Veterinary Fees

Most of the pooches on parade to show this month's Crufts dog lead a pampered, but even the best cared for pets can get into trouble.

The MSNBC Web site recently asked dog owners to tell stories about the animals that had eaten bizarre objects. Among the products consumed have a Rolex watch, ornaments, razor blades, insects and a hamster.

The dog that ate the Rolex was a pit bull and its owner said: "I was having a barbecue sauce and a little got on my watch. I took my watch off and laid on the table. Next thing my dog swallowed the watch. I took her to the vet and had her stomach pumped. My dog, of course, is much more important to me than my Rolex.

A Weimaraner has cost owners $ 7,000 (£ 3,600) in veterinary fees for the surgery because of his love for dinosaurs plastic toys, pantyhose and socks. She went on to eat a snack hamster and enthusiastically on cicadas until his inability to digest the insect wings and bodies caused pancreatitis.

A rottweiler ate a dress, a three-foot piece of paper and a packet of macaroni and cheese mixture, including the box, dried pasta and even the bag it was brought home in.

A dog is served by the glass Christmas ornaments. The vet treated her by encouraging her to swallow cotton balls soaked in milk to absorb the fragments of glass. A puppy who ate razor blades has also survived but she had to undergo surgery to have them removed.

A dog of 11 years had twice been through surgery because of his taste for pin bulletin board, carpet and underwear binding.

A pug ate little tassels, but the family could see that they had passed through his system because they were in school colors of brown and white children.

Pets in Great Britain also get into trouble that can cost hundreds of pounds for owners veterinary treatment. Lloyds TSB insurance for pets has paid for a dog that swallowed golf balls and another poisoned chocolates. He has also received requests for a chat that took place in a closed patio door after being startled by a barking dog on television, a dog who broke his tail when he moves too strongly, a cat who through a cycle of washing machine and a puppy got his head caught in a babygate.

Tesco Pet Insurance reported in 2005 that the removal of "foreign body" was one of five "strange" claims on its policies. For cats, treatment of road accidents was the highest demand Current global and the average cost was £ 251. For dogs, traffic accidents were the 10th most common cause of a common claim, but the treatment of injuries to third place, bodies cuts and lacerations fourth and fifth foreign .

Sophie Neary, product director for BeatThatQuote.com said: "The veterinary costs for treating an accident can be an unexpected shock and expensive. But if you buy insurance dog insurance, cat or other pet insurance does not pay more than you have for that premiums can vary considerably. You should also check the conditions, including age limits, excesses, caps on individual claims, limits on payments per year and how long the policy will pay for long-term problems. "