Office: 718-544-PETS
InfoLINE: 718-770-PETS
HelpLINE: 718-321-PETS
www.LowCostVet.org
www.AnimalAdoptionVetCenter.org
www.AnimalVetCenter.org
www.AdoptionVetCenter.org
www.AAVCNYC.org
www.AAVCQueens.org
Info@LowCostVet.org
159-19 Horace Harding Expressway
(Westbound Service Road of the Long Island Expressway)
Fresh Meadows, NY 11365
Call or email to help an animal
Your Community's Animal Rescue Veterinary Service
"helping those who help animals"
COVID 19 update
No one except the animal is permitted to come into the vet mobile
We guarantee to be open at least until 2pm but we stay until we see everyone who has come, so please try to come before 2 pm. if unable to, please call 718 544 pets when stepping out the door so we can predict whether we will still be seeing patients by the time you arrive
Please read this page carefully and entirely. We will NOT answer questions by phone about this basic information
We are continuing our regular schedule 5 days a week, with the only modification being that we are not traveling to other boroughs.
The Vet Mobile is now open EVERY Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, & Sunday
Express buses QM4 (every hour) & QM44 (during rush hours) come directly to us from mid and upper Manhattan in under 40 minutes
Get off at the last stop in Queens (Horace Harding Expwy [Service Road of the L.I.E.] & 164 St.) Walk four short blocks to 160 Street
We perform surgeries, dentals, spay/neuter, hospitalization, ultrasound, echocardiogram, chemo at low cost
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A preliminary exam must first be done
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If booking/paying with a payment plan use the Click to Book button below
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If booking/paying with a debit or credit card or cash you must come in person (without the animal). If you cancel after booking a surgery there is a $50 cancellation fee for Spay Neuters and a $250 cancellation fee for major surgeries, dentals, ultrasounds, & personalized services.
PLEASE DO NOT BOOK ANY OF THE ABOVE
UNLESS YOU ARE CERTAIN TO KEEP THE COMMITTMENT
To Book a Major Surgery or Dental
To Book S/N
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Under 5 yrs no exam needed, so can book without the animal
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Book in person w/credit/debit card or cash.
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We'll call you 1-2 weeks later for males, 8-12 weeks for females
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An appointment is NOT required for an exam or re- visit
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We are a first come, first serve, walk-in service but if you want an appointment (since as a walk-in the wait time may be long) you can download our FREE "Low Cost Vet" App to your phone and make an appointment with it. The App does charge $20 for the convenience of getting an appointment.
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You can also download all your records from our FREE APP
NO REFUNDS FOR THE $20 APP CHARGE
FOR AN APPOINTMENT TO BYPASS THE WALK-IN WAIT TIME
To Book an Exam or Re-Visit
NO REFUNDS FOR APP APPOINTMENT CANCELLATION
4 years or older animals need exam & blood test prior to surgery
Please read the above text CAREFULLY to avoid booking errors
We perform major surgeries usually within 1-3 weeks of booking it
PLEASE NOTE : Our APP is ONLY for EXAMS NOT for SURGERIES
APP appointments can ONLY be rescheduled up to 72 hrs prior to appt. day/time
There are NO cancellations nor refunds for the $20 convenience fee of the APP
You can download the FREE Low Cost Vet APP by scanning the QR Code at right
How to find a home for a rescued friend
OK, you rescued an angel. There was no way you were going to walk away from the suffering of such an innocent life. What do you do now? The panic sets in. Maybe this is your first rescue from the streets, or from an abusive or neglectful pet parent. You can't possibly take in an animal or another animal, but you won't abandon the little one either. We are going to tell you how to not panic and be assured of finding a good lifetime home for your new rescue.
1. First, you MUST get the rescued animal checked and updated vaccines and spayed or neutered. If you can't afford your nearby veterinarian's market prices you are welcome to come to the Low Cost Vet Mobile.
2. Second, you MUST use a dual advertising approach and neither of the two methods includes a no kill shelter or a rescue group taking the animal from you. You will almost certainly be extremely disappointed and waste your time making calls if you have such an expectation.
3. Dual advertising means the posting of hundreds of flyers and working with rescue groups to help advertise your newly rescued friend.
4. Flyers MUST have a color photo of the animal in an adorable pose. Do not offer the animal for free. You must distribute and continue to distribute flyers until the animal is adopted. Write a summary of how you rescued the animal, and his/her personality traits, age, breed, gender, weight. Offer to take the animal back if it does not work out by offering a "trial period."
5. Use an adoption contract which is enforceable in court. We have one which has been court tested and has been held by the Appellate Division to be enforceable. You can download it here.
6. Here is how to get help from rescue groups: Go to PetFinder.com and put in your zip code as if you are looking to adopt an animal. All the rescue groups in your area who are advertising their rescued animals looking for homes will come up, showing their animals. Contact each rescue group in your area either by the email they provide or their phone number. Ask the local rescue groups if they would be kind enough to let you show your rescued animal at their adoption events. Many will, but some won't even respond. Also ask them if they would list your rescued animal on their web site for adoption. Many will. This is all free.
7. All this takes time, so you have to not be counting the days, weeks and months going by. Rest assured, you will eventually find a good home, but it may take a few weeks, months or even years. The key is to not let the length of time you end up fostering the rescued animal become the overriding factor of concern for you. That creates pressure which YOU are creating. Instead of enjoying the animal while he/she is with you, it will make you miserable. Once you enter the mindset that you will not be rushed into an adoption, and that you will find a home, the pressure comes off. But you must constantly be working on the dual advertising, replacing the flyers you postered in the streets which have been taken down or flown away, going to rescue group adoption events to show your rescued animal, etc. Choose high foot traffic areas which you regularly pass by to post the flyers. ie. a flyer on a laundrymat board is not nearly as effective as a flyer posted at the entrance of a busy subway station. Do not post more than one flyer at a location.
8. If worse comes to worse and several months or years pass without adopting out the rescued animal despite all the above efforts, by then the animal will have become an important part of your life. The important things are a) not to keep every animal you rescue, b) not to panic about getting stuck with another animal, c) and not to rush the adoption process.
9. Once the animal is adopted out, it won't appear to have been so bad an experience. You'll be more disposed to rescue another one who comes along your path. Good will have won out, which is what we should always aspire to.
Read "Bradley's Story"
The impossible is possible at the AAVC !
"Bradley," was probably our most difficult rescue intake in our 35 year history. He needed one year of rehabilitation to make him adoptable and find him the "right" family. But it was all worth it as he lived a beautiful and long life to 15 years old in New Jersey. His family (right) loved him until his very last day, as all animals deserve.
