£25,000 cost of caring for a pet dog

OWNING a dog can cost more than £25,000 over a typical nine-year lifetime, a study has found.

The dearest breed was the St Bernard, with vet bills, food and other expenses of £25,808. Beagles were one of the cheapest, costing an average £15,707.

The research also found that nearly half of Britons would be put off owning a dog by an outlay of £10,000. It was compiled by comparethemarket.com with Emma Milne, star of Vets in Practice.