Ritika Janiya
Melanie Gassmann’s story with Harry, her 18-month-old dog, unveils the financial burden of vet bills, which turns out to be more expensive as time goes by. She has insurance for her pet, but the costs to treat Harry appeared scary to Melanie. This increase in veterinary expenses has added a financial burden on pet owners and charities, leaving many of them calling for more transparency and fairness in the industry.
Melanie Gassmann has an adorable 18-month-old Chihuahua mix named Harry. “Perky, happy” is how Melanie describes him. Her love for Harry is written all over her face, but behind those smiles, and Harry’s wagging tail, is the heavy burden of paying for his extensive vet bills.
Harry was born with deformed legs, and since he was three months old, his condition has needed to be treated. Treatments have run to more than £14,000. Despite having a £7,000-a-year pet insurance policy, Melanie has been left out of pocket and has now reached her insurance limit, resorting to a GoFundMe page to help pay for rising costs.
“It’s been just so hard,” she said. “I felt absolutely down and, suddenly, at any moment, I cried. But I was so thankful to all these people who gave money.”
Harry has been through a lot in terms of his medical journey. Last year, he was given surgery on both his legs, which devoured into his £7,000 insurance cover for the year in no time. By January, when the insurance was renewed, there was an upcoming event for Harry to have dental surgery so that the puppy teeth he had that were not falling out by themselves could be removed; this was to cost around £1,200. While he was under anesthetic, however, the vet noticed that Harry’s blood wasn’t clotting, and complications set in. Fortunately, they succeeded in saving him, but that wasn’t the end of it. So far, Harry has had additional medical costs due to steroids and chemotherapy, which she cannot afford, thus worsening her situation. “The bills just keep coming,” Melanie explains. “Harry needs regular blood count checks, and there is an upcoming test that will cost £265. It’s all so astronomically expensive.”
Melanie is far from being in an isolated case. From one end of the country to the other, owners are struggling with an explosion in vet bills. The Office for National Statistics revealed in the past that the expenditure on veterinary services has surged nearly 50% from 2015 and is significantly more than the general rate of inflation. This surge has been putting a squeeze on owners trying ever more desperately to afford needed care for their cherished animals.
Dr. Anna Judson, president of the British Veterinary Association, concurs. “Vets provide highly specialized, tailored medical care for the UK’s animals,” she says. “But without an NHS for pets, and therefore no subsidies to offset the true cost, prices can seem very high.
She says it’s because of the inflationary factor, ever-improving medical diagnostics and treatments, and shifting expectations of pet owners. “More and more pet owners nowadays would like to know all the options for treatments that are available for their pets, even for conditions that, in the past, may have resulted in euthanasia,” she says. “This has increased demand for more advanced and often costly treatments.
She feels pet insurance companies should revise their coverage to be more commensurate with reality. She is not alone in this wish. Many pet owners, along with a raft of animal welfare organizations, are now demanding greater clarity and fair play when it comes to vet billing.
She moves on to say that the cost increase has been felt by the charity, Bristol and Wales Cat Rescue, which takes in and cares for cats. Trustee Margaret Brittan explains that they’ve had to reduce the number of cats they take in to manage their costs. “We’re fortunate to be registered with a private vet who gives us discounted prices because they’re charity-minded,” she explains. But even so, we can no longer afford emergency out-of-hours care.
Margaret of the charity pointed out that another disturbing trend they have noticed was that the number of cats being surrendered because their owners cannot afford the vet bills has gone up. “The insurance premiums have gone up, and, with the way things are, it’s getting harder for people to keep up,” she says. “There really should be some kind of standardization of costs across all vets.
Indeed, in what some regard as a sign of the times, the program has even resulted in an online petition signed by nearly 130,000 people demanding regulation to ensure vet bills are fairer and fully transparent. The Competition and Markets Authority is at present carrying out an investigation into the cost of looking after household pets and it will get around to publishing its findings before 2020 comes to a close.
Melanie has managed to stay optimistic about Harry’s future despite his travel and the challenges she has gone through. “The dream is that he will go into remission and live a happy life,” she says.
“We’re actively looking at how we can be more transparent about both pricing and practice ownership,” she says. “It’s important that pet owners can make informed choices about their pets’ care.” Dr. Judson agrees. “We are keenly aware that the fees charged by the vet need to be set against the costs of running a practice, but the profession can do better,” she said.
For now, Melanie and Harry just get on with their lives, take the rough with the smooth, and feel grateful for all the support that has come their way. There can be no denying this, with hopes of better times ahead.
