Profiles

Surge in plastic surgery for pets

Your Expert Witness poodleNose jobs and facelifts were once the preserve of Hollywood A-listers and ageing celebrities. However new figures show that Britons are spending millions of pounds a year on plastic surgery for their pets.

According to the UK’s largest pet insurance provider, claims worth £1.5m were paid out in 2010 for nose surgery on cats and dogs, an increase of 25 per cent over the last three years.

Petplan also paid out over £1m for eye-lid lifts on young dogs and almost a quarter of a million pounds for dental work on household pets.

The company said that the rise in cosmetic surgery allows animals to live “healthier and more active lives”.

The trend for cosmetic surgery on pets started in the US, where all kinds of treatments have been devised for animals. Chin-lifts among dogs became popular in the 1990s in order to curb excessive drooling. In the mid-1980s ‘Neuticles’ were invented; testicular implants that were designed to give neutered pets a more masculine look.

Brian Faulkner, a vet at Petplan, said that pets in the UK often require treatment due to medical defects, rather than vanity on behalf of their owner. For example, eye-lid lifts are particularly common among Bloodhound, Bulldog and Mastiff breeds of dog, which tend to suffer from an inherited eye condition called entropion. Nose jobs are often used to widen nostrils to help fix breathing issues.
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From the WebFORM THE WEB:Dog Body Language: Do Not Pet29 Jun 2011(Petside)Largest Cheetah Lived, and Killed, Among Ancient Humans16 Aug 2011(FoxNews.com)The 11 Most Expensive Dog Breeds31 Dec 1969(LearnVest)[what's this]“So-called plastic surgery is something we have to do regularly to improve the quality of lives in the pets we see as well and repair injuries and deformities. For example, facelifts are commonly required in breeds with excessively drooping eyelids, skin grafts for wounds, soft palate trimming in short faced breeds,” said Mr Faulkner.