A few weeks ago, a colleague came in to the office looking harassed. He'd had a dreadful weekend as the family guinea pig had died and his children were distraught. This sparked a wider discussion of extravagant pet stories. One colleague once spent £100 on a course of antibiotics for a hamster, another had made an entire Christmas stocking for the family dog, and one revealed - to much hilarity - that he talks to his cats and voices their responses.
Pets are clearly worth a great deal to their owners and that's one of the reasons why the veterinary healthcare market has grown so quickly over the past few years.
Simon Innes, chief executive of CVS Group (CVSG), has witnessed that growth first hand, as his company has developed into the largest owner of veterinary practices in the UK. "There's been a widening of activity in my time," he said, referring to the rise in consolidation of general practices, specialist hospitals and night emergency clinics in the past 20 years, "and the worth of veterinary practices has gone up enormously."