Add $15,000 to the Cost of Owning a Pet

After readers bashed my "no comment" post on a dog's $4,200 pacemaker a few days ago, I know I'm treading on thin ice with this heading. But I'm a glutton for punishment, so here we go.

A Toronto man lost his dog (the dog was stolen from outside a bakery) and he offered $15,000 for the dog's return. Here's how he summed up his feelings for the dog:

“Life isn’t about money — it’s about the connection you make with other souls. Huckleberry was like my soulmate.”

This is probably the same sentiment many commenters on this blog have about their pets.

The good news -- the dog was returned. Not sure whether or not the $15k will be paid.

As you might imagine, I have a few money-related comments on this:

1. I've never thought about "ransom payments" as a cost of owning a pet, but I guess I'll need to add that now. ;-)

2. $15k? Seems a bit high to me. Wouldn't a dog-napper have responded for a simple $5k? Or $10k? Seems like the owner went too high too early.

3. Lesson learned: be careful who you use to walk your dog. In this case, it was the dog walker's fault for leaving the dog unattended outside a bakery.

And just so you don't think I only write negative pet-related posts, check out these:

• Would You Pay $45,000 to Live Seven More Years?

• Can You Get Healthy by Buying a Dog?

• What Makes People Happy, Part 3: Pets

• Pets SAVE You a Boatload of Money -- In Many Different Ways

Comments

[DD]

Mildly related: I like how these vehicle insurance companies are now including pet coverage for free! Maybe some of them always have but it is news to me.

[Rhea]

I would pay a ransom for my pup, but I, too, think $15K was too high. I would have started much lower.

[beastlike]

Wow, that's insane... I think if someone kidnapped my dog, I would be paying 15k or more for their hospital bill (not smart to steal a 100lb+ guard dog), but not ransom.

So, is the guy that stole the dog the one that returned it for the $$$?

[Pop]

Imagine how many HUMANS $15K could help.

[No Debt Plan]

Good grief--$15k?!

How about $100 for stealing my dog?

[Jamie]

Depending on where you live, offering a reward that high could be asking for trouble. If people know that you're willing to pay $15,000 for a missing dog, what do you think the chances are that the dog will go missing again?

[Kyle]

I'm not sure why you would catch so much flack for this. I love animals, especially dogs, but pets are undeniably expensive. So are children but you don't catch flack saying things like "children are expensive". On a related note, I've heard there has been a rash of doggy-kidnappings around where I live recently specifically because the thiefs know the owners will likely offer a reward for its return. Sick people. I've seen signs around town offering several thousand dollar rewards for missing pets.

[Fred]

Alright! I think I'll munch on some peanuts for this one. Play Ball!

[Fred]

That said, 15k is a ridiculously high reward. Start lower, and work your way up to 15k if you don't get any bites. ;-)

[That One Caveman]

I'll give $50 if you promise you won't give my cat back...

[guinness416]

The dog has been found and the kidnappers arrested since that story was printed. The dog's owner is a banker & the son of TD Bank's president - ie probably a man for whom $15k isn't so much. There's also this:

In the first instance, police searched to no avail for two teenage girls suspected of stealing a three-month-old German shepherd-Doberman puppy outside a Dominion supermarket where the dog's owner was shopping. A few days later, a two-year-old pug named Roscoe was snatched by a massage-parlour worker who eventually broke into tears and returned the dog when confronted by its owner.

So apparently Toronto is in the midst of a canine crime wave!

By the way, the Globe & Mail's Investor magazine had an article this quarter suggesting investing in pet medicine companies ... apparently pets are living a whole lot longer than they used to, and they reckon there's money to be made.

[JimmyDaGeek]

This year I paid over $1000 to the vet, in drips and drabs. caring for our newly-diabetic cat. This does not include the cost of changing to more expensive wet food. Considering the cat found us, this is an enormous amount of money, especially since I can't invest it.

[Lorie]

It wasn't a ransom this was to be a reward for someone finding his dog. It was originally thought that the dog just got loose. Also $5000.00 of it was to be donated to the Toronto Humane Society. I live about 45 minutes north of Toronto and an owner of 2 chiuahuas and a beagle so I was very interested in the story. Also I had the misfortune to loose my cat 5 years ago and I would have given my right arm to get him back. I never did find him and I wonder if I offered a reward of $15000.00 if I would have gotten him back. So to me it was not excessive.

[[email protected]]

I would probably pay anything to get my dogs back. However, this morning on the news I saw a spot on a company called findtoto.com, where you pay them and they call all your neighbors in a certain area (the spread of the area is determined by how much you pay).

It seemed like an interesting concept, and something I would use if I were in that boat (God Forbid).

-Daniel

[Seamus]

That someone would steal a dog is infuriating enough. To pay ransom for it's return - sure, but they wouldn't live long enough to spend it!

[Fabian Defoin]

Some people like animals more than humans. I for one wonder some times by looking how humans act.

Fabian Defoin