My cat chewed my first Hermes bag 😭

So friends, in the span of less than 5 days I have experienced the high and low of owning my first Hermès bag 🥲

I made the mistake of leaving my beautiful new Lindy in a spot where my cats could reach - it also happens to be where I display all of my other luxury bags lol. Apparently one of them (or both - it could be an organized crime) decided suddenly that luxury leather is her preferred teething material. Or maybe it is the smell of H leather that was simply irresistible- all of my other purses remained intact and safe, and my cats have never chewed my other items before. Anyway - I came back to find these teeth marks and holes on the handle 😱

After weeping internally (and a bit externally), I started looking into repair options. I know I could take the bag to the store, but h spa takes 6 months and more just to give a quote. Meanwhile, a highly reviewed local cobbler said he is able to fix it for a couple hundreds. I’m of two minds right now since I know h spa will not take items that have been worked on by other professionals.

So, what do I do? Wait a year for an official fix, or just take it to a highly rated cobbler? Has anyone had a similar experience - for similar restoration, how much does H spa charge and how long does it take? I am located in Toronto. And I would love to hear your input and recommendations.

FYI cat tax included. aka a photo of the culprits 👀