Cost of loving Alfie

A DOG is not just for Christmas, they say. You must be prepared to spend a lot of time and money looking after the adorable little mutt, they say. Well, they are not joking.

We bought Alfie, a mastiff puppy, six weeks ago when he was six weeks old. He cost us £400. We couldn't really afford him, but one look and we were hooked. Well, the costs didn't stop there.

Setting up home: First, we had to buy him a crate to sleep in, which set us back £40. At the trendy pet store we were also talked into buying him toys and a bag of designer dog food for £10. Only the best for our Alfie.

All chewed up: Next was Alfie's first visit to the vet. A routine check-up found him in good health - that will be £30, thank you very much.

But by far the biggest expense was the damage he did to our new sofa. In a few unguarded moments, Alfie shredded two cushion covers. A call to Sofa Workshop reveals that it will cost at least £130 for replacements.

And then there's the chewed children's toys - much more fun than his own - as well as chewed shoes, books and a rug. Not to mention the cost of wasted working hours as my husband John and I work from home and spend precious time playing with Alfie.

Vet bills: A week after we brought Alfie home, he stopped eating. We took him to the vet and were told he was suffering from dehydration. He was put on a drip and spent the day at the surgery. We were thrilled to have him restored to health, but a little taken aback by the £70 bill.

Take cover: Clearly, it was time to consider taking out insurance. A report in Which?, the Consumers' Association magazine, says many policies are a waste of money. Annual costs for cover range from £50 to £500, says the report, and most policies are riddled with exclusions.

Many plans also offer cover for only 12 months at a time, so if your pet's illness lasts longer than a year, you face hefty bills.

The best plans appear to provide lifetime cover, insuring pets for up to £6,000 worth of veterinary costs per illness. Standard policies for dogs start at about £9 a month.

More Than just a 24-hour helpline: More Than, the first company I tried, quoted lifetime insurance for £19.99 a month, including a free month of cover, £1m of personal liability cover, a 24-hour pet helpline and access to alternative treatments such as acupuncture and homeopathy. However, there is a £60 excess.

I was surprised that the premium was so high, but I discovered this was because we live in south London and have the most expensive postcode as far as pet insurance is concerned. And we have a pedigree mastiff.

Lifetime protection for your pet: Pet Plan's standard policy offers lifetime cover for veterinary fees of up to £6,000, plus £2m third-party liability cover. But this was the most expensive company I tried. The plan includes an excess of £80 and monthly premiums of £39.75.

12 month Direct insurance: Direct Line quoted monthly cover for £18.85 with an excess of £45, however, this would provide protection for only 12 months at a time.

Of all the companies I called, More Than seemed to offer the best deal. What worried me, however, was the £60 excess. With a new puppy in excellent health, our vet bills are unlikely to be much more than £60 a time.

So the jury is still out on whether we should buy cover for Alfie. If we do, our outlay so far will be about £1,000.

But for all the chewed shoes and toys, the vets' bills and the shredded sofa, I can't think how we ever managed without him.

Finding the best protection

ABOUT 15% of cats and dogs are insured. Among the main providers are Pet Plan, Pinnacle Pet Healthcare, Norwich Union, Animal Friends Insurance, Direct Line, NFU Mutual and More Than. New low-cost cover is also available from Tesco and Sainsbury.

More Than, Norwich Union, Pet Plan and Pinnacle offer lifetime cover, which means there is no restriction on conditions as long as the policy is in force. Premiums are reviewed annually, however, and tend to be more expensive than annual policies.

Typical cover offered by low-cost annual policies starts at about £4 a month for a cat and £7 for a dog. With lifetime cover, premiums start at about £6 a month for a cat and £9 for a dog. Pedigree animals could cost more.

There is usually a cap of £6,000 on payouts for vets' bills per illness in any 12-month period.

Most providers cover only dogs and cats, although Norwich Union and Pet Plan also have policies for rabbits. Animal Friends Insurance, based in Gillingham, Dorset, Pet Plan and NFU Mutual offer policies for horses and ponies.

For more exotic pets such as reptiles and birds, specialist broker PHA in Sidcup, Kent, or Brooks Braithwaite in Lindfield, West Sussex, have policies to cover vets' bills, and the risk of your pet being stolen.