Our story
Pet Aid Manitoba was founded by a veterinary technician student working at an emergency animal clinic in Winnipeg. This is how it started.
Working at an emergency veterinary clinic means seeing animals at their most vulnerable. It also means sitting with families at their most desperate — people who brought their dog or cat in on a Tuesday night, received a diagnosis, and then learned the treatment would cost $3,000 or $4,000 or more.
Most of those families don't have that money. Not immediately. Not without going into debt that would take years to climb out of. And so they face a choice that no one should have to face: find the money somehow, or surrender the animal they love.
"I watched families make that call over and over. I kept thinking — there has to be something we can do."
The Winnipeg Humane Society has a program called Urgent Care, but it's largely unknown, capped at 50% of the bill with a co-pay required upfront, and excludes some of the most common and costly conditions — dental procedures, chronic illness, parvovirus. In practice, it's inaccessible to most families who need it.
No other organization in Winnipeg offers financial aid for owned pets' veterinary bills. The gap is real, well-documented, and not being filled.
Pet Aid Manitoba was built to fill it. A charity that pays directly to partner clinics, assesses hardship without judgment, and moves fast enough to matter in an emergency. Not a rescue. Not a shelter. Something new.
The animals behind this
Some animals stay with you. These are a few of the ones that made it impossible to do nothing.
Ozzy Socks was a cat brought in with a urinary blockage — painful, life-threatening, and entirely treatable when caught in time. His family had been through this before. A previous cat had passed from the same condition, discovered too late for care to make a difference. They knew the signs. This time, they caught it early.
But catching it early wasn't enough on its own. Now the barrier was the bill. A family who had already lost a cat to this condition, who had done everything right this time — and still couldn't get their pet the care he needed. There was nothing in place to help them. That's the moment this charity stopped being an idea.
A stray cat — no name yet, just a letter — came into our care and stayed for days. WHS was contacted and didn't respond. The cat was sick, scared, and had nowhere to go while the calls went unanswered.
It took reaching the city directly before WHS was compelled to act. An animal in need spent days in limbo because the system that was supposed to catch them simply didn't. Stray Kitty W is a reminder that gaps in animal welfare aren't abstract — they show up in real animals, on real days, waiting for someone to pick up the phone.
What we believe
The cost of veterinary care should not determine which families get to keep their pets.
People seeking help should not be made to feel ashamed of their financial situation.
Transparency is not optional for a charity — donors deserve to know exactly where their money goes.
Emergency decisions shouldn't wait three business days. We move as fast as the situation demands.
Governance
Pet Aid Manitoba is governed by an unpaid volunteer board. No director receives compensation. The board is responsible for financial oversight, program decisions, and organizational accountability.
Founder & Director
Veterinary technician student, emergency vet clinic, Winnipeg
Founded Pet Aid Manitoba after witnessing firsthand the frequency with which vet costs lead to pet surrender. Brings veterinary and animal welfare domain expertise to the board.
Director — Treasurer
Board recruitment in progress
Director — Secretary
Board recruitment in progress
Full board profiles will be published here once the founding board is confirmed. Interested in joining the board? Get in touch.
Transparency
We think every charity should make it easy to see where the money goes. Here's our commitment.
Published here each year. Once CRA registration is confirmed, T3010 annual returns will be linked.
Aid is never paid to individual pet owners. Every dollar goes directly to the treating veterinary clinic.
We report the number of cases funded and total aid distributed each year. Pet stories published with permission.
Registration status
CRA registration typically takes 6–12 months. We'll update this page as milestones are reached.
Whether you're a donor, a potential partner clinic, or someone who needs help — we'd love to hear from you.