Shared Adoption Scheme - For Owners
Welcome to the Shared Adoption Scheme (SAS)
A programme of cost-sharing to facilitate adoption of dogs at rehoming centres that require ongoing veterinary treatment. We are grateful for the charitable donations that we receive to be able to provide this scheme.
We have a small number of dogs that come to us with an existing medical problem or have conditions identified during veterinary checks at the centre. We are pleased that you chose to give one of these dogs a home.
In special circumstances we may offer financial assistance for some of these identified conditions under the Shared Adoption Scheme. This support might be for a set time period or life-long, depending on the needs of the individual dog.
Please note we ask all dogs to be covered by pet insurance. It is the responsibility of the adopter to fund all non-SAS certified conditions or traumatic injuries.
Please ensure you are familiar with the information on the documents below.
Your responsibilities
- Provide a copy of your Shared Adoption Scheme Certificate every time you visit your veterinary surgery.
- Supply your vet with the Veterinary Fees Claim Form so they can invoice us directly.
- Dogs Trust strongly advises all new dog adopters to take out a pet health insurance policy for their dog. This should include traumatic injuries even for older pets and applies to all SAS dogs.
- Some conditions are exacerbated by a dog becoming overweight and the Dogs Trust vet team will use their discretion over funding for these cases.
- As a responsible owner - keeping up with routine preventative health care such as vaccination, flea and worming treatments is highly recommended.
Please ensure you are familiar with the Terms and Conditions of the Shared Adoption Scheme.
Your Vet’s responsibilities
- Your vets will need to order an Dogs Trust Pharmacy Prescription Pad in order for you to receive long term medication costing over £25.
- You must provide your vet with a copy of the Veterinary Fees Claim Form so they can attach this to invoices.
- If your dog needs treatment that will cost over £250, involves sedation/general anaesthetic or referral, your veterinary practice will need to contact us beforehand for pre-approval.
Please direct your vet to this website, so they can access the information that they may need in the Vet section.
SAS medications
Medication
Dogs Trust has a pharmacy, which should be used for all long-term Prescription Only Medications classified as POM or POM-V costing over £25. This allows Dogs Trust to obtain medications at a significantly reduced rate and is much more cost effective for the longevity of the scheme.
Medications which are:
- given by injection,
- required immediately,
- have specific storage instructions
- costing less than £25
can be supplied by the Veterinary Surgeon and invoiced to Dogs Trust.
Pre-approval is required for injectable medications which cost > £25 and are required on an on-going basis. For example, Cytopoint, Cartrophen and Immunotherapy.
Your vet will need to send a Dog Trust written prescription by email or free post to the Dog Trust pharmacy, and then the medications will be sent by post directly to your home address.
We do advise contacting your vet at least two weeks before you need your next set of medication, as the process can take up to two weeks.
We have set out a list of the most common medications that we are unable to cover. Please see the below the summary list and note that this list is not exhaustive, and your Veterinary Surgeon will be able to guide you as to whether or not the medication they prescribe is Prescription Only Medication (POM-V or POM).
Please note all non POM or POM-V products are to be self-funded by the owner.
Nutritional Supplements
Unfortunately, we are unable to provide or fund any supplement (non POM or POM-V) product including Yumove. Please see the attached summary list for more information on supplements that are not covered or speak to your Veterinary Surgeon for further advice as to whether or not your dog’s product falls within the supplement category.
Referral information
With the advancement of veterinary care for companion animals we do see some conditions that we can do much more for.
If your dog needs to be referred to a specialist this must be agreed through the SAS department prior to an appointment being made.
Please note: We reserve the right to specify the centre that you go to as we may have a relationship with certain referral centres around the country. If you wish to go elsewhere once we have specified a centre, then we will cover the cost to a certain degree however, you would be liable for the difference if the procedure is more expensive at your preferred clinic.
Process for Referral:
- Your vet will need to contact the SAS department
- They will need to supply clinical information to us, this can be sent via the online contact form or emailed to sas if you agree.
- Our veterinary team may review this information and sometimes need to speak to your own vet to discuss the notes.
- We may discuss with you or your vet where we would like you to go for the appointment.
- It may be that following your referral appointment that our veterinary department is in contact with your specialist before further decisions are made.
- This process can take anything from a few hours to a few days depending on individual circumstances.
- We ask that owners contribute £25 towards each referral appointment.
Out of Hours
Within the Shared Adoption Scheme out of hours costs are not paid for unless the veterinary surgeon confirms that it was a true emergency associated with the certified condition.
The cost of seeing a veterinary surgeon outside of normal working hours is much higher than a routine appointment. We therefore ask for a £25 contribution towards this expense in certified emergency cases.
In the case of an emergency, we advise you to contact your local veterinary practice as soon as possible.
