Mum’s warning after dogs scoffed plate of mince pies leaving her with £550 bill

15 November 2023 , 09:37

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A mum says she was left with a huge vets bill after her dogs were seen gobbling a plate of mince pies (stock image) (Image: Getty Images)

A dog owner says she has been left with a three figure vets bill after her pets downed a plate of mince pies.

Amanda Whyte had left the festive treats on the side when she saw her labrador Lola and Jack Russell mix Spotty sniffing round the last few crumbs last Christmas. Horrified, she rushed both animals to the vets for immediate medical attention.

"I know that raisins are extremely toxic to dogs and can cause kidney failure, so I headed straight to the emergency vet," she said. The 48-year-old mum and magazine editor from High Wycombe, Bucks., said the vet had to force both her dogs to vomit up the pies.

But doing so revealed only Lola had eaten the pies, leaving Spotty the crumbs. While Amanda's basic pet insurance wouldn't cover the £547 emergency vets bill, it did cover part and Amanda had to pay £150 plus a £50 excess charge.

"Thank goodness I had insurance," she said. "Christmas is expensive enough as it is – so getting a vet bill for over £500 would not have been a welcome gift. The dogs’ insurance now also covers emergency appointment fees. When you’re comparing policies, make sure you check what’s covered so there aren’t any surprises."

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Research by MoneySuperMarket reveals that a third (33%) of dog owners have had to make emergency trips to the vet at Christmas, with one in 10 (10%) visits due to mince pie consumption. Others are down to things like chocolate, which is toxic for dogs, or ingesting other items and human food.

Amanda has now warned pet owners to make sure they are properly insured ahead of the festive season. She added: "What makes our story so calamitous is that we had to treat both dogs, even though it later turned out that only the Lab had eaten the mince pies. So that cost us double whammy at a very expensive time of year."

Susie Beever