Paw-ly pets: Over a third of pet owners lie to their boss about taking time off to nurse a poorly pet

• Half of pet owners believe their employers should provide “pet-ernity” leave
• Warrington is home to the highest number of pet insurance claims
• 43% of dog owners admit to doing no research on costs before getting their pup
• Cocker spaniels named the most problematic pooch claims costing over £3,000

New research from Admiral Pet Insurance reveals the lengths pet owners will go to look after their unwell pets; including lying to their boss to get time off work.

Over a third (37%) of pet owners admit they have lied to their boss about taking time off to nurse a poorly pet, giving a made-up explanation instead1.

Top of the list of fake excuses given to bosses was looking after a sick family member or child (20%), meanwhile one in 10 (11%)  pet owners said they told their boss that they were sick rather than their pet. 

Most common fake excuses for taking time off to look after a sick pet

Men (42%) are more likely to lie about taking time off to comfort a sick pet and lie about the reason than women (32%), and younger generations are also more likely to fib about their pets, with 65% admitting to lying to their employer about it. 

Meanwhile, two fifths of pet owners (43%) have taken annual leave to look after their pet when it’s been ill, while a quarter (25%) said they would take leave if their pet fell ill.

Farewell Fido

While almost half (47%) of pet owners have taken time off work after a pet passed away, the majority (71%) lied about why they weren’t in work. A fifth (20%) claimed they didn’t tell the truth because they were embarrassed and almost a third (30%) said it was because their boss wouldn’t be happy or wouldn’t understand.