Open Door Veterinary Collective’s Pethelpfinder.org Awarded Life Long Paws Foundation Grant to Expand Access to Affordable Pet Care Resources
July 15, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Open Door Veterinary Collective’s Pethelpfinder.org Awarded Life Long Paws Foundation Grant to Expand Access to Affordable Pet Care Resources
Grand Rapids, OH – July 15, 2026 – More than half of U.S. pet families report skipping needed veterinary care, with cost being the key factor. At the same time, veterinarians are facing the rising costs of business operations. On a mission to help both pet families and veterinarians, Open Door Veterinary Collective announces receipt of an inaugural grant from Life Long Paws Foundation to expand access to care through its Pethelpfinder.org locator and its learning library.
“After a year-long environmental scan of systemic solutions in the industry and support for pet families, we are elated to award one of our first grants to Open Door Veterinary Collective and Pethelpfinder.org.”says Rebecca Perry-Torres, founder and executive director of Life Long Paws.
Perry-Torres, a Washington, DC resident, found herself at an emergency veterinarian with her own beloved dog, Benito. She was devastated to witness a fellow animal lover making the heartbreaking decision to euthanize their beloved cat due to financial hardship
“As I began to dig deeper into the topic, I realized that there is a systemic challenge with pet healthcare,” said Perry-Torres. “Veterinary care is costly, and overwhelmingly requires upfront payment in full. In many cases, they have to say goodbye for financial reasons. To drive change, I created the Life Long Paws Foundation.”
Aimee St. Arnaud, founder of Open Door Veterinary Collective, saw a similar need and launched Open Door Veterinary Collective with the goal of building sustainable systems for practices to remove barriers to care and reduce stressful financial conversations.
“We could not be more grateful to Rebecca and Life Long Paws Foundation for believing in and supporting Open Door Veterinary Collective’s programming,” said St. Arnaud.
The grant from Life Long Paws funds a part-time position for Pethelpfinder.org to grow the number of listed financially-friendly veterinary services including basic, urgent and emergency care, spay/neuter, wellness as well as other important pet resources such as pet food pantries, temporary housing, grant programs, and general pet services..
The foundation has also provided $10,000 towards a veterinary assistance fund.
Veterinary practices and service providers can apply to be listed at Pethelpfinder.org free of charge. Once listed, practices can access benefits including, for clinics, the opportunity to apply for the veterinary assistance funds to support their clients with financial barriers in need of urgent or emergency care.
“We built Pethelpfinder.org after hearing from countless families and social service providers that they didn’t know where to find financially-friendly pet services in their areas,” said Heather Cammisa, Program Director for the site. “This grant from Life Long Paws enables us to make those connections, build community, and bolster providers to help pets get needed care..”
In addition to boosting Pethelpfinder.org, the grant also funds 100 scholarships for veterinary professionals to Open Door Veterinary Collective’s online Access to Care Learning Library of RACE-approved courses.
Learn More:
To learn more about Open Door Veterinary Collective’s training, programs and research on access to veterinary care, visit https://opendoorconsults.org/
To be listed as a financially-friendly pet service or search for services, visit www.Pethelpfinder.org.
To learn more about Life Long Paws, visit https://lifelongpaws.org/
About Open Door Veterinary Collective
Open Door Veterinary Collective is a national non-profit dedicated to expanding access to veterinary care and pet services through research, mentorship, online learning and collaboration to support pet families, social service, animal welfare and veterinary professionals. It is also home to Pethelpfinder.org, a free locator for financially friendly veterinary care, pet food & supplies, co-housing, general pet assistance and grant programs.
About Life Long Paws Foundation®
Life Long Paws Foundation envisions a world where all pets receive the best available pet healthcare & wellness services, regardless of their families’ financial means, ensuring that pet parents never have to make the unbearable choice to euthanize their pets because they can’t afford medical treatment. Its mission is to revolutionize pet healthcare by making it more accessible and affordable for all pet parents —so that no one has to choose between their financial stability and their pet’s life.
Media Contact:
Meg Nowik
media@opendoorconsults.org
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