A cat named Tigger just one of the pets helped by expanded N.B. SPCA program

The New Brunswick SPCA will now help cover emergency vet bills and unexpected procedures for low-income pet owners, thanks to an expansion of its Happy Tails Fund. 

The program already helps cover spay and neuter procedures, rabies vaccinations, core vaccines and parasite prevention. 

Until this change, pet owners were required to either surrender their pets, delay needed medical care or have their pet euthanized when faced with emergency vet bills they could not afford, according to the SPCA website. 

And that was almost the reality for the owners of a cat named Tigger. 

Lesley Rogers, executive director of the New Brunswick SPCA, said one of its officers was called to an emergency veterinary clinic to retrieve the tabby cat because his owners could not afford a surgery that he required.  

"The owner had run out of funds. They had paid for the diagnostics and Tigger needed surgery and they wanted to make sure — because they loved their cat very much — that he got that surgery," told CBC Radio's Shift. 

The owner voluntarily surrendered Tigger to the SPCA so it could approve and pay for the cat's surgery. 

Rogers said the usual procedure would be to take Tigger to an animal shelter so he could be re-homed. 

That didn't sit right with the officer who retrieved the cat because he knew the pet already had a good home, Rogers said.

He asked if there was any way the cat could be given back to his original owner as long as he made sure the home was suitable. 

"I said absolutely," she said. "So, there was a very tear-filled reunion when the officer brought Tigger home to his family." 

Rogers said Tigger is not alone — it's a frequent occurrence that owners aren't able to pay for sudden vet bills. 

"We hear stories about that all of the time where people are like, 'I'm scared to go to the vet,' and we want to alleviate that," she said. 

The aim of the program is two-fold: support pet owners in these unexpected moments of crisis and take preventive measures to reduce the number of unwanted pets. 

The spay and neuter program has helped more than 250 families so far, and Rogers said the goal is to double that number this year.

"We're very grateful to have a partnership with the 12 veterinary clinics across the province to do that," she said.  

Listen | How a popular SPCA program is helping pets and their owners:

Shift - NB9:08NBSPCA expands financial assistance program

The New Brunswick SPCA is hoping to help lower income families keep beloved pets who need emergency veterinary care. They are expanding their Happy Tails program. CBC Shift host Vanessa Vander Valk gets the details from executive director Lesley Rogers. 

Since the Happy Tails program officially launched, Rogers said the SPCA is receiving about 10 to 12 emails a day from people in need of support. 

Rogers said funding from the provincial government has been set aside for the program, as well as a charitable donation from June Hooper, who was a well-known dog trainer and animal lover in Fredericton.

The goal is to raise $100,000 dollars for the program this year.

"The demand is significant and we're going to do as much, with whatever money we have in the fund."