Take a look at our previous blog post for further information on the programme.

ThePet.net and ‘Pets Undercover’ on the Tonight Programme, ITV1 – Monday 9th March, 8pm.

ThePet.net’s co-founder, vet Marc Abraham helps Tonight presenter Jonathan Maitland and his dog Monty investigate whether some vets are overcharging and recommending unnecessary procedures to pet owners, and if vet bills really need to be so high.

Nearly half of all British households have a pet – with the favourite being the loveable pooch.

But if you’re like Tonight presenter Jonathan Maitland, whose dog Monty costs £2000 a year to keep, it may feel like the bills are excessive.

In these tough financial times, animal refuge homes are reporting that pets are being abandoned in record numbers. In the last five years, more than one and half million pets have been put down – because their owners can’t afford them.

One of the biggest costs are vet bills, and in a specially commissioned Tonight survey carried out by K9 Media – 76 per cent of dog owners said the cost of keeping their pet healthy has become too expensive.

In this programme, the Tonight team takes Monty the dog, Rupert the rabbit and Mickey the cat on mystery shopping visits to find out the truth about vet bills.

Tonight exposes how the cost of medical procedures and medications can vary considerably from practice to practice and discovers that some vets are prepared to recommend expensive treatment that is completely unnecessary.

The programme meets one devoted pet owner that has paid £15,000 for treatments for her dog (only £4,000 of which was covered by pet insurance) and reveals how she is paying a 250 per cent mark-up on medication sold to her by her vet.

Marc Abraham passionately believes in putting pet before profit. It was this that led him to set up ThePet.net, a free website which allows pet owners to rate and review pet-friendly businesses – including vets – to help others find the best for their pet.

Marc Abraham said:

‘As co-founder of ThePet.net, working on such a worthwhile project was a dream come true. In my experience, clients generally don’t mind how much they pay for their poorly pets as long as they get good value for money and their pet only receives necessary treatments.

‘I want to make sure the public knows there are many, many fantastic vets out there who will always put your pet first and deliver great customer service every time.

‘Exploitation of pet owners can only result in higher fees and negative client–vet interactions. This will ultimately lead to reduced trips to the vet, an increase in abandonment and falling ownership rates. The long-term knock on effects for the UK pet industry could be disastrous.

‘By making pet-owners aware that there is a range of services out there, we are one step closer to ensuring Britain continues to responsibly own their pets well into the future.’

Watch Marc on BBC

BBC1 Saturday 27th 6-8.30am

BBC Breakfast website