4 Nov 2022
Research carried out for Dogs Trust also found a third of owners would have to borrow money to pay an unexpected vet bill and it fears things will only get worse.
Allister Webb
Job Title
Image © Sebastian Duda / Adobe Stock
More than 1 in 10 UK dog owners have gone into debt to pay for their pet’s care, a new poll has suggested.
The YouGov survey, carried out for Dogs Trust, found similar numbers were also delaying non-routine veterinary treatment or missed appointments for regular procedures.
The charity’s boss said his organisation is more stretched than ever before and he is worried the sector will reach the limit of what it can do as the economic crisis continues to bite.
More than 9,000 adults, 2,601 of whom are dog owners, were surveyed for the online poll, which was conducted in late October.
Among the dog owners, 13% said they had been forced into debt to care for their pet and one in three (33%) said they would have to borrow money to meet an unexpected vet bill of £100.
Overall, 84% of dog owners said the costs of looking after their pets had risen in the past six months, with 77% reporting more expensive pet food and 22% saying they had switched to a cheaper brand.
Forty-three per cent of respondents said the cost of routine veterinary appointments, such as vaccinations, had also increased, with 10% admitting they had delayed seeking care for non-routine matters and 9% missing routine appointments.
Based on the findings of a previous survey, in which 3% of owners said they would have to consider rehoming their dog if the cost of living keeps rising, Dogs Trust estimates that as many as 350,000 dogs nationwide could be affected.
Many of Dogs Trust’s centres are already at full capacity, with waiting lists for places, and it said it is also seeing an increase in the number of dogs coming to them with untreated health conditions.
Chief executive Owen Sharp said: “It’s hugely worrying that dog owners are falling into debt with the cost of looking after their dogs, and a stark indicator of how seriously the cost of living crisis is impacting on our dog-loving nation.
“We’re not laying the blame at the door of vets, who are themselves impacted by rising costs, leading to higher fees.
“But we have a situation in which many of the UK’s dog owners are having to make cost-cutting decisions that could be harmful to their dog’s health, such as skipping vaccines and worming treatments, and some dogs are missing emergency treatment because their owners can’t afford it.
“I’m really worried that, despite our best efforts, the sector will reach a point where we’ve reached the limit of what we can do, and we’ll be forced to turn away dogs in need.”
