Operation of 'Yangcheon-type Our Neighborhood Animal Hospital,' Providing Medical Expense Support for 170 Pets of Basic Pension Recipients Aged 65 and Over
Up to 400,000 KRW per Household for One Pet: 200,000 KRW for Mandatory Treatment + 200,000 KRW for Optional Treatment
Agreements Signed with 9 Designated Animal Hospitals; Visit Hospitals with ID and Basic Pension Recipient Certificate
Yangcheon-gu (District Mayor Lee Gi-jae) announced that it will officially operate the “Yangcheon-style Our Neighborhood Animal Hospital” project from the 20th of this month, which supports essential veterinary medical expenses for elderly basic pension recipients aged 65 and over who own companion animals.
“Yangcheon-style Our Neighborhood Animal Hospital” is a specialized project first initiated by the district among Seoul’s autonomous districts last year.
The district established this project to reduce the financial burden of veterinary care and promote animal welfare, reflecting the increasing trend of elderly people living with companion animals as their friends due to the growing aging population. Since its first introduction in the second half of last year, it has supported about 6 million KRW for 17 elderly residents’ companion animals.
Separate from the “Seoul Our Neighborhood Animal Hospital” which subsidizes veterinary expenses for vulnerable groups, this project is fully funded by the district and supports up to 400,000 KRW worth of medical expenses such as basic health checkups and essential vaccinations for companion animals owned by elderly residents.
The support items are divided into essential treatment and optional treatment. For essential treatment, the guardian pays a consultation fee of 5,000 KRW per visit (up to 10,000 KRW), and the project supports about 300,000 KRW worth of medical expenses including basic checkups, vaccinations, and heartworm prevention medication. The essential treatment cost includes about 100,000 KRW worth of pro bono services provided by the animal hospitals. Optional treatment provides additional support of up to 200,000 KRW for treatment of symptoms and diseases discovered during essential treatment or for neutering surgery only. However, simple prescriptions such as grooming and nutritional supplements are not supported.
Before launching the project, the district signed designation agreements this month with nine local animal hospitals for pro bono medical services under the “Yangcheon-style Our Neighborhood Animal Hospital.” To minimize travel distance for elderly residents, at least two designated hospitals were selected per legal neighborhood.
The support target is dogs and cats of basic pension recipients aged 65 or older residing in the district, which must be registered (with microchip), and the registered owner must match the applicant for medical expense support. The goal for this year is to support 170 animals, with essential medical expenses covered for one animal per household.
To receive support, applicants should visit the designated animal hospital with their companion animal, carrying a basic pension recipient verification issued within one month from the local community service center and an ID card.
The designated animal hospitals are ▲ Mokdong: Dr. Pet · Pet Sarang Animal Hospital ▲ Sinwol-dong: Min Byung-chul · Sinwol · Yangcheon General · Haetsal Animal Hospital ▲ Sinjeong-dong: Parkside · Leaders · Sinjeong Animal Hospital, totaling nine locations.
Additionally, since 2021, the district has been providing “Animal Registration Tags” free of charge to residents who have adopted abandoned animals. So far, tags have been distributed to a total of 179 companion dogs and cats, with a support scale of 35 animals this year. Those wishing to receive a tag can submit an application form to the Abandoned Animal Protection Center.
Lee Gi-jae, Mayor of Yangcheon-gu, said, “I hope this project will help elderly residents and their companion animals enjoy a healthy and happy companionship, even if just a little,” and added, “We will continue to strive to build related infrastructure so that Yangcheon-gu can be a city where elderly people and companion animals live well together.”
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