Six years ago, two animal advocates from Sierra Madre created Free Animal Doctor, a nonprofit that’s raised a million dollars for sick and injured animals whose owners can’t afford their pets’ veterinary bills. Today, Free Animal Doctor has figured out a way to save even more animals at a fraction of the cost and most importantly a fraction of the time. They just need help building it.

Sam Bernardo, co-founder of Free Animal Doctor, explained the limited options that pet owners face if they can’t afford care for their animals. 

“There are very few solutions,” he said. “One would be economic euthanasia. You could put the animal out of its misery for $150 versus raising $5,000 for the animal’s health care. That’s not a solution in my mind. The other solution would be you bring it to a rescue or a shelter. That’s not a solution either. Many rescues or shelters don’t have the financial strength to treat the animal, depending on the animal’s age and the severity of the medical condition. They do it economically euthanize the animal.”

At Free Animal Doctor, their mission to help sick or injured animals receive care at little to no cost. Bernardo explained how their crowdfunding site works.

“Every animal we list, every campaign we have, is online,” he said. “Donors can go to our website and pick and choose the animal they wish to support. All the information is there. Pictures of the animal, a picture of the animal’s injury. The diagnosis from the veterinarian, the estimated cost of care. It’s all there. We have raised over $1.5 million and have paid out same amount for the health care costs of over 1,000 animals. It’s the best job I’ve ever had.”

Bernardo and his partner realized their efforts, while successful, were limited when it came to emergency care for animals. So, they established a mobile clinic by partnering with local veterinarians and other nonprofits.

“We have 26 kennel spaces on our bus. They’re all full,” he said. “And we’ll do 26 animals in about three hours. It’s an amazing thing to watch. We have spayed or neutered over 2,800 animals. We have repaired roughly 30 hernias. We have repaired or removed about the same number of masses. We’ve vaccinated, I don’t know, 400-500 animals. We have done all this only working one day a week.”

Now, the Free Animal Doctor team is raising funds for a full service nonprofit clinic. 

“We have raised about seven or 8% of the $1.1 million that we need. About half of that money is going to be used for building that building out. The other half of the money is for buying kennels, buying surgical tape, buying surgical lights, buying anesthesia machines. So if you provide the health care when the health care is needed, you almost always have the best outcome,” Bernardo said. “There’s this other benefit that’s almost as important when we provide the services. We control the costs. If I control the cost, I can provide the care for the least cost possible.”

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