Amelia Wade

The Herald talks to the SPCA to find out how we can be better friends to our animals. In the third of a fivepart series, investigates pet insurance

Although 40 per cent of Kiwi pet owners struggle to pay vet bills, one in five say they don’t have a limit on what they would pay for a major operation before considering euthanising their beloved animal.

SPCA Auckland veterinary manager Dr Shalsee Vigeant said the most common reasons for heading to an emergency vet were animals being hit by a car, eating something and it getting stuck in their stomach or an infected uterus if a pet was not desexed and got pregnant.

By even walking through the door of an after-hours clinic could cost between $80 and $125 then the operations can cost anywhere from $2000 to $6000.

Dr Vigeant said she couldn’t count the number of times she had seen families opt to put their pet down because they couldn’t afford the emergency operation when their animal got sick or hurt.

“Very few people have $3000 lying around so it’s very common for people to euthanise their pet because they didn’t have that money or they don’t have insurance.”

Dr Vigeant said she was a big advocate for pet owners getting insurance so they didn’t have to choose between a big lump sum of money or their pet’s life.

There are three main providers of pet insurance in New Zealand: Southern Cross, Petplan and Pet-n-sur.

Petplan has policies for cats from $21.91 per month for cats and $39.17 for dogs while Pet- n-sur offers plans for cats from $28.22 a month and $35.66 for dogs.

More expensive policies cover things such as owners having to cancel a planned holiday because a pet is ill.

Research conducted by Southern Cross Pet Insurance found more than 40 per cent of dog owners and about one in three cat owners spend $500 or more a year on their pets and one in five said they didn’t have a limit on what they would pay for a major operation before considering euthanising their animal.

This year, Southern Cross Pet Insurance received more than 10,000 claims and paid out more than $3 million in claims.

Some of the more unusual claims from last year included: