Crowdfunding: An Easy Solution for Paying Your Pet's Surgery Bill

$426 and $214 annually.

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

You might be looking at a $3,000 vet invoice and thinking: That's it?! As pet guardians, we would be thrilled if our furry BFFs' bills for surgery 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 for emergency funds to give their pet the best opportunity for another chance.

If all annual bills were actually under $500, we'd have very few campaigns posted on our website. Likewise, we wouldn't regularly be receiving urgent emails from pet guardians, pleading, "How can I get help paying for my pet's surgery?" Or "How can I raise money for a vet bill?"

Pet Wellness Is Our Only Business

When desperate pet guardians are faced with a potential cost estimate that is overwhelming, they may next confront another heartbreaking challenge—the possibility of economic euthanasia, a heartbreaking phenomenon that we cover in more detail in another dedicated article. We established Waggle as a crowdfunding site dedicated to pets, 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 family. But until then, crowdfunding is a natural channel to harness, as a way to resolve veterinary emergencies. Crowdfunding has mushroomed from some $2 billion in 2011 to $34 billion in 2016 and is expected to balloon to $90 billion by 2025.

Waggle helps you raise money for your pet's surgery and other medical bills. Even if you do not have pet medical insurance or a pet surgery/treatment fund, you can think of Waggle as your pipeline to an animal emergency fund. While Waggle does not "give out" money, we are the go-to fund-me connector—the conduit—where people come when they are looking for emergency veterinary funding, whether for surgery, cancer care, or expensive treatment of an illness or chronic condition. 

"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, Connecticut. "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 online platforms that promote crowdfunding, Waggle is focused solely on pets. Popular crowdfunding websites like GoFundMe and Indiegogo underwrite just about anything, while Kickstarter and Pozible help enable creative ideas come to fruition. Others, like JustGiving, promote social causes; a platform called Fundable is geared toward small businesses. But Waggle exists exclusively to help pets in crisis.

Why Crowdfunding? And Why Crowdfunding with Waggle?

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

• Short of winning the lottery, it is one of the easiest ways to raise money. A little bit from here, a little bit from there, and suddenly, you have that bottom-line total—an instant animal emergency fund.
• This is a critical differentiator: Waggle partners with a dozen other charitable organizations that provide matching funds and grants to many of our campaigns.
• Waggle works with bloggers and influencers who post our campaigns on their social media accounts. With their exponential reach, you may end up with the needed funds super fast.
• Waggle provides pet guardians 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, the chief operating officer of Guardian Veterinary Specialists in Brewster, New York, 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."

Once you have your campaign posted, the most critical action you must undertake is promoting it. Spreading the word translates to more eyeballs viewing your campaign, and that multiples your chances for both fast, full funding. Use all your social media outlets, and ask others to do the same. Friends and family—especially the generations most plugged into the internet—can post, repost, and update as needed. You can also ask to post 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. The online community bulletin board NextDoor is another valuable tool—use it! Plumb any contacts you might have in the press or undertake your own mini media campaign.

Waggle works with well over a thousand veterinary practices; if the hospital where your pet is having surgery 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 veterinarian, sparing you the effort and financial obligation to make good on an interim loan from a source like CareCredit.

Secrets for a Success Story 

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

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 K-9 police school flunkie, but a winner as a pet—and a super-champ at fundraising: 63 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 kickstart contribution from The Animal Rescue Site, a Waggle partner, and the balance came together, as it often does, from "a village."

Another smaller, figurative village was catapulted into action for Uly, a Russian Ovcharka (pictured at left)—all 160 pounds of her. Uly needed a $2,000 urgent 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 kind-hearted, 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 doggie smile, plus shots with her family—a winning formula for melting hearts.)

And yet another success story: River suffered an accident and had a medical crisis. We think that his "cover shot" was the charm for him to reach his $1,800 goal in a mere six days! River benefited from matching funds from Waggle partner Freekibble—and the other half came from just four donors, reaching his target. A message from River's mom: "Wow! I am beyond grateful for your help in reaching my goal to get River the medical treatment he needed…We truly could not have done it without you."

These happy-ending campaigns are three of many thousands - more of which we have showcased on our "Success Stories" page - and we hope that they have inspired you to see that crowdfunding is an exceptionally viable way to get medical funding. Answered prayers come in all forms: If the question is "How can I get financial help for my pet's surgery?" we hope you'll see that Waggle is an 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. Rob Olson of Pieper Veterinary. “Waggle offers an innovative solution by connecting animals and pet parents in need with life-saving resources.”

Please "fetch" a connection with Waggle when you are faced with pet surgery you are unable to afford!