Somewhere along the way, the Veterinary community has determined that the only way out of their historically poor business management practices is to punish the good non-profits. In the past week, Brown Dog Foundation has received 5 "refusals" from Veterinary Clinics despite our willingness and financial position to help them save the lives of their client's pets. What is motivating this trend, you ask? Greed.

The primary reason Vet Clinics across the country are refusing Brown Dog's programs is that they demand all payments be made by credit card on the day services are rendered. This is not a new phenomena within the Veterinary community, but it is a surprising turn of events when aimed at established, well-regarded 501c3 agencies. There are a few things Veterinary Clinics need to comprehend as it relates to this practice...

1. Non-profits do not exist to keep your for-profit business "in the black" -- the role of a non-profit is to subsidize care for those who cannot financially access that care. Thanks to the increased popularity of Crowdfunding, Clinics now expect that non-profits should give 100% of the retail rate, which ethically violates the 501c3 tax code.
2. Just because one clinic defaults on their commitment to you does not mean we all will -- Brown Dog has existed for 16 years. We've always paid by business check within 7-10 days of a finalized invoice. We've never not paid a commitment we made. Yet, because some rescue groups and pet owners have committed to pay something and failed, Clinics are now punishing everyone. And, they feel justified in doing so because "you can't pay for your groceries 7 days later, by business check."

It seems some Veterinarians and Clinics are missing the point... A registered 501c3 in this space is not "buying groceries." We exist to serve the community at large - not just keeping Clinics flush with cash. We are established to sit between the service provider and the beneficiary to find a way to bridge the gap between need and fulfillment so that everyone invests and no one is carrying the full burden.

I knew 8 years ago that the space was going to change given the bombardment of crowdfunding sites aimed at animal lovers.  I believed that Brown Dog Foundation may be grandfathered in because of how diligently we have managed our Programs and because of our single focus on running a business that pays its way. We have avoided growing too quickly and we've never committed to pay something we did not have funds set aside to pay.

Unfortunately, our good deed is being punished. Brown Dog will now need to rethink our program completely because the industry wants "easy money." There are 2 approaches we can consider:

1. We will be forced to establish a network of clinics who will work with our program as is, which means, we are fundraising specifically to keep these clinics "in the black." When we get big enough, the IRS will tell us that violates the spirit of 501c3 and is essentially tax-fraud. We will be forced to surrender our 501c3 to another program already established using the 2nd approach.
2. Brown Dog will need to simply grant a token, flat amount that does not fully resolve the situation, leaving the pet owner to figure out how to come up with the balance. This is how Frankie's Friends, RedRover and most other programs already work because there is too much resistance by Vet Clinics in general to think outside the box.

Personally, I'm sickened by the conversations I've had throughout the last week. I've experienced a clinic unwilling to write off $300 of a $3000 procedure in order for our Program to save their client's life, opting instead for that client to take on a Care Credit debt they have no financial resources to pay. I've experienced an emergency clinic unwilling to even see a very sick dog because our $150 toward the cost of the visit would be mailed by check rather than run on a credit card immediately. Today, I was told by a doctor that she refuses to see an existing patient because we pay invoices by check.

I'm sickened enough to consider shutting down the very program I have invested 16 years of my life building. As well, I'm not sure I'll ever adopt another pet. The vast majority of this industry has become solely focused on money and has no real desire to solve the very real problems presented as a result of economic instability for the working class.

If you're a Vet in this industry who understands the role a non-profit is supposed to play, please reach out to me. I know some exist and we have a good repository of Clinics who will work with our Program. I can be reached at carol@browndogfoundation.org.