Fitz Fund

Fitzgerald

Meet Fitzgerald, the inspiration behind the Fitz Fund! Fitzgerald, aka Fitz, was brought to OAH by a kind hearted client who found him as stray. He was estimated to be about 5.5 months old and had an obvious leg injury. To no one’s surprise, everyone fell in love with him (I mean just look at that face) and it was decided that he would stay in the OAH family. After diagnostic testing showed that Fitz had a broken rear leg, Dr. Rocky was able to save the leg from amputation by placing a pin in it.

Everyone became attached to Fitz and helped care for him during his recovery. One home was such a good fit that he quickly became a permanent resident with one of our team members (even though she considered her “Inn” full). After an uneventful recovery, Fitz has adjusted well to his new home and is
thriving!

We are often presented with a pet in need and an owner that is unable to afford the treatment plan. Or, like Fitz, a stray that is in need of veterinary care.

You may be asking why can’t we just provide the treatment needed? While, we wish we could offer free and discounted services to every client who needs financial assistance for their pet’s treatment – that is just not feasible. We have expenses – property costs, utilities, supplies/equipment, employee salaries and benefits, etc. If we offered free or
discounted services routinely we would have to increase fees for everyone else – and that isn’t fair to everyone.

Our staff wanted to be able to assist our patients and owners in their time of need, and that is how the “Fitz Fund” was created.

There are 3 ways to donate to the “Fitz Fund”

  • Tax Exempt donations can be made online through the Veterinary Care Foundation, which is a 501c3. From their donation page:
    https://veterinarycarefoundation.org/veterinary-practice-donation/ select North Carolina, and then Oakes Animal Hospital from the drop down menus. All
    proceeds donated to Oakes Animal Hospital come directly to us and are used solely for the Fitz Fund.
  • Cash, Check, or Credit card donations can be made in the office. (Donations made in the office are not tax deductible).
  • Oakes Animal merchandise is available at the office, with all proceeds going directly to the Fitz Fund. (merchandise purchases are not tax deductible).

The guidelines for the “Fitz Fund” Grant are:

  • An Oakes Animal Hospital staff member must nominate a client/patient for grant funds.
    Grants are not available on request.
  • It must be an owned pet. There are local rescues to help stray animals in our communication, and we work with the Forsyth Humane Society to offer discounted services for stray pets.
  • The pet’s owner must be able to demonstrate an ability to care for the pet on an ongoing basis. In other words, we won’t spend donated funds to help a pet if it means returning the pet to an abusive or neglectful situation.
  • The treatment needed must be finite; that is, a single episode or procedure that will
    make an immediate and significant improvement in the individual pet’s quality of life, but will not result in significant ongoing medical care. For example, removal of a mass or tumor but not prolonged chemotherapy.
  • Grants do not cover long-term therapy or chronic medications.
  • Grants are only eligible for services at Oakes Animal Hospital. We do not send funds to other establishments.
  • The pet’s owner must cover at least 20% of the cost of care. We have learned that a greater value is placed on services if the person who benefits has an investment as well.
  • Typically, grants do not exceed $1000 per case.
  • And finally, grants cannot exceed the amount present in the fund at the time of service. We will never operate at a deficit.