A 13-year-old dog who has gotten himself into all kinds of unusual situations including breaking into a liquor cupboard, has ended up costing his owner over £5,000 in vet bills.
‘Troublesome’ Terry is a Cairn Terrier who lives in the South Manchester area, and has been causing mischief since he was a puppy.
His owner explained: "When Terry was five months old he somehow managed to find and chew through a tube of orange acrylic paint and ate around half of the tube. We were initially puzzled as to why he was so drawn to it but found out it was infused with orange oil so it must have been the scent that enticed him!
“Once we realised what he'd done we were really worried as it's not everyday that you hear of a dog eating paint.”
After being treated for poisoning and spending a full day at the vets as a precaution to monitor his health, he was discharged back into the care of his owner to rest and recover.
The incident cost around £450 in bills with pet insurance which Terry’s owner had taken out as soon as they got their new arrival, but this wouldn’t be the last time that the adventurous pet got into an unusual scrape, with his second trip to the emergency vet costing another £400.
"On the second occasion at around a year old we woke up in the middle of the night to some rustling and found Terry drinking Grappa from the floor after finding a bottle in a low cupboard and somehow opening it.”
Thankfully after another overnight stay, Terry was again given the all-clear to return home, and once more, his pet insurance helped to cover the cost of the unexpected incident.
Despite his advancing years, he is still finding ways to get himself into trouble, most recently needing an operation which turned into the most expensive vet trip to date.
His owner added: "Looking back, we're glad that we've always had insurance for Terry as he's still getting into trouble at 13 years old and recently needed to have a cruciate ligament repair after running down an embankment.
“We opted to go to a specialist which set us back £4,500. We are happy to report that he has now fully recovered and we'll be keeping him insured!”
If Terry’s owner hadn’t taken out insurance as a precautionary measure when they first brought Terry home, it could have ended up costing them much more to cover the cost of the medical bills.
Unforeseeable circumstances such as recurring health problems or one-off accidents can be extremely common with figures from the Association of British Insurers showing that the average pet insurance claim value in 2020 across all pets was £817, up two per cent from 2019.
Despite this increase, and with searches for pet insurance rising by over 40% in the last year alone, it is perhaps surprising that out of 12 million dogs in the UK, only 3.4 million have pet insurance.
Coupled with the fact that it is estimated that over 12 million dogs live in UK homes and since the start of the pandemic, over 3.2 million households have acquired a pet, most owners still perhaps don’t realise the importance of insuring their new family member.
Salman Haqqi, personal finance expert at leading pet insurance comparison site, money.co.uk, said: “It can be difficult to manage unexpected vets bills. The type of illness and injury will increase the fees, with chronic conditions tending to cost more than a simple infection.
“Other factors such as age, background and previous conditions can also impact costs, which is why it’s so important to include pet insurance in your budget when deciding to bring a dog or any pet into your home.
“In the case of Terry, his owners were lucky to insure their canine friend. Without pet insurance, the cost of surgery on a small animal can easily be in excess of tens of thousands of pounds.
“Comparing the best pet insurance for you ensures you can cover the cost of potentially expensive issues, as well as provide much-needed peace of mind, so owners can concentrate on enjoying their dogs, from pup to senior.”
