Pet Resources – Frequently Asked Questions

If you have lost your pet, act quickly! The first 24 hours is important for finding your pet.

• Check with your neighbors and around your neighborhood. Most lost pets are within 2 miles of the home.
• Contact the Galax Carroll Grayson Animal Shelter to see if your pet has been brought to their facility, or if someone has contacted them about a pet they have found. Their phone number is (276) 236-8501, address is 200 Fair St., Galax, VA
• Call the other shelters in the area and visit them regularly.
• Pets end up at the shelter sometimes weeks after they get lost, so never stop looking.
• Post on social media and share to local community pages in the hopes that someone has seen your pet. Here are some tips:
  • Post a recent picture and a description of where the pet was lost and a way to get in touch with you.
  • Be sure to include any important information about temperament or likes/dislikes that might help a potential finder successfully approach and confine your pet.
  • If your pet is shy or fearful, say to contact you immediately and not try to approach the pet.
  • Send us your information through our Facebook page (include your first name, contact information, a picture of your pet and where it was lost, plus any important information that might help capture it) and we’ll post it on TCHS’ page.
• Post a photo of your pet on PetcoLoveLost, a facial recognition program by Petco that helps reunite lost pets with their families.
• Post flyers at busy intersections.
  • Posters should be GIANT and in FLORESCENT COLORS; be brief and create a visual image.
  • All you need is the word “LOST,” a photo of your pet, and your phone number.
  • Post around town at veterinary clinics, schools, grocery and convenience stores, and anywhere else you think might help.

• Lost pets may hide in fear. Do not count on “here kitty, kitty” or treats to get them to come to you.
• Get down and dirty, search all possible hiding places outside, look under sheds, decks, houses, etc.
• Most animals are found close to home. Talk to your neighbors and, after asking permission, search at your neighbor’s place.
• Put out food, water, and your pet’s bedding (something with their scent on in) in hopes the dog or cat will return home for food.
• For shy dogs and cats, set a humane trap near the point of escape (contact us if you need help with trapping)
• Contact and leave a description with your mail carrier, newspaper carrier, garbage truck drivers, and local landscapers

• It is best to watch them from a distance first, to see if mama is around. 
• Kittens stand the best chance at life when they have their mother to take care of them.
• If you find a young kitten, the mom is usually close by. If mom comes back, and she and her kittens look healthy and are not injured, it is best to keep them where they are.
• Mama has to eat too, and will go out to find food for herself. She will always comes back to feed her babies if she is able to.
• If you wait 4 – 6 hours and mom still does not come back, contact us for advice and assistance.
• If they are injured or if you feel they are in danger where they are,  contact us for advice and help.
• We can help get the mother spayed, so you don’t find more kittens in the future.
• If mom and kittens are friendly, and you are able to foster the kittens, we can help you with food & supplies until they are old enough to find a home.
• The best place for small kittens is in a home. Kittens can be very fragile.
• Kittens are very susceptible to illness in a shelter environment, as they have not developed their immune systems yet.
• If they are given enough time in a home to get older, they can stay healthy and get a new home more quickly.

• If you have discovered an adult cat at your home or business, we first suggest that you leave it alone.
• You can give it water, but please do not feed the cat.
• Most cats (66%) will find their way home if left alone.
• Only between 2-4% will be reunited with their owners if they are taken to a local shelter.
• Often a cat belongs to someone nearby, so put up posters and ask neighbors if you decide to bring the cat into your home.
• If you feel the cat you found belongs to someone and is not a community cat, follow these steps:
• Contact the Galax Carroll Grayson Animal Shelter (phone: (276) 236-8501; address: 200 Fair St., Galax, VA) and other neighboring animal control agencies and report that you found a lost pet.
• Give a good description and the location where it was found. People who have lost a pet will often contact the shelter to see if it is there. If someone calls reporting a lost pet with the same description, they can refer that person to you.
• You can care for the cat until the owner is found. The Galax shelter does not accept stray cats at this time.
• Advertise the cat on social media. Someone may know the cat.
• In addition to posting on your own page, you should also post on community Facebook groups.
• Send us your information through our Facebook page (include your first name, contact information, a picture of the dog or cat and where you found it) and we’ll post it on TCHS’ page.
• Put up flyers in your neighborhood and surrounding areas for the person looking for their lost pet.
• Check with your neighbors and around your neighborhood.
• Put a photo of the found cat on PetcoLoveLost  (a facial recognition program by Petco that helps reunite lost pets with their families).
• Take the cat to a veterinarian or shelter to be microchip scanned.

