Donations appeal as pet charity battles demand

Last year, PDSA provided 2.2 million treatments to more than 430,000 pets

A pet hospital charity has warned that an increase in demand has placed a huge strain on its finances.

PDSA has urged people to step up fundraising efforts to help it meet a significant increase in pet owners requiring reduced-cost treatment.

The BBC spent a day at the charity’s hospital in Aston, Birmingham, where on average 120 animals are seen each day.

"We have to be prepared for the worst and make sure that we are really careful with budgets so pets don’t suffer as the result of our financial hardship,” said Nina Downing, a PDSA veterinary nurse.

“This might well be the new norm, it would be wonderful if things did ease,” she said.

Nina Downing worries that the charity's financial hardship could impact the animals

In 2023, the charity provided 2.2 million treatments to more than 430,000 pets at 49 of its hospitals across the UK.

“We come across an awful lot of challenges, we can’t get vets at the moment, that’s a real struggle and it’s across the board nationally. But we have to keep going, because this is what we are here for”, Ms Downing said.

Veterinary bills have risen by an average of 60% over the past decade, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Veterinary students come on board to help plug the staffing gap

The PDSA – which offers free or reduced cost care dependent on eligibility criteria such as receiving benefits – has seen the impact of the cost of living crisis firsthand.

Deanna Corns, who brought her seven-year-old bulldog Rosie in to the Aston hospital for an operation to remove bladder stones, said: “The vets is really expensive and we get seen quicker here.

"At the vets it was £70 just to be seen, I brought her here the other day and to be seen, scanned, and given medication was a little over £50.”

Some pet owners said they were forced to choose between food or pet care

One dog owner, who asked to remain anonymous, said she had struggled to provide healthcare for her pet and knew of others who had given theirs up.

“I had to leave my job and my own mental health took a downfall so I’ve gone from earning money to now being on benefits”.

“It’s been incredibly hard, even paying for day to day food. It’s hard to survive, I have four children. It’s sad that you have to choose whether to go to the supermarket or take the dog to the vets.”

This premature kitten, which is no bigger than a 20p, is just one of the pets being cared for by staff

Despite the challenges, staff say there is still joy to be found when the hard work pays off.

“A client of ours rescued a cat a month ago”, Ms Downing said.

“She had five kittens and this is the only one that survived," she said as she held a premature kitten, tucked in a woollen sock, its head no bigger than a 20p coin.

"We have to be prepared that we might lose this little one, but we’re doing everything we can to hand rear him and hopefully he’ll pull through.

"It’s always worth a go.”