Getting a Pet Listed as a "Stupid Money Move" by Money Central

In Your Stupidest Money Moves, Money Central details letters from readers who made some dumb money mistakes. One of the topics, as you may have guessed from the title of this post, centered on pets. Here are some comments they received from readers regarding the cost of pets:

"Dagro," at 18, spent $1,100 on a dachshund puppy, "not realizing I had no time for him," while attending school. The expensive pup was fortunately taken in by dagro's vet.

"Alaskagurl," by contrast, got a puppy for free -- initially. She left the little darling in her new Toyota 4Runner "while I got a collar, leash, food etc. Came out -- she had chewed through the seatbelts in the back. Completely! That made her a $960 dollar puppy . . . and still counting. Good thing she is such a great dog -- although I still don't take her on many car rides!"

"HW3" is also still counting the cost of the "free" stray kitten that her husband found.

"The kitten needed shots, de-worming, cold treatment, fixing: $600. Soon after fixing, the dumb animal swallows a coin. Surgery: $400. Reasoning: we already paid $600, might as well add $400 instead of putting her to sleep. . . . Add to this, leather furniture ruined by the pre-existing cat."

You can't, of course, put a price on the value of animal companionship, any more than you can predict how much upholstery it will destroy. But an estimate of how much a new pet is likely to cost you can help you decide whether animal husbandry is right for you.

They then detail the average first-year costs of the most popular pets:

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) offers the following averages, which include food, medical care and various accessories:

• Small bird $195
• Fish $235
• Guinea pig $645
• Cat $715
• Small dog $810
• Rabbit $911
• Medium dog $1,190
• Large dog $1,580

A few thoughts here:

1. I've posted a bunch about the cost of pets. Click the link for details.

2. The basic rule is "the smaller the pet, the cheaper it is." Rabbits seem to be an exception to this rule. Who knew they were so expensive?

3. You can't really get a "cuddly" pet for less than $700. I'm sorry, but birds, fish, and guinea pigs simply don't cut it as cuddly. And only one of them is cute. So if you want to go for "cute and cuddly," be prepared to shell out some bucks.

4. In case you didn't know it, "large dog" is Latin for "college tuition." Do the math. $1,580 at 10% for 18 years is over $72,000.

Comments

[Matt]

Deciding to own a pet is a considerable commitment, personally I like cats and we've got one but they are expensive and cats for the most part are pretty self sufficient (especially indoor cats). I think people forget all of the hidden costs that they don't consider when they get an animal. Good Post.

[Lord]

But you will probably learn, much, much more from the dog. ;-)

[Matt]

A dog equals college tuition? Only if you buy a dog every year for the 18 year period, and then kick it to the curb at the end of the year.

These are first-year costs, which are significantly less than "maintenance" costs (depending on what you want to spend on health care for a pet in it's old age), I imagine that most of the listed cost for a fish involves an aquarium, an air filter, etc. And they also seem to be based on a high-end of expectations.

My dog costs me about ten bucks a month for food, and I only bring him in to the vet when I think he needs it (less than once per year). I do my own grooming, too, so I wind up only a couple hundred dollars out of pocket for a great companion. If I could trade him off for college tuition for a child, I might consider it, but that's not the reality of the situation...

[FMF]

Actually, these costs are close to what a pet costs per year according to the SPCA. See this post for details:

http://www.freemoneyfinance.com/2006/04/cost_of_pets_ac.html

As far as paying for college, consider owning two pets at a time over 40 years (you'd go through several pets of course). Calculate the cost at $1,000 per pet per year. Figure out what that would be worth if it had been invested.

Pay for college? Easy.

[1389AD]

On the other hand, having a pet can provide you with entertainment and improve your mental and physical health. And as a plus, cats keep mice and insects from getting into your home. We're better off spending a little money every year on our cat, and not renting movies, buying 5-dollar lattes, candy, cookies, potato chips, beer, and so forth.