Years.com calls for £200m NHS-style health check for dogs
With the cost of a canine health check at a vet’s practice averaging £50 the Years.com believe the annual cost of the initiative would be approximately £200m
Dog food brand Years.com is calling on all major political parties to support the idea of NHS style health checks for middle-aged dogs, which would cost about £200m a year.
The dog food brand stated that the policy could extend the lifespan of millions of pets and claimed it would be a huge vote winner with almost three in ten UK adults (29%) owning a dog.
Currently adults are offered free annual health checks on the NHS through their GP once they reach the age of 50 years old.
The experts believe dogs deserve the same level of care when they reach middle age and are asking for the annual checks to be carried out by a local vet once the dog reaches the age of seven.
There are estimated to be 11 million dogs in Britain and Years.com believes around 4 million could be aged seven or above.
With the cost of a canine health check at a vet’s practice averaging £50 the Years.com believe the annual cost of the initiative would be approximately £200m.
Darren Beale, Years.com co-founder, claimed that the policy would be a “massive vote winner for any political party brave enough to adopt it and said some of the costs could be claimed back from vets in additional taxation”.
He said: “Humans are offered health checks on the NHS when they reach the age of 50 and we believe dogs deserve the same level of care. After all, to millions of us dogs are so much more than just pets, they are beloved family members.
“But unlike humans, dogs aren’t able to tell us when they feel unwell and even the most attentive owners can miss the signs of sickness and disease until it’s reached an advanced stage. Dogs make our lives better and have been shown to improve mental and physical wellbeing amongst their owners by countless independent studies.”
He concluded: “We believe dogs already save the NHS millions every year by giving their owners a reason for regular exercise and making their lives happier and more joyful.
“That’s why we think dogs are worth investing in. So we are calling on the politicians to put £200m of taxpayers money to one side to fund annual physical health checks on all dogs once they reach the age of seven.By intervening early we believe we could extend the lives of millions of dogs across the land.
