A man who flew to Turkey for veneers ended up rescuing a stray dog and getting treated at the same clinic.
Frankie Lomo, 35, travelled to Antalya, Turkey, to get his teeth done, and while there, he stumbled across a homeless poodle having an epileptic fit on the side of the road. He took the pooch to the clinic where his veneers were fitted in hopes that medics could help.
As vet prices soar in the UK, cosmetic surgery clinics in Turkey are now offering package deals with discounted operations for owners and treatment for poorly animals. But experts previously warned the Mirror the cheaper procedures may be too good to be true.
However Frankie, from west London, says he can understand the sudden interest in combination packages after he claims he saved £30,000 getting his and his dog's treatment in Turkey instead of the UK. Days after his teeth surgery at The Saluss Medical Group, Frankie found the stray pup - now named Hercules - and contacted the animal centre at the clinic for advice.
"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," Frankie said. "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."
The content creator, who goes by Mr PD on social media, had veneers, dental bone grafts and implants in September 2023 at the Saluss Medical Clinic. Hercules has spent the last six months at Pet Clinic Turkey, where he has had treatment for epilepsy, a brain injury and knee surgery. He has also been trained, fed and boarded until he's healthy enough to come to the UK.
It cost Frankie £4,000 - but he says this is around £5,500 cheaper than the same treatment here. "When I first met Hercules, he was so sick, scared and fragile and now he is a completely different dog," he said. "People always ask me why you paid £4K 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 £4k."
He has booked his seven-year-old Shar Pei, Roxie in with the Pet Clinic in June for a knee operation. Frankie will be getting his teeth done at the same time - the next stage of his dental implant work. "That will only be £1,900 even with the conversion," he said. "But here in the UK we are looking at £3,500 which still works out to be 30 to 40 percent cheaper."
Frankie says his teeth cost him £6,000 - which he claims is £23,000 cheaper than he was quoted in the UK. For this reason, he believes the combination packages could be hit. "I can 100 percent see this type of thing being successful," he said.
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."
Dr Anna Judson, of the British Veterinary Association, previously issued a warning to the Mirror: "While it may be possible to get veterinary care at a lower cost abroad, it might not be in the best interest of the animal. The treatment may be excellent but the absence of continuity of care and check-ups from the vet team could have a detrimental impact on the animal's recovery, especially if with complications. Also, if a UK vet needs to step in to provide post-treatment care, with no background knowledge of the case, it could end up costing more."
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