• Dogs can get loose for a lot of reasons. A lost pet may be lost for weeks or even months, so they may look a little skinnier or more unkempt then normal. The pet’s family may be desperately trying to find him and just have not been able to, so it’s best to assume that this pet is lost versus mistreated. Follow these steps if you have found a dog:
  • Contact the Galax Carroll Grayson Animal Shelter (phone: (276) 236-8501; address: 200 Fair St., Galax, VA) and other neighboring animal control agencies and report that you found a lost dog.
  • Give a thorough description so they can contact you if someone calls reporting a lost pet with the same description.
  • To help, you can keep the dog until the owner is found. This keeps them out of the shelter which allows them to help other pets who do not have another option.
  • Advertise the found dog on social media. Someone may know the cat. I
  • In addition to posting on your own page, you should also post on community Facebook groups.
  • Send us your information through our Facebook page (include your first name, contact information, a picture of the dog or cat and where you found it) and we’ll post it on TCHS’ page.
  • Put up flyers in your neighborhood and surrounding areas for the person looking for their lost pet.
  • Put a photo of the found dog on PetcoLoveLost, a facial recognition program by Petco that helps reunite lost pets with their families.
  • Check with your neighbors and around your neighborhood. Most found dogs are within 2 miles of their home.
  • Take the pet to a veterinarian or shelter to be microchip scanned. 

For up to date information for getting assistance with spaying or neutering your pet, visit our Spay Neuter Information page.

It is best for your pet to go directly to their new family and never enter a shelter. Shelters are stressful and scary for many pets, which makes it harder for them to get adopted quickly. By rehoming your pet yourself, you are also saving lives at shelters. You are in control of your pet’s next chapter. You know them best… you are their greatest resource.

How to find your pet a new home:

• Use your network
• Using your network can often result in finding the right home for you pet, keeping your pet out of the shelter and going directly to another home. This is the best option for your pet.
• Reach out to friends, family members, co-workers and neighbors to see if anyone might be interested in your pet, and ask them to pass it on to their friends, relatives, and co-workers.
• Email everyone you know, and ask them to pass on the email to others.
• Use social media and other venues to spread the word
• Post a picture with a description of your pet on your Facebook page and local community pages, Next Door, etc.
• Ask veterinarians, groomers, and other pet-related businesses if you can post flyers at their facilities.
• You can also send us your information through our Facebook page (include your first name, contact information, a picture of the pet and any information you think people will want to know and that will help them find a home) and we’ll post it on TCHS’ page.

 What if I have an emergency situation and need help immediately?

 The Galax Carroll Grayson Animal Shelter may be able to help.

• The shelter has been working hard to rehome animals and transport them to rescue shelters before having to euthanize and they have been very successful.
• However, they will be unable to take in animals if they are full (the flip side of not euthanizing animals). If they have space the shelter might be a good option.
• Their phone number is (276) 236-8501 and their address is 200 Fair St, Galax, VA 24333
• If the shelter is full we will do our best to help.
• We can start by helping you to advertise your pet on our Facebook page.
• We also may know of another rescue that can take it in.
• We do have fosters who can occasionally take in pets for rehoming (through adoption or transfer to another rescue.) However, we have a small all-volunteer staff and a limited number of fosters. We tend to stay full with vulnerable animals who are in need of medical care and can’t go to the shelter.

