At last, our lacklustre 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 vets bills and medicines 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 will start to feel worse than they do, the moment those vet bill 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 drift back to the office, the cost of looking after our new friends – not to mention the 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 can’t afford a pet along with childcare, the mortgage and everything else.

I look at our scruffy dog Badger the Border Terrier (who came with a pedigree longer than my own) and I see an expensive luxury item, an extravagance which has cost me more than designer shoes or handbags. 

Yes, Badger is wonderful, he never tells me I’m annoying, he’s faithful and is always good for a lick and a bit of a family sing-song (howl) – but none of this comes cheap.

Janet’s pet pooch Badger (pictured) ‘is wonderful, he never tells me I’m annoying, he’s faithful… but he doesn’t come cheap’

When Badger fell badly chasing a deer in 2022, he damaged his cruciate ligament, the bit that holds a back 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 economise 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, a lot of leg lifting and a sniff. 

We (the anxious owners) mentally complete a health and safety assessment. If we let him off the lead, one leap too high or a bad landing could result in thousands of pounds worth of vets’ bills. Can we risk it?

Many pet owners know that anxious feeling. Over the last decade, investment banks, insurance companies and various city institutions have worked out that there’s massive money to be made in animal care and insurance. 

Six large companies (one of whom, Mars, makes chocolates) own 60% of the vet practices in the UK. 

In almost half of the country, there is no choice of an independent practitioner, just the option of a couple of chains. The cost of insurance for pets has soared and is just as full of caveats and restrictions as adult private health policies.

My partner (a pensioner) decided to economise by only paying for Badger to be insured for ‘accidents’. The policy cost just £12 a month compared to a more comprehensive policy costing three to four times as much. 

Since then, we have paid out thousands in medical bills for an animal who hasn’t said thank you once.

When Badger fell badly chasing a deer in 2022, he damaged his cruciate ligament, the bit that holds a back leg together. 

The bill for X-rays and surgery came to over £3,200. Despite pet insurance, we still had to pay a shortfall over £600. 

Janet says her ‘scruffy dog Badger the Border Terrier and I see an expensive luxury item, an extravagance which 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, a lot of leg lifting and a sniff

When Badger damaged his other back leg chasing another deer last year, the insurance company refused to pay any costs, claiming he was ‘accident prone’

On another occasion, Badger got a blade of grass stuck deep between the claws in one of his front paws running on marshes. It cost £700 for the surgery to remove it

On another occasion, Badger got a blade of grass stuck deep between the claws in one of his front paws running on marshes. 

That wasn’t covered by the insurance either and so I coughed up £700 for surgery to remove it. Plus, an overnight stay in a dog luxury hospital chosen by the vet added £150.

When Badger damaged his other back leg chasing another deer last year, the insurance company refused to pay any costs, claiming he was ‘accident prone’ – even though it was the other leg to the first operation! I said goodbye to £540 for x-rays, another night in a dog hotel, and £3,000 in vets’ bills.

I’ve come to realise there is very little difference in cost between health care for the dog and my own. It’s a good job I am still working and can afford myself and the dog as we enter our senior years together.

I’ve just had a high-tech surgery to insert a small stent in my right eye to save my sight from further deterioration after Glaucoma surgery and drops failed to keep my eye pressure down. 

My insurers will not pay the costs, and so I have coughed up £3,400 for the hospital, £1,700 for the surgeon and £600 for the anaesthetist – or I could have gone on the NHS waiting list, hanging around at least two months for an appointment, and then four months for possible surgery. I would have lost my sight by then.

The shockingly long NHS backlog for cataract surgery is being dealt with over weekends, because without it, older people will lose their precious sight and some have been waiting years.

I can afford my operation – so I do not want to deny anyone more needy a place in the queue.

CMA boss Sarah Cardell said the watchdog has made the ‘provisional 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 pet’s medicine

But isn’t it astonishing that my dog’s X-rays and medication cost as much – if not more – than mine? How older people are supposed to pay for their dogs (who will be their only and best friends in the world) to stay fit, God only knows.

Any visit to the vet will cost £40- £60, some charge £7 to fill in an insurance form, an anaesthetist will cost £100 and X-rays hundreds more. 

Removing cysts and small tumours costs over £800, and blood tests another hundred – and VAT is added on to everything. 

Vets’ fees are not regulated, and practices make a quarter of their revenue from prescriptions. When your dog is vomiting and sick, are you really going to wait a day or two for an online (cheaper) product to be delivered?

Charities like PDSA and Blue Cross can help the needy and those on Universal Credit with their bills but they say calls asking for assistance have soared by 80% since the pandemic. 

Thank goodness Paul O’Grady left thousands of pounds in his wills to animal charities. Let’s not forget the poor pensioners who own pets either.

It’s not just the cost of keeping your pet fit – decent dog food and treats don’t come cheap. Badger’s dinner costs about the same as mine, since he developed a taste for swanky dog food like Lily’s Springtime Stew or Venison Casserole. 

The biscuits costs £25 for 2.5 kg and even a designer pasta dog meal in a can will set you back £3.50.

Perhaps I can balance the books by getting Badger some paid employment as a model?

Sadly, I fear he’s a little bit too ‘street’ for the catwalk.

You might see a characterful dog – I see a debit card on four legs.