VETS AT HOME

With veterinary bills rising at double the rate of inflation, and owners forced to make heartbreaking choices about treating their pets, ADITI RANE visits the UK's first non-profit domestic surgery where care trumps cost

- ADITI RANE

NESTLED in rolling countryside where fields stretch in every direction, Victoria Keating’s home is an animal’s paradise.

Dogs romp freely about during the day, their tongues lolling and tails wagging. A smaller fenced-off patch is home to rabbits nibbling quietly on the grass. Above their heads comes the gentle sound of bird song.

But step through the gate and it becomes clear this is not a home but a hospital.

Behind the front door in Keighley, West Yorkshire, a cosy living room has been turned into a waiting area, while upstairs a full-fledged veterinary practice hums with life. Even the two cats that weave between my legs appear to be inspecting me.

This is Animal Magic Family, an independent, nonprofit practice where pets on the brink through illness find care their owners could not afford elsewhere. People travel here from across Yorkshire — from Bradford and Leeds to Skipton and Huddersfield.

But they also come from much further afield. Victoria tells me of owners who have driven from Newcastle and London (the latter is a 400 mile round trip), desperate for treatment they can afford, or for a second opinion that doesn’t come wrapped in a four figure estimate. Word has spread quietly but powerfully: there is a place in Keighley where your pet will be treated first, and your bank balance second.

Victoria started this modest home-based clinic just over a year ago — not for glamour, not for profit, but because she could not bear the thought of animals being left to suffer.

“The animals don’t care what the building looks like,” she says with a smile. “They only care about how they feel.”