Click to fill out a Help Request form

About community (feral) cats:

• No matter where you live, you have probably encountered a community cat or two (often referred to as feral cats). Community cats are unowned cats who are free-roaming outdoors.
• Some are friendly, some are unsocialized. Unsocialized cats are often referred to as feral or wild. They live full, healthy lives in their outdoor homes.
• For decades the practice has been to remove and kill outdoor cats. This outdated method has done nothing to reduce the population of cats. When cats are removed and a food source remains, it is only a matter of time before new cats discover this treasure box and move in, creating more cats than were there before.

 About Trap-Neuter-Return:

• Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is the only humane, effective approach to community cats.
• Getting these cats spayed or neutered will help cut down on the population of these cats. This is important, as one female cat can have up to three litters of kittens a year.
• Community cats are a part of the local ecosystem and thrive in an outside environment. They have lived outside the majority of their life and are naturally skilled at finding resources for themselves such as shelter and food.
• Community cats do not generally thrive in a shelter environment or as an indoor cat. Community cats will get stressed in these environments which can cause potential sickness and/or behavioral issues; which would not have developed if left alone in their outdoor home.
• Some people may be concerned about the cat’s health when they are solely outside. Many studies have shown that community cats are just as healthy as regular house cats. If you do notice a sick or injured cat, seek veterinary help or contact us.

How to help feral cats:

• If you would like help with TNR of feral cats please contact us here and we will get back to you. We have a list of people in need of TNR and will let you know how long it might take for us to get to you.
• TCHS can help you trap the cats, get them spayed or neutered, vaccinated for rabies, and treated for intestinal worms and fleas. We will then release them back to their original location.
• Moving cats to a new location is often not successful, so in most cases they will need to be returned to the location from which they were trapped.
• Ideally, we would like all community cat colonies to have a caretaker, who can keep an eye on the cats and provide them with food and an outdoor shelter (we can help with both). A caretaker will also let us know if any of the cats become injured or ill so we can trap them and take them to the veterinarian for treatment.

For more information about TNR, take a look at these links from our friends at Alley Cat Allies.

1. Why Trap-Neuter-Return: The Case for TNR
2. Trap-Neuter-Return Effectively Stabilizes and Reduces Feral Cat Populations
3. Key Scientific Studies on Trap-Neuter-Return
4. Spay/Neuter: Good for Cats, Good for Communities
5. Feral Cat Health Analysis: Living Healthy Lives Outdoors
6. Feral Cats and the Public: A Healthy Relationship

TCHS would like to thank the Lynchburg Humane Society for sharing their helpful information with us. Much of the information from this page was adapted from their website with permission. Check them out at http://lynchburghumane.org/.

Also take a look at the Alley Cat Allies website: https://www.alleycat.org/ for more information about community cats and how you can help.

If you’d really like to help, you can always volunteer with TCHS to help these kitties locally. Just fill out a volunteer application here.

CareCredit is a resource for people who need financial help with veterinary costs. If there are no veterinary clinics around the area who offer payment plans, CareCredit could help. CareCredit helps you pay for out-of-pocket healthcare expenses.

CareCredit is not just for human health services but can be applied to your pet(s) as well. Once you are approved, you can use it to help manage health and wellness costs not covered by insurance. There are other resources available that are very similar to CareCredit such as Scratch Pay:

Care Credit https://www.carecredit.com

Scratch Pay https://scratchpay.com

An easy way to raise/save money for non-urgent bills is fundraising for yourself. Some of the biggest reasons why people do not use self-fundraising resources is because of the perceived stigma around it. Self-fundraising needs to be viewed in the same way that shelters fundraise for their pets.

Love Animals www.loveanimals.org

FundRazar www.fundrazr.com

Go Fund Me www.gofundme.com

Go Get Funding www.gogetfunding.com

Waggle www.waggle.org

Deposit A Gift www.depositagift.com

Similar to health insurance for humans, veterinary insurance (aka Pet Insurance) covers the cost of medical treatments for unexpected injuries and illnesses, but with more flexibility and better coverage. Pet insurance can lower a vet bill.

