Dierenliefde plot
In the Netherlands, the pet is often a full-fledged family member. When the animal gets sick, it turns out that people go to great lengths to get it back on the mend. An MRI scan for a cat, chemotherapy for the dog or the surgical insertion of a marker in the broken leg of a songbird: it is daily work for the specialists at the University Clinic for Companion Animals in Utrecht. What drives people to spend thousands of dollars treating their pet? How far are doctors willing to go to satisfy owners? And what explains the intensely close bond between humans and animals? These questions are central to the documentary Dierenliefde, about the largest animal hospital in Europe, the humanization of the animal and the human need for warmth.