi comes in: With guaranteed payment, it allows practices to make care more accessible without the financial risk.
The deets...
Varidi is an in-house platform connected to your individual practice.
Varidi is a payment plan software company - not a bank or lending institution.
There is no financial risk to your practice. Unlike other companies that offer payment plans, Varidi guarantees the full payment to your practice.
You will be paid in full over time—regardless of whether the customer completes their payments.
Varidi handles all follow-up and collection activity directly with the customer.
No fee to set up..
The veterinary practice pays a standard merchant processing fee as it would with any lending-based form of payment; there are no other charges to the practice.
To set up an account...
Clients can apply from their phone, and approval is instant. The process is upfront and transparent:
Must have a valid U.S. ID and debit or credit card for payment processing.
The ONLY cost to the client is a ONE-TIME transaction fee of 18-22% of the full amount funded to be paid upfront.
No credit checks. No interest. No predatory rates. No hidden fees, no buried fine print.
I know, it's a lot to digest – there's support to guide you throughout the process and stay supported along the way...
The “Yes to Care” initiative falls under Open Door Veterinary Collective
Open Door Veterinary Collective is a non-profit organization comprised of veterinarians, veterinary professionals, animal welfare experts, practice owners (current and former), and social workers dedicated to expanding access to veterinary care and pet services.
Practices in the “Yes to Care” initiative receive team skill-building from Open Door to build financial fluency and competency to navigate client financial conversations and triage.
The training is online, on-demand, and includes a toolkit with scripts and Canva templates that can be customized by the practice.
The “Yes to Care” team also supports practices in integrating these tools and offers twice-weekly live “Office Hours” to answer questions, in addition to direct communication with any of the groups.
While not part of "Yes to Care," also under Open Door Veterinary Collective is Pethelpfinder.org
Free search tool to find financially friendly veterinary care, pet food pantries, grants and other support.
Pethelpfinder.org lists clinics that accept expanded payment options (it’s a search category!)
Features more than 7,000 resources, including grant programs.
Veterinary providers listed on pethelpfinder.org are eligible to apply for funds through the Open Door Veterinary Collective Veterinary Assistance Fund to help a client: Instant approval for two grants per year up to $500.
This can also be split into smaller amounts, allowing you to help more clients.
For more information on joining the "Yes to Care" initiative, and or to share this resource in your community, visit www.yestocare.org
Because we live in a legally delicate world, a disclaimer...
My writing reflects my own opinions and experiences, is not representative of any agency or organization, and should not be taken as fact or as professional advice. I have no affiliation with "Yes to Care" or any of the organizations outlined above. This is written for informational purposes only, and I cannot guarantee the results or effectiveness of the resources shared.
What I AM is passionate about making pet ownership accessible to all and sharing valuable resources to support it becoming a reality.
- Elizabeth Weiner, Pet Therapy Notes
Visit Pet Therapy Notes, for resources and more insights on pet love & loss
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