"There is nothing quite like the unconditional love which a pet shows to you."
Jane Wyatt
As the UK’s dog lovers celebrate the canine world’s finest pampered pooches at Crufts (5-8 March), The National Lottery reveals some of the lavish lifestyles that a lottery win makes possible for winners’ four-legged friends.
As a nation of dog lovers – 26% of the UK adult population have a dog1 – it should come as no surprise that National Lottery winners only want the best for their Man’s (and Woman’s) best friend. With nearly half (42%) of all National Lottery winners owning a dog, it seems lucky winners don’t just treat their nearest and dearest human friends and relations but make sure their pooches are very much a pampered part of their lottery-winning family too.2
When dog lover Jane Wyatt scooped £1M on The National Lottery in August, 2016, she revealed that one of her top priorities was to treat herself to a French bulldog, whom she called Ned. Jane lost her previous dog, Ted, also a bulldog, two years before her win.
Jane said, “There is nothing quite like the unconditional love which a pet shows to you.
“Of course, when I won I wanted to treat myself and my three sons – but secretly my top priority was to buy another lovely dog. I knew, thanks to my win, I would be able to totally spoil my lovable new fury friend. And I can certainly say that Ned gets some very special treats!
“Since my win, I have bought Ned his very own doggy wardrobe which has a selection of coats and jumpers for him to choose from for all of those special occasions and all seasons!”
Jane also revealed how Ned has three plush beds of his own throughout the house, dependent upon where he feels like taking a snooze – but every evening he takes to her youngest son’s bed and shares this with him, ensuring a relaxing and sound night’s sleep for both of them.
“I literally plan everything around Ned and ensure I am back every evening to cook fresh roast chicken for him! I didn’t even go out on Valentine’s Day because there was no-one to baby-sit him and I couldn’t have him missing out on his delicious dinner,” Jane said.
Camelot’s Andy Carter, Senior Winners’ Advisor at The National Lottery said, “There is a common theme among lottery winners and how they treat their canine friends and that’s the fact that no expense is spared when it comes to the genuine love and attention they are given.
“Just as a lottery win is a life-changingly positive experience for winners, it also has amazing knock-on benefits for the dogs in our winners’ lives: some winners’ dogs have been saved from a terrible fate, others have had their lives made far more comfortable and happy and some have simply got used to the finer things in life. One thing’s for sure, it’s certainly anything but a dog’s life for lottery winners’ pooches.”
Across the last 25 years, a staggering £40 billion has been raised for Good Causes with 565,000 grants made across arts, sport, heritage and community. That’s the equivalent of 200 life-changing projects in every UK postcode district. Players have banked a whopping £73 billion in prizes and a staggering 5,500 millionaires have been made.
