Owner saves £30k on Turkey teeth and treatment for two dogs

A man who flew to Turkey for veneers rescued a stray dog and had him treated at the same clinic - saving £30,000 compared to the UK. Frankie Lomo, 35, went to Antalya to get his teeth done for £6,000 - £23,000 cheaper than he says he was quoted in the UK.

A few days later while he was on a night out - he says he stumbled across a stray poodle having an epileptic fit on the road. He took the pooch - now named Hercules - to The Saluss Medical Group clinic where he'd had his veneers fitted days earlier, in the hope medics could help.

And the clinic - which also has an animal treatment centre called Pet Clinic Turkey - was able to help the pooch.

Hercules had treatment for his epilepsy, a brain injury and knee surgery. It cost Frankie £4,000 - but he says this is around £5,500 cheaper than the same treatment in the UK.

It has been reported that as vet prices soar in the UK, pet owners are being tempted by cheaper care packages in Turkey. Cosmetic surgery clinics are now offering combo deals - operations for owners and treatment for poorly animals.

Hercules is currently being boarded in Turkey until he's healthy enough and has the correct certificates to come to the UK and live with Frankie.

Frankie said: "I found Hercules on the side of the road and I didn’t know who to ring up. So I called the guy from the clinic because he spoke English. He said they have a pet clinic to sort out Hercules – he put him on all the right medication and gave him all the MRIs. It’s amazing what they did. I am now going to keep him when his treatment finishes and gets the ok that he can come home."

Frankie had veneers, dental bone grafts and implants at The Saluss Medical Clinic . He found the dog in the street a day after his surgery.

Pet Clinic Turkey is a new treatment centre The Saluss Medical Group has opened, which offers treatment for pets, as well as a range of dental procedures, hair transplants and tummy tucks for humans at the sister clinic.

Hercules has spent the last six months at the clinic where he has been trained, fed and boarded.

Frankie said: "When I first met Hercules, he was so sick, scared and fragile and now he is a completely different dog. I have seen through videos and FaceTime he is like a completely different dog. People always ask me why you paid £4,000 for a stray dog, but if you think about it in the UK, the vets, training and buying a dog, you’re looking at more than £4,000."

He has booked in his Shar Pei Roxie, seven, in with the Pet Clinic in June for a knee operation.

Frankie will be going over to get his teeth done at the same time - the next stage of his dental implants work.

He said: "That will only be £1,900 even with the conversion. But here in the UK we are looking at £3,500 which still works out to be 30 to 40 per cent cheaper. It’s crazy even the stray dogs are well looked after. They’re all tagged and fed and cared for."

Frankie believes the combination packages could be a hit.

He said: "“Even the waiting room was amazing. It’s like a palace and you can sit on a roof top bar with table service. As long as your dog is vaccinated, and vets say they’re ok to travel, then it it’s totally fine. If you think about it when big dogs need operations it’s extremely expensive, so to get a hotel included and it’s still 30% cheaper – it's a no brainer. I can 100% see this type of thing being successful.”

Pet Clinic Turkey said: "When people travel for these procedures at the same time, costs are reduced for the hotel, transfer, flights because they only need to come for one trip. Vet operations here are becoming more and more popular with British tourists because of costs and in our hospital we provide everything you can get in human hospitals. It is fully equipped with highly experienced veterinarians."

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