This type of medical coverage is for people who are looking to save over a longer period of time, not for someone having trouble paying bills and in need of a quick fix. If someone is looking to save a little each time they go to the vet, insurance would then be a great option.

Some of these plans are helpful for a variety of medical issues. However, coverage is limited. Be sure to read the fine print about medical problems which are considered pre-existing or which are not covered by your policy.

Pet Plan https://www.gopetplan.com

USAA https://www.usaa.com/inet/wc/pet-insurance

Urgent and nonurgent care grants / financial assistance can help pay for emergency veterinary costs and ongoing veterinary bills. Urgent care would not be used for routine visits or immediate veterinary care. Financial assistance is usually determined on a case by case basis.

RedRover https://redrover.org

The RedRover Relief Urgent Care grant program is a grant that helps animals who need urgent and emergency veterinary care. The RedRover Relief Urgent Care grant is typically around $200, and is intended to fill a small gap in funding that may be keeping an animal from the medical care they need. The RedRover Relief Urgent Care recipients are based upon several factors, including: medical urgency, financial need, available funding, and eligibility.

 Friends & Vets Helping Pets http://friendsandvetshelpingpets.org

Friends & Vets Helping Pets (FVHP) creates a vet/client partnership and will provide grants directly to veterinarians. FVHP works with both the veterinarian and the family to provide pets with the necessary medical treatment. FVHP begins with an online initial application. All applicants must be prepared to show documentation of financial need at this time. During this process, FVHP works with the applicant to see how much they can afford to pay. Veterinarians complete a short form to become registered with FVHP in advance of a treatment. The veterinarian submits a diagnosis/treatment protocol and cost estimate of the treatment for the pet. FVHP asks that the vet donate a small portion of their time or services on each approved treatment, typically 10 – 15%, in an effort to reduce the cost of the treatment. This allows the vet to help the client/pet and still make a profit. Depending on availability of funding, FVHP provides the difference in the form of a grant paid directly to the veterinary clinic/hospital treating the pet.

 Hope Mending Hearts http://www.hopemendinghearts.net

Hope Mending Hearts Grant is a grant that helps low-income families. The goal of the program is to help animals who need immediate veterinary care to survive. The typical grant is around $100 and $200.

Violet’s Friend in Need https://oscarnewman.com/pages/violet-s-friends-in-need-fund

Oscar Newman Luxury Pet Couture created Violet’s Friend in Need program. This program helps pets and their owners by providing financial assistance for urgent or critical veterinary care. Each item purchased from Oscar Newman Luxury Pet Couture has a portion of the proceeds go to the program. This program helps many people that are faced with vet bills that are too costly. Violet’s Friends in Need offers financial assistance for urgent or critical veterinary care, surgeries, therapies or mobility solutions that are too costly for pet parents.

Paws Care https://pawscare.wordpress.com

Paws Care is dedicated to helping provide services to care for the pets of those affected by HIV/AIDS, Cancer and other Terminal Illnesses. To be eligible for Paws Care:

• Medical Verification‐ please provide a current letter from your medical provider (on letterhead), specifically describing your critical illness and the restrictions of daily activities if any. If you are homebound, this must be stated in the letter as well.
• Pet Ownership Verification‐ please provide the most recent veterinary record of which it must state your name and your pet/s name and list of current pet vaccinations

 The Pet Fund https://thepetfund.com

The purpose and mission of The Pet Fund is to work towards a future where decisions about companion animal medical care need never be made on the basis of cost. The Pet Fund provides financial assistance for non-emergency veterinary care, up to $500 per applicant, for non-routine, necessary treatments. While costs are an inevitable part of the responsibility of owning companion animals, The Pet Fund assists owners in covering medical costs beyond the normal expenses of vaccination, spay and neuter surgeries, food, and routine veterinary care.

