In 2019, a pet owner brought a young black cat named Onyx to Dr. Kris Painter for emergency treatment after being mauled by a dog.  Due to the severity of Onyx’s injuries, emergency surgery was needed to save his life.  Onyx’s family was unable to afford his surgery, like many pet owners when confronted by the unexpected costs of emergency veterinary care.  Dr. Painter and her team worked together to provide the necessary, lifesaving care at no cost to his owner.  Onyx made a full recovery from his injuries and returned to being his regular, happy-go-lucky self.

The team involved with Onyx’s care decided to form a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing the unnecessary euthanasia of companion animals in need of emergency veterinary care.  Hence, The Onyx Project was formed.

Onyx taught us that a black cat with a bit of bad luck doesn’t have to meet his end as long as there’s people out there who can help.

Mission Statement:

The Onyx Project is a non-profit organization that seeks to reduce the unnecessary euthanasia of companion animals.

We plan to achieve this through:

  1. Providing grants to assist with the cost of life-saving or life-enhancing emergency or specialty care for pets with a favorable prognosis for return to a good quality of life, whose families cannot afford the full cost of treatment.
  2. Partnership with Clearwater Animal Referral & Emergency and other veterinary hospitals to provide emergency veterinary medical and surgical services at a discounted rate.
  3. Community outreach to promote owner education on their animal health needs and financial responsibility for their pet. Pet insurance plans will also be recommended to limit owners’ need for future charitable funding of their pet’s veterinary care. We intend to keep pets with their owners whenever possible.
  4. Promoting the spaying/neutering of pets to reduce overpopulation and needless animal suffering.

– Additional grants may be sought when possible to provide emergency care for local wildlife.

– The Onyx Project will not reimburse for payments already made and will not consider reimbursement situations of any kind.  All payments are made directly to the treating veterinarian and never to an individual.

The Onyx Project is an organization that provides financial assistance to the families of pets in need of emergency veterinary care that are experiencing a financial hardship.

Thanks to our donors and supporters, Below are pets & Families who have been helped.