Pampered pooches put vets at the top spot [BT broadband office]

Pampered pooches put vets at the top spot

Posted 20 June 2008 at 8:16AM by Hannah Gilchrist in Light relief

According to a new survey, vets are some of the most profitable small businesses in the UK generating a 37% return on capital from their customers.

But what is it that's making veterinary businesses such big money spinners? A rise in pet insurance has allowed many owners the option of expensive operations, but is this it? Or have we now turned our attention to pampering our pooches alongside ourselves?

Some have suggested that it's simply the lengthy training that vets have to endure that makes them more able to diversify when they start in a practice. So is this something that every business can learn from? The longer you spend training the better your return on investment?

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Comments

1. At June 21, 2008 11:38 AM, ross wrote:

Certainly insurance has helped, as has owner wealth over the last few years and education. How much of the magic 37% ( I'd love to have that return!) is due to corporate practices though!

2. At June 21, 2008 1:43 PM, jim wrote:

Purely small animal practice, maybe, but traditional mixed rural practices do not generate anywhere near this!

3. At June 21, 2008 11:08 PM, william wrote:

vETS IN MY OPINION ARE IN THE PROCESS OF DOING THEM SELVES MORE HARM THAN GOOD-CHARGING PEOPLE FOR THINGS THEY DONT NEED.OPERATING WHEN THEY DONT REALY HAVE TO,OVERCHARGING ON VACINATION TO NOW WE ARE GETTING CLOSE TO THE POINT WHEN PEOPLE WILL NOT BOTHER/RISK IT ITS CHEAPER//TAKE MICROCHIPPING FOR EXAMPLE WHEN IT FIRST CAME ON THE SCENE,THEY SAID ONLY VETS CAN DO IT,NOW A KID OF ELEVEN CAN DO IT[WITH PRATICE THAT HIS]AND SUPERVISION//TAKE WARNING VETS THE PUBLIC ARE GETTING WISE TO YOU SHADY DEALING--aS WITH MOST RECESSIONS THE PETS GO FIRST ESPECIALLY THE DOG.

4. At June 23, 2008 2:37 PM, Deborah Robinson wrote:

Pet health care is no different from private (human) health care. As new technology improves our quality of life and life expectancy, so more procedures are undertaken generating more profit. Both animals and humans benefit, but Vets don't work in the NHS!

5. At June 23, 2008 3:12 PM, kim wrote:

what is the choice when your beloved pet is ill - they have you over a barrel
you just have to pay and they can virually charge you what they want

6. At June 24, 2008 5:56 PM, Chris Sabin wrote:

Im a bit accident prone and im pretty sure it would be cheaper for me to insure any animal i had than get health insurance for myself.

If i did have a pet, it would be a dog or a rabbit, so they would totally be worth insuring if it meant i could help them!

7. At June 25, 2008 2:16 PM, william wrote:

Has with the NHS you will see a nurse before the doctor-good idea-see the logic-soon it will be with vets-freeing vets to do the things they were trained for-but will the prices come down I THINK NOT-remember the days before vets and insurance-can see us going back to the good old days.

8. At June 26, 2008 9:00 AM, Chris Sabin wrote:

Will vet prices come down? Probably not no. Thats what makes insurance an attractive option. No longer do you have to find the £x amount as it will hopefully be covered by that.
This goes along with the improvement in tech that Deborah touched on.
Look at humans, until the new tech is proven and implemented widely, it is expensive. Look at new drugs on the market. After a few months / drugs being cloned, they become cheaper.

Its sadly a normal fact of life. The iphone, dropped price after being released. Suprised? No.

9. At June 26, 2008 4:53 PM, Clare & Confederates wrote:

I've had dogs in my life, ALL my life, and there is a lot that you can do yourself eg clipping toenails (my vet charges £35 + VAT), grooming - this is a wonderful way, if you start with a puppy, of really bonding, check their teeth regularly and clean them yourself. There are many canine products on the market, all easy to use and tasty for the dog. Don't panic if your dog develops a cough - monitor it for a couple of days and only if it has not gone by then consult your vet. Similarly with runny tummies so often it was just something they ate on a walk with your back turned and clears in 24hrs. Having said that my dogs ARE my children and I want the best treatment whatever the price for serious conditions. A point worth remembering with vets is that they are much cheaper per treatment than private medicine for humans and the drugs and procedures they use are very similar. Perhaps our wrath should be directed at the drug and medical equipment companies who can charge what they want because we all need medicine. So no I don't begrudge my vet 37% - his reassurance and advice is invaluable and they do say that vets treat 2 people when 1 animal is taken in for treatment. The animal and the owner!

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