Reflections from a Hospice Vet: Giving back to our community
When I started Black Creek Mobile Veterinary Services, dedicating our care exclusively to the End-of-Life phase for pets, I really wanted to honour the bond, life, and love shared with our beloved companion animals. I knew there would be clients and pets who would really benefit from spending their last shared moments together in the comfort of home. I also knew there would be some who really wanted this experience, but unfortunately, could not afford it. This challenge is real and it affects all of those involved - the pet, the pet caregiver/guardian/owner, the veterinarian, and veterinary team. We hear the stories, we see the connection and love, and we want to help.
Our hearts hurt seeing pets in pain. We can make a difference. Here's where the Farley Fund comes in. The Farley Foundation helps low-income pet owners in Ontario by subsidizing the cost of non-elective veterinary care for their sick or injured pets. This wonderful fund can help pet parents pay for the treatments their pets need.
Sometimes, euthanasia is the kindest, most humane treatment option.When low-income pet families wish to use our services to help with an in-home euthanasia, we are fortunate to have access to an allotted amount each year from The Farley Fund. The fund is run by the OVMA (Ontario Veterinary Medical Association), and they have been so good at quickly responding and approving applications for funding our clients in need.
October is Fundraise for Farley Month. As a 2-person team with limited clientele, scope of practice and no brick and mortar clinic for clients to visit, this certainly created some challenges in us getting the word out! To top this off, our social pages with 1.5K followers had become unpublished without any recourse to get them active again (more on this later).
How did we fundraise?
First, we created a unique giving page, providing greater accessibility for pet lovers to donate online. We also added The Farley Foundation as a sub-tab to our About Us area on our website, should clients wish to learn more. Giving back is welcome all year round (not just in October), so we will be keeping this up on our website to help continue awareness of this important fund. We shared these pages within the community and to our network of friends and family.
Donating in memory of your furry friend is a beautiful way to honour themWe also reached out to local small businesses, providing information about The Farley Fund and our initiatives to help raise money to support pet families in our communities. We had a few businesses that helped support our collection efforts.
A special THANK YOU to Alley Cat Cafe, Stratford, who helped in our fundraising efforts.
A Special THANK YOU to Pure Pets, Stratford, who shared information about The Farley Foundation with every customer interaction!
For two Saturdays in October we set up a booth at the Stratford Farmer’s Market and had fun giving out paw print tattoos, stickers, and colouring sheets to kids, while helping to spread the word about the Farley Foundation and collecting >$400.
Lastly, we also started a bottle drive, collecting and returning empties to the good old Beer Store :). Dr. Erica thanks all those who donated their empties on Halloween night in Sebringville.
In total, our fundraising efforts raised $855.
Thank you kindly for your support.
You may continuing helping other pet families in need. Please donate what you can and help make a difference today.
Please note, this fund also helps in veterinary general practices as well, it is not limited to euthanasia.
