Man’s best friend costs a fortune



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Man’s best friend is costing a fortune, with an unfortunate puppy who is taking a $ 15,000 bill after eating a sock.

Southern Cross Pet Insurance has released details of its most expensive claims for the year through June and revealed that it is paying nearly $ 1 million a month for sick and injured animals.

Among the costliest claims are an English springer with an autoimmune disease and a German wirehaired pointer cross that needed surgery after eating a sock.

While the $ 15,000 bill to remove the lost sock was an anomaly, claims involving pets ingesting foreign items were far too common for insurers.

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Becky McQuoid, marketing manager for AA Pet Insurance, said what seemed like a harmless everyday object to humans could be much more palatable to a pet.

Man's best friend is costing a fortune, and Southern Cross pays nearly $ 1 million a month in pet insurance claims.  (File photo)

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Man’s best friend is costing a fortune, and Southern Cross pays nearly $ 1 million a month in pet insurance claims. (File photo)

“One of the most surprising claims occurred on two occasions when dogs ate hair bands.

“While a hair tie is to be expected to ‘resurface’ naturally, in both cases the poor pet required surgery to remove the hair tie at a cost of approximately $ 1500.”

But it wasn’t just the dogs that got a hefty vet bill.

Three cat owners claimed more than $ 8,000 each through Southern Cross last year, including Neil Manilal from Auckland.

George, the two-year-old Moggie from Manilal, was left with a large puncture wound and a pelvic injury after being attacked by a dog just before the start of the lockdown in March.

After surgery and two weeks in the “hospital,” George was discharged but developed an infection and went “wild” due to severe pain, Manilal said.

After a new surgery, he finally recovered.

Neil Manilal's cat George was left with a large puncture wound, a pelvic injury and a nearly $ 12,000 bill after being attacked by a dog.

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Neil Manilal’s cat George was left with a large puncture wound, a pelvic injury and a nearly $ 12,000 bill after being attacked by a dog.

His care, which includes CT scans, surgery, treatment and two weeks of specialty care, totaled nearly $ 12,000.

SCPI CEO Anthony McPhail said the number of pets insured by the organization had increased more than 20 percent from the previous year.

“Companion animals can suffer from a wide range of health problems derived from illness or accidents. Like humans, restoring the health of the patient can be costly, ”he said.

“Knowing that their pet is covered can be a comfort to pet owners when their furry family member needs medical treatment.”

The New Zealand Pet Survey, released last month, confirmed that kiwis were a nation of pet lovers.

The search revealed that 41 percent of households had a cat and 34 percent had a dog.

The survey also found that 88 percent of dog and cat owners believed that taking injured or sick animals to the vet was a very important part of owning a pet.

In the 12 months through June 30, SCPI provided coverage for more than 43,000 Kiwi pets and paid $ 11.41 million in claims.

AA Pet Insurance has more than 5,500 policyholders and has paid more than 2,200 claims since it was established in 2018.

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