Your friends – for life
Just like any other member of your family, pets need to be protected against illness and accidents
THE responsibility of bringing a pet into your home can never be underestimated. Pester power has been responsible for the introduction of countless puppies and kittens, which require regular attention to their sleeping areas, nutrition, exercise and health, and this also applies to smaller pets such as rabbits, gerbils and hamsters.
Before making a final decision, it’s important to sit down and look at your family lifestyle and budget to decide which pet is the best fit.
Whatever that may be, many pets will require inoculations, annual check-ups, ID microchips and boosters, as well as specialist treatment such as regular worming and treatments to avoid fleas and ticks. There are other vital costs too.
“The provision of healthcare for pets today is better than ever,” says Oliver Jackson, of the Pets’n’Vets Family, a partnership of surgeries in Glasgow and East Kilbride.
“The quality of veterinary education in Scotland is globally recognised and what we can now do has increased astronomically.
“It’s a tragedy when decisions on what we can do are based on finances – that’s why pet insurance is so important.”
A lifelong insurance policy is the best choice as it would cover, for example, a cat who developed diabetes at the age of eight, which would be covered for medication for the rest of its life.
“However, it’s not only cats and dogs which should be insured,” Jackson adds. “Policies can cover pets from snakes to rabbits, and provide third party liability, for example, if a dog attacks someone or a cat runs out into the road and causes a traffic accident.”
Of course, once the necessities are covered, we like to entertain our four-legged or feathered family members with elaborate toys to save them from boredom and, frankly, to provide us with some entertainment too.
Who doesn’t enjoy a hamster rolling across the floor in a ball? Pets don’t ask to join the family so make sure you are committed to them – for life.