Cost of living has half of Canadian pet owners skipping vet visits: survey
According to a survey conducted by PetSmart Charities of Canada and Gallup, half (50 per cent) of Canadian pet parents have either skipped or declined necessary veterinary care for their pets.
Financial pressure was the leading cause of people skipping the vet's office, the survey of 2,033 dog and cat owners from the 10 provinces in Canada found.
Of those who said they were declining or skipping those visits, 67 per cent said they did so because it was not affordable, they did not believe the services were worth the cost or a combination of both.
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The rate of pet parents skipping the vet was higher among younger Canadians (59 per cent).
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Even higher-income Canadians were facing financial pressures in dealing with pet care, with 27 per cent of pet owners who make more than $90,000 a year saying they have skipped vet visits.
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Of the Canadians who declined pet care, 21 per cent said their veterinarian offered them a payment plan and 66 per cent said an interest-free plan could double what they are able to spend on life-saving care for their furry friends.
Another major reason for Canadians skipping pet care is that their vet is simply too far away.
Just under half (46 per cent) of those who travel under 10 kilometres to the veterinarian report skipping or declining care, but that figure rises to 54 per cent for those who travel more than 10 kilometres.
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Nearly one in five (18 per cent) pet owners said they rely on non-vets when their pet is sick. This includes consulting the internet, friends or pet professionals, such as trainers and groomers.
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Four in 10 pet owners said they would be open to services like telemedicine or home visits by vets.
'These data suggest that services like community clinics and telemedicine — where permitted and available — could help make care more accessible, and many pet parents would use them if they could. But awareness and regulation of these services still vary across regions, pointing to opportunities for expanded infrastructure and support,' said Julie Ray, Gallup's managing editor for world news.
A recent Ipsos poll showed that inflation and cost of living was the top issue for Canadians. That issue was considered the top domestic news story in Canada by 71 per cent of Canadians, according to the polling conducted exclusively for Global News on what people considered the biggest stories of this year.
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Results for the PetSmart Charities of Canada-Gallup State of Pet Care study are based on a combined web- and phone-based survey conducted with 2,033 dog and cat owners from the 10 provinces in Canada. Gallup surveyed 1,804 Canadian adults who indicated they currently owned at least one dog or cat via a web-based survey Nov. 28-Dec. 31, 2024. Gallup also surveyed an additional 229 dog and cat owners via a telephone survey Dec. 5-23, 2024, to reach pet owners who may not have access to the internet. For results based on the total sample of 2,033 Canadian dog and cat owners, the margin of sampling error is ±2.3 percentage points at the 95 per cent confidence level. Margins of error for subgroups are larger.
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