Progress & Roadmap
In August 2026, Help My Pet was one person trying to find help with his cat’s vet bills. By October it was a free guide for families in all 50 states. Most of it was built in about seven weeks, through Quark’s illness and loss and a change of tools partway through, while Sean kept running Minty Tees. Here’s how it happened, and what’s next.
Each milestone is its own entry, so this page grows as the project does. Dates shown as a month are approximate.
Read the latest update: Help My Pet’s first month: 50 states, fundraisers and what’s next.
Milestones
October 2026
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First provider confirmation outside California
Ruff Haven in Utah confirms both of its listings are accurate, the first organization outside California to do so.
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Progress & Roadmap page
This page, so anyone can see how Help My Pet is growing. The first update post covers the month so far.
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130 organizations invited to review their listings
Vet schools, clinics, humane societies, food banks and veterinary associations in every state received their listing and an invitation to confirm it.
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All 50 states and Washington, D.C.
A page for every state, with 336 programs: vet school hospitals, lower-cost clinics, help with vet bills, spay/neuter and pet food. Each one has its own listing, checked on the organization’s own website.
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Find Care, redesigned
Emergency guidance first, searches that work anywhere in the U.S., and Southern California organized by county, with a city search and 24/7 emergency tags.
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A verification ladder on every listing
Each listing shows how it was checked and when: on the official website, against a second independent source such as a state license record, or confirmed by the organization itself.
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How we keep fundraisers honest
A clear explanation of how fundraiser stories are reviewed before they go live, plus a Report a concern button on every fundraiser page. No paperwork is required from families.
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Every grant and assistance program re-checked
24 grant programs and 60 more listings were checked against their official websites. Paused, reopened and changed programs were updated across the guide.
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Guest on Cattitude, Pet Life Radio
Sean talked with host Michelle Fern about Quark, the cost of care and how Help My Pet works. The episode is coming soon, and listeners have a page with everything mentioned on the show.
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Short links for sharing
mintytees.com/helpmypet, /quark and /petfundraisers make Help My Pet easy to say out loud, on a podcast or at a counter.
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New tools, no slowing down
Mid-build, Sean moves the project to a new set of tools and keeps going without losing momentum, all while running Minty Tees.
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The first Team Quark design
The first fundraiser merchandise goes live, so people who might never donate can still help.
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Inland Valley Humane Society reviews its listing
IVHS checks and updates its own low-cost veterinary listing, one of the first organizations to help keep Help My Pet accurate.
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The Minty Tees pet fundraising program
Families get a fundraiser page that brings their pet’s story, merchandise featuring their pet and their GoFundMe or donation link together in one place, with no setup or design fees. Quark’s fundraiser was the first. Anyone can start one or refer a family.
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Support and sponsorship, with an independence rule
Ways for people and organizations to help keep Help My Pet free. Sponsorship never buys placement or influence over listings.
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Pasadena Humane begins referring families
Pasadena Humane added Help My Pet to the resources it shares with families outside its service area.
September 2026
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First outreach to veterinary and animal-welfare partners
Hospitals, shelters, veterinary associations and county services across Southern California were invited to review their listings and share Help My Pet.
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Remembering Quark
Quark passed away on September 25, with Sean beside him. Help My Pet keeps going in his name, for every family facing what Sean faced.
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Tools for veterinary teams, and end-of-life care
A printable referral handout that clinics and partners can give families, a guide to at-home end-of-life providers by service area, and a comparison of ongoing care costs.
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Quark’s story: why Help My Pet exists
Friends told Sean they couldn’t afford care like Quark’s and would have to say goodbye. That’s a limit of money, not love, and it’s why Help My Pet exists.
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Find Care and Paying for Care guides
Step-by-step guides to finding lower-cost veterinary care and comparing grants, payment plans and fundraising, with each program’s key requirements up front.
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Help My Pet launches
The free guide goes live on mintytees.com, the same day as Quark’s oncology appointment. It brings together everything Sean learned searching for help, so other families don’t have to start from scratch.
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Reaching out to Cattitude
Sean writes to Michelle Fern at Pet Life Radio about Quark and the guide he’s building. It leads to an interview a month later.
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Bigger than Quark
Friends tell Sean they couldn’t afford care like Quark’s and would have to put their own pets down. That’s a limit of money, not love. He decides to turn everything he’s learned into a free guide for everyone.
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Suzanne and VetBilling
Suzanne from VetBilling donates to Quark’s fundraiser, and a conversation starts about how VetBilling’s service and Help My Pet can work together for families facing big bills.
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GoFundMe works better than expected
Quark’s GoFundMe does more than Sean thought it would. Asking the people who care turns out to be one of the strongest tools a pet family has.
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So much of what’s online is out of date
As the database grows, Sean finds how many online resource lists are stale: old phone numbers, closed programs, dead links. It’s why every Help My Pet listing now shows when and how it was checked.
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A diagnosis no one wants
An MRI and neurology exam point to an aggressive tumor in Quark’s nasal passages, reaching his brain.
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Looking beyond charities
The charity route is taking time from everything else and is wearing him down. Sean starts looking at lower-cost care and payment options too, which is why Help My Pet covers both.
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Dead ends
Emails bounce. Programs are paused. Help that exists doesn’t fit Quark’s situation. None of the outreach turns into real progress.
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A tracker, so no door gets knocked twice
Sean builds a database to track every organization he contacts and what each one says, so he never asks the same place twice and can see his progress. It becomes the backbone of Help My Pet.
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Searching, and finding it isn’t easy
Sean starts googling and calling. Every program has different rules, waitlists and forms, and none of it is in one place.
August 2026
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“There are charities that help with that”
Friends and family tell Sean about charities willing to help with vet bills. It sounds like the answer.
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A GoFundMe for Quark
Quark needs neurology care that costs far more than Sean can cover. He starts a GoFundMe so the people who love Quark can help.
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Getting Quark seen
Quark is moving and responding more slowly and tripping as he walks, and he’s worse after the weekend. Sean calls the vet. Quark still purrs when he’s picked up.
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Harder to wake
Quark falls asleep so deeply that it takes about 90 seconds to wake him.
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The first sign
Sean sets Quark down from about two feet up, and instead of landing gracefully like always, Quark lands on his face. Over the next weeks he grows clumsy. Something is wrong.
Coming next
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Provider-confirmed listings
As organizations reply, their listings move to Confirmed by provider, with eligibility and how to apply in their own words.
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Fundraisers shaped by families’ feedback
Working with the first families who use the free fundraiser pages, and improving the program based on what they tell us.
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Deeper local coverage beyond Southern California
Building out more regions listing by listing, the way Southern California was built, starting where families are searching.
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Cattitude episode release
When the episode airs, the listener page and links will be updated with the episode itself.
Help it grow
Know a program we’re missing, or see something out of date? Suggest or correct a listing. Want to help keep Help My Pet free? See ways to support it.