From Our Standpoint

Our Mission

We envision a world in which every pet has a loving home and have been actively working since 2011 to make that a reality.

We stand for all pets—and their humans—by making the highest quality veterinary care and spay neuter services affordable and accessible to all.

Our mission is twofold – to offer you the best pet care for your companion animal and to reduce the number of dogs and cats euthanized in regional shelters by making spay neuter services available at an affordable price.

We care for and about all pets – including the most important one. Yours.

How We Stand Out

We’re a mission-driven veterinary clinic.

As a nonprofit, we offer vet care that’s less expensive than a private practice. And because we want to make the best vet care accessible to all, we offer no-interest payment plans.

Stand For Animals operates three clinics in the area—in Charlotte, Pineville, and Lake Norman—to ensure the greatest access to spay neuter services and veterinary care.

Our clinics are staffed by licensed and trained veterinarians, vet technicians, and assistants. Since 2011, we have cared for more than 100,000 pet patients, performed 105,000 surgeries, and prevented more than 1 million unwanted/orphaned litters.

We understand that behind every pet, there’s a person. We’re here to nurture you and your companion animal.

Our Story: Understanding Who We Are

In the early 2010s, Mecklenburg County euthanized a staggering 15,000 animals every year due to overpopulation.

Our founder, Cary Bernstein, found that unconscionable and decided to do something about it.

Stand For Animals, originally named Spay Neuter Charlotte, opened its doors on North Davidson Street in 2011 to provide high-quality, low-cost spay neuter services.

As demand increased, our organization responded by opening a second clinic in Pineville in 2013. Around the same time, we expanded our offerings and began providing basic veterinary care in addition to our spay neuter services.

In 2017, we took our next step toward making veterinary care affordable for even more pet people. We opened a Lake Norman location and moved from our original NoDa location to a larger facility on 32nd Street.

The next year, we expanded our services, launched our pet food pantry (to provide emergency food assistance to pet owners in need) and rebranded ourselves as Stand For Animals Veterinary Clinic – a name that reflected our comprehensive services and our guiding ethos.

Today, we proudly offer your pet:

• High-quality spay neuter services
• Affordable veterinary care, such as annual vaccines and checkups
• Sick visits
• X-rays and ultrasounds
• Prescription medication

We remain committed to making veterinary care accessible and affordable to all. What began as a five-person team has grown to a 55-person team working across three clinics in the greater Charlotte area. Our focus has been, and will always be, on animal welfare.