Does your pet need emergency, one-off veterinary treatment? If you are on a low income, then we may be able to help toward the costs of the consultation or treatment.
To be eligible
• You must be in receipt of Universal Credit or other means-tested benefits.• You must also live in our catchment area in Bath and North East Somerset or Wiltshire. To confirm you are within our catchment area, check you are in the orange area of this map VIEW» BCDH District map or you can search your postcode on LINK» www.rspca.org.uk/whatwedo/yourlocal to find your closest RSPCA Branch which will be your contact. If you are still not sure, you can also call us on 01225 787321 (during office hours).
If you are eligible, please call us on 01225 787321.
What we can offer
We can offer £75 towards the initial vet consultation charge.
We can offer 25% of the vet bill up to a maximum of £200. Your vet will need to invoice us with details of the treatment received.
Common questions
This is for unexpected emergencies only, we cannot offer financial assistance to treat chronic or ongoing conditions.
Under normal circumstances we do not provide financial assistance for insured pets, however if you are experiencing complications claiming via your insurance company you can contact us. These requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis. We will not contribute to insurance excess costs under this scheme.
For neutering your pet – please see our Low cost neutering option below.
You can only request emergency veterinary assistance once within any 12-month period. If you have multiple pets needing care, then consider your options below.
Other options
If you don’t qualify for financial assistance with us, or you need more money than we can offer, then here are some options to consider.
• Call your pet insurance company (if your pet is insured) and ask what they can offer as part of your package.
• Ask your vet if they can offer a payment plan.
• Phone other vets to see if they can do a cheaper option or can offer a payment plan.
• Use a personal loan or credit card. If you are concerned about debt, please seek help » click here to find more information with the charity National Debtline.
• We’d rather your pet stayed with you, but if you feel it is for the best then you can sign over your pet to BCDH for treatment and rehoming. Call us on 01225 787321 or use the No longer able to look after your pet? details below.