Crowdfunding for Pet Surgery

$458 and $201. These are the average amounts that dog and cat guardians, respectively, spend on pet surgery for their four-legged family members, according to a recent survey by the American Pet Products Association (APPA), a trade group comprising more than 1,300 pet product manufacturers.

You might be looking at a $3,000 vet bill and thinking: That's it?! As owners of companion animals, we would be thrilled if our pet surgery costs were as low as the APPA's survey averages (which means, of course, that some are even lower). But no matter the amount, there is always a driving need for people to turn to Waggle to help raise funds in order to give their pets another chance at living their best life when an emergency hits.

If all annual medical care expenses for our furry BFFs were under $500, Waggle would have very few campaigns posted on our website. Likewise, we wouldn't regularly receive urgent emails from pet guardians pleading, "How can I get help paying for pet surgery?" Or "How can I raise money for a vet bill?"

Pet Wellness Is Our Only Business

When desperate families are faced with a treatment plan for medical care for pets that is cost-prohibitive, they may next confront another heartbreaking challenge: the possibility of economic euthanasia. We established Waggle as a pet-dedicated crowdfunding site to help eradicate that tragic outcome. We hope someday to put ourselves out of business, so that economic euthanasia is never even a consideration for a despairing pet guardian. But until then, crowdfunding is a natural channel for helping to resolve unexpected vet bills for pet surgery, emergency care, or other critical veterinary care. Crowdfunding as a whole has mushroomed from some $2 billion in 2011 to $34 billion in 2016 and is expected to reach $90 billion by 2025.

Waggle crowdfunding helps you crowdfund for your pet's emergency treatment or other unplanned medical expenses. Even if you do not have pet insurance or a rainy-day fund, you can think of Waggle as your pipeline to an urgent animal treatment fund. While Waggle does not simply "give out" money, we are the go-to fund-me connector, the conduit where people come when they are looking for help with veterinary expenses, whether for surgery, cancer treatment, or other much-needed care.

"Partnering with Waggle and financially challenged pet owners is such a rewarding experience," says Joanne Watkins, ER and specialty hospital director at Pieper Veterinary in Middletown, Conn. "Waggle allows us an opportunity to offer more options for lifesaving emergent and advanced pet care when folks need it the most for their beloved pets. It is a win-win for Waggle, Pieper Veterinary, and our pet guardians!"

Unlike other crowdfunding platforms, Waggle is focused solely on animal fundraisers. Popular websites like GoFundMe and Indiegogo underwrite just about anything, while Kickstarter and Pozible help creative ideas come to fruition. Others, like JustGiving, promote social causes, and Fundable is geared toward small businesses. But Waggle exists exclusively to help raise online donations for pet medical expenses.

Why Crowdfunding? And Why Crowdfunding With Waggle?

If you're new to sky-high pet medical bills or the concept of crowdfunding, consider these four reasons to create a campaign with Waggle:

Short of winning the lottery, crowdfunding is one of the easiest ways to raise money. One person gives a little, another person gives a little, and suddenly, you have that bottom-line total, an instant animal emergency fund. We help you harness the power of your community.
This is a critical differentiator: Waggle partners with more than a dozen other charitable organizations that provide donation-matching or starter grants to many of our campaigns, helping you reach your goal that much faster.
Waggle works with animal welfare bloggers and influencers who post some of our campaigns on their social media accounts, increasing the reach of those appeals exponentially. If it truly takes a village, as they say, our network helps to expand that village into a metropolis.
Waggle provides you with an arsenal of tools to help you create a campaign that is appealing, engaging, and as persuasive as possible — and to nurture it to the finish line.

Bernadette Vinci, chief operating officer of Guardian Veterinary Specialists in Brewster, N.Y., says, "Our clients are relieved to have an easy-to-use media tool at their disposal to help them cover the costs of the veterinary care their pets need. The Waggle team is responsive and answers questions promptly."

Making the Most of Your Campaign

So, you may be asking yourself, "How do I crowdfund on Waggle?" The first step is setting up your campaign. Once your campaign is posted, the most critical action you must take is promoting it. Spreading the word translates to more eyes viewing your campaign, and that multiplies your chances for both fast and full financial assistance. Use all your social media outlets, and ask others to do the same. Friends and family, especially those most plugged into the internet, can post, repost, and update as needed. You can also explore posting on digital and physical bulletin boards at your library, community center, gym, and so on. Spread the word at your office, around your neighborhood, and within your children's playgroups. Plumb any contacts you might have in the press, or launch your own fundraising event ideas.

Waggle works with well over 1,000 veterinary practices. If your veterinary clinic is not a current partner, Waggle can work with the staff to get them signed up quickly. Funds from your campaign will go directly to the clinic, sparing you the effort and financial obligation of paying off an interim loan from a source like CareCredit.

Secrets for a Success Story

These two Waggle campaigns from 2021 illustrate just what the clout of a crowd can do.

Uly, a Russian Ovcharka

Some campaigns get propelled to the finish line because they garner an enormous amount of traffic, and that results in donations from dozens of contributors.

Odin was a K9 police academy flunky but a winner as a pet and a super champ at fundraising: Sixty-three donors contributed to his campaign! He raised the critical $2,000 needed for his heart surgery. His pet parent gushed, "We cannot thank enough everyone at Waggle and The Animal Rescue Site that helped Odin. … As we watch him play in the snow, … we are fully aware that this would not have been possible without his surgery. Thank you!" Odin benefited from a $1,200 kick-start contribution from The Animal Rescue Site, a Waggle partner, and the balance came together, as it often does, from a village of donors.

Another smaller figurative village was catapulted into action for Uly, a Russian Ovcharka (pictured at left) all 160 pounds of her. Uly needed $2,000 for urgent veterinary surgery for a torn ligament, and 25 individual donors kicked in enough for her to reach her goal. "Holy moly," her pet parent beamed. "I cannot begin to explain how much you all have done for Uly and me. ... Uly is pretty smart, but I don't think I can get her to understand how a group of kindhearted, generous souls made her eventual fixin' possible and how much weight was taken off my shoulders. With everything I have, thank you." (Note that Uly's pictures on her campaign page feature her soulful eyes and a big doggy smile, plus shots with her family — a winning formula for melting hearts.)

The Benefits of Online Crowdfunding

These successful campaigns are just two of many thousands, and we hope they have inspired you to see that crowdfunding is an exceptionally viable way to get pet medical funding. Answered prayers come in all forms. If the question is "How can I crowdfund for my pet's surgery?" look to Waggle crowdfunding for the answer. "As veterinarians, we have long witnessed the sad reality that financial restraints often result in pain and suffering, and even unnecessary euthanasia of the pets we treat,” says Dr. Robert Olson of Pieper Veterinary. “Waggle offers an innovative solution by connecting animals and pet parents in need with lifesaving resources.”

Next time you are faced with veterinary bills you are unable to afford, "fetch" a connection with Waggle!