Finally our flawed government has done something popular! This week the Competition and Markets Authority announced an investigation into the soaring costs of owning a pet.
The watchdog plans to find out why vet bills and medicine for animals cost so much and whether the public is being ripped off. My only complaint is: why did it take so long?
Owning a pet is wonderful until they get sick. Then you’ll start feeling worse than they do the moment those vet bills start dropping into your inbox.
Pet ownership soared during Covid and there are now over 16 million dogs in the UK. Pets were our support during lockdown, but as we slide back into the office, the cost of looking after our new friends – not to mention walking time – starts to bite.
Not surprisingly, there has been an increase in the number of animals being rehomed or taken to shelters, as many owners cannot afford a pet along with childcare, mortgages and everything else.
I look at our dapper Badger the Border Terrier (who came with a longer pedigree than my own) and I see an expensive luxury item, an extravagance that has cost me more than designer shoes or handbags.
Yes, Badger is wonderful, he never tells me I’m annoying, he’s loyal and always up for a lick and a bit of a family song (yowl) – but none of this comes cheap.
Janet’s pet Badger (pictured) ‘is wonderful, he never tells me I’m annoying, he’s loyal… but he doesn’t come cheap’
When Badger fell badly while hunting a deer in 2022, he damaged his cruciate ligament, the bit that holds a hind leg together. The bill for x-rays and surgery came to over £3,200
Janet has paid out thousands of pounds in medical bills for Badger since she decided to save by only paying for the mutt to be insured for ‘accidents’
Every day this slightly overweight but extremely macho 10-year-old stands proudly at the front door, ready for a walk, lots of leg lifts and a snuff.
We (the anxious owners) mentally complete a health and safety assessment. If we let him off the lead, a jump too high or a bad landing could result in thousands of pounds worth of vet bills. Can we risk it?
Many pet owners know that feeling of anxiety. Over the last decade, investment banks, insurance companies and various city institutions have found that there is huge money to be made in animal care and insurance.
Six major companies (one of which, Mars, makes chocolate) own 60% of UK veterinary practices.
In almost half of the country, there is no choice of an independent practitioner, only the option of a few chains. Pet insurance costs have risen and are just as fraught with caveats and restrictions as private health insurance for adults.
My partner (a pensioner) decided to save by only paying for Badger to be insured for ‘accidents’. The policy costs just £12 a month compared to a more comprehensive policy costing three to four times as much.
Since then we have paid thousands of medical bills for an animal that never said thank you once.
When Badger fell badly while hunting a deer in 2022, he damaged his cruciate ligament, the bit that holds a hind leg together.
The bill for x-rays and surgery came to over £3,200. Despite pet insurance we still had to pay a shortfall of over £600.
Janet says her “dirty dog Badger the Border Terrier and I see an expensive luxury item, an extravagance that has cost me more than designer shoes or handbags”
Every day this slightly overweight but extremely macho 10-year-old stands proudly at the front door, ready for a walk, lots of leg lifts and a sniff
When Badger damaged his other hind leg while chasing another deer last year, the insurance company refused to pay costs, claiming he was ‘accident prone’
On another occasion, Badger got a blade of grass stuck deep between the claws of one of his forepaws running on bogs. It cost £700 for the operation to remove it
On another occasion, Badger got a blade of grass stuck deep between the claws of one of his forepaws running on bogs.
It wasn’t covered by insurance either, so I coughed up £700 for an operation to remove it. Plus, an overnight stay at a luxury dog hospital chosen by the vet added £150.
When Badger damaged his other hind leg while hunting another deer last year, the insurance company refused to pay any costs, claiming he was ‘accident prone’ – even though it was the other leg for the first operation! I said goodbye to £540 for x-rays, another night in a dog hotel and £3,000 in vet bills.
I have come to realize that there is very little difference in cost between the dog’s health care and my own. It’s a good job, I’m still working and can afford myself and the dog as we enter our senior years together.
I just had high tech surgery to insert a small stent in my right eye to save my vision from further deterioration after glaucoma surgery and drops failed to keep my eye pressure down.
My insurers won’t pay the costs, so I’ve coughed up £3,400 to the hospital, £1,700 to the surgeon and £600 to the anesthetist – otherwise I could have gone on the NHS waiting list and hung around for at least two months for a time, and then four months to possible surgery. I would have lost my sight at that point.
The shockingly long NHS backlog of cataract operations is being tackled this weekend because without it older people will lose their precious sight and some have been waiting for years.
I can afford my surgery – so I won’t deny someone more needy a place in the queue.
CMA chief Sarah Cardell said the watchdog has taken the ‘tentative decision’ to launch a market investigation into the veterinary sector
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has raised concerns that consumers in the veterinary sector may be paying too much for their pets’ medicines
But isn’t it amazing that my dog’s x-rays and medicine cost just as much – if not more – than mine? How elderly people have to pay for their dogs (who become their only and best friends in the world) to keep fit, only God knows.
Any visit to the vet will cost £40-£60, some charge £7 to fill out an insurance form, an anesthetist will cost £100 and x-rays hundreds.
Removal of cysts and small tumors costs over 800 kroner, and blood tests another hundred – and VAT is added to the whole thing.
Veterinarians’ fees are not regulated and practices earn a quarter of their income from prescriptions. When your dog is vomiting and sick, do you really want to wait a day or two for an online (cheaper) product to be delivered?
Charities such as the PDSA and Blue Cross can help the needy and those on Universal Credit with their bills, but they say calls for help have increased by 80% since the pandemic.
Thank God Paul O’Grady left thousands of pounds in his will to animal charities. Also, let’s not forget the poor pensioners who own pets.
It’s not just the cost of keeping your pet in shape – decent dog food and treats don’t come cheap. The badger’s dinner costs about the same as mine since he developed a taste for delicious dog food like Lily’s Springtime Stew or Game Casserole.
The biscuits cost £25 for 2.5kg and even a tinned designer pasta dog meal will set you back £3.50.
Maybe I can balance the books by getting Badger some paid work as a model?
Unfortunately, I fear that he is a little too ‘street’ for the catwalk.
You might see a characterful dog – I see a debit card on four legs.