The Pet Fund works only on non-basic, non-urgent care. This category includes medical needs such as cancer treatment, heart disease, chronic conditions, endocrine diseases, eye diseases, etc.

To be eligible for The Pet Fund:

1. Your animal must need non-basic, non-urgent care only, and both you and your companion animal must meet our program criteria.
2. Your animal’s medical needs must be able to wait the length of The Pet Fund’s current wait list.
3. You must contact The Pet Fund by email with your request prior to sending your application.

Brown Dog Foundation http://www.browndogfoundation.org

 Frankie’s Friends (Cancer and other life threatening conditions)

This fund primarily assists those with tumors, broken bones and those needing ambulatory care, expensive medication or post-surgical prosthetic devices. https://www.frankiesfriends.org

 Onyx and Breezy Foundation http://www.onyxandbreezy.org

 Pet Assistance, Inc. https://www.petassistanceinc.org

 Shakespeare Animal Fund http://www.shakespeareanimalfund.org

 STARelief (Also Emergency Foster/boarding) https://starelief.org

 The Mosby Foundation https://www.themosbyfoundation.org

 The Pet Fund https://www.thepetfund.com

 Oscar’s Cause http://www.oscarscause.org/index.html

 Veterinary Emergency Treatment Fund https://vet-fund.org

Pet Guardian Angels of America http://pgaa.com

 Banfield Foundation https://www.banfield.com/banfield-foundation

There are many medical conditions that shelters may not be able to assist with due to not having a vet, funding, etc. There are some grants and financial assistance programs that assist with specific conditions.

• Cancer
  • Canine Cancer Awareness – http://caninecancerawareness.org/
  • Cody’s Club – http://www.dogdoggiedog.com/pwcAcodysclub.htm
  • FETCH a Cure Companions in Crisis (VA) and The Felicia Fund (D.C.) – http://www.fetchacure.org/companions-in-crisis/
  • Land of PureGold Foundation Working Dog Cancer Treatment Grant – http://landofpuregold.com/grants/
  • Magic Bullet Fund – http://www.themagicbulletfund.org/Apply.shtml
  • 4 A Cure – http://www.paws4acure.org/askforhelp.php This fund assists those with cancer, those who are heartworm positive and those needing wheelchair assist and/or non-routine care.
  • The Riedel and Cody Fund – https://www.riedelcody.org/
  • Stymie Canine Cancer Foundation – https://www.facebook.com/StymieCanineCancer
  • The Joshua Louis Animal Foundation – http://www.joshualouis.org/
  • The Pie Fund – http://www.piefund.org
  • Helping Harley Cancer Treatment Grant – https://harleyhelpinghands.org/grantrequest
  • The Perseus Foundation – https://www.caninetcellinfusion.info/the-perseus-foundation
  • Harley’s Hope Foundation – https://www.harleys-hopefoundation.org/
  • The Mosby Foundation – http://www.themosbyfoundation.org

• Cardiac disease
  • The Big Heart Fund –http://bigheartsfund.org/the-big-hearts-funds-policies-for-pet-owners

• Deafness
  • Deaf Dog Education Action Fund – http://www.deafdogs.org/canhelp/donate.php

• Diabetes
  • Diabetic Cats in Need – https://dcin.dreamhosters.com/our-mission-and-activities/
  • Feline Diabetes – http://www.felinediabetes.com
  • Lantus Land Emergency Fund – http://www.felinediabetes.com
• Mobility impairments
  • Handicapped Pets Foundation – http://hpets.org/
  • The Pet Fund – http://thepetfund.com/
  • Red Flyer – http://www.facebook.com/RedFlyers
  • Handicapped Pets – https://www.handicappedpets.com/
  • K9 Carts – http://www.k9carts.com/donations
• Allergies
  • Paws – https://www.paws.org/resources/allergies-pets/