Couple 'spent life savings' on puppy's vet bill

A couple are calling for more to be done to reduce vet bills after saying they spent their life savings on treatment for their puppy.

Sarah and Kevin Gwynne, from Cinderford in the Forest of Dean, were given a £5,600 bill after their three month-old Chihuahua Stanley broke both his front legs on 1 February.

The couple, who say they had been looking for pet insurance for Stanley but had not made a final decision when the accident happened, say they have had to borrow money and cannot afford to go food shopping, although they have been donated a foodbank voucher.

The practice that treated Stanley said it was a "complex" case that required "a huge amount of resource and skill".

"We had to literally empty the bank account, everything - it's stripped," Sarah said.

Stanley, who weighs slightly more than a bag of sugar, injured his legs after jumping from Sarah's arms on to the floor.

"He just splattered," she said.

"The noise was horrific, I have never heard a scream or anything like it before, and he looked all broken."

The couple took the puppy to Wood Vets in Quedgeley where they say they had to pay £1,500 before he had surgery.

They were told the overall total would be £5,600 for surgery, or he could be put down.

Sarah said euthanasia was "never an option", and they went ahead with the operation.

Stanley joined the family shortly before Christmas, and Sarah said the couple had been shopping around for insurance for their new pet but were leaving it until February due to the costs associated with Christmas and January.

They have been given some help with the bill from two animal charities, and their friend has set up a crowdfunding campaign to raise the rest of the cash, which currently stands at a little more than £300.

While Sarah said she was very happy with the care and treatment Stanley received, she added that she wanted more to be done to reduce the cost of veterinary care across the industry.

"I think the charges are extortionate," she added.

"I don't understand where it all goes, you even have to pay down to the cotton wool swabs."

Sarah encouraged pet owners to "look into pet insurance" as she and her husband never got around to it.

"A lot of people say 'I put so much money by each month' but even if we'd [just] done that, we wouldn't have had £5,600 to pay this bill," she said.

Vet Partners, which owns Wood Veterinary Group, said staff "worked round the clock" to support Stanley and his owners.

"While we do not want to burden owners with debt, complex cases like Stanley's require a huge amount of resource and skill and there is no NHS for pets," they added.

Independent government department, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), found vet prices increased by 63% between 2016 and 2023.

It has put forward a number of proposals to strengthen regulation of the industry, including requiring vets to publish price lists on their websites, itemising bills for treatments which cost more than £500, and capping the price of prescriptions at £16.

In a statement a spokesperson for the CMA said it wanted to "empower" pet owners to "make the best choices for their circumstances".

"We believe that our proposals would enable pet owners to choose the right vet, the right treatment, and the right way to purchase medicine – without confusion or unnecessary cost," they added.

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