Readers Respond to the Cost of Pets

Lots of very interesting comments left on my post titled $1,200 Vet Bill Around the Corner and I wanted to share a couple of them with all of you. Let's start with this one:

I really wish more people thought about the cost of owning a pet before they got one. Too many people dump their animals the minute they get sick. Dogs and cats are a luxury and if you can't afford them, that's fine just don't get them to begin with.

That being said I have two boston terriers, but I waited until I was in good financial shape before I got them (and owned my own home cause trying to find a rental with pets is the pits). One had emergency surgery and spent 5 days in the hospital, that set me back over $3k. I was so glad at the time that I didn't have to worry about how am I going to pay for this, I only worried about getting him better. Then my other one has been diagnosed with epilepsy, which means a lifetime of vet visits, blood tests and daily medication - he was dumped at the pound as a 8 month old puppy cause the owners could not afford to care for him. This was before his epilepsy showed up, they couldn't even afford the cheap dog food they had him on, I'm sure he would have been dumped either way as soon as he got sick.

I love them like members of the family and would spend as much as it takes to keep them healthy and happy, you have to realize that while vet care can be quite expensive it is dirt cheap compared to human health care. Even the most complicated and expensive operations are less than $5k, so it'd be pretty impossible to wrack up 10's of thousands of dollars. If you're one of those people who says they'll put down a dog if they require more than X amount of dollars, please never get a dog. Dog care is a line item in my budget, I set money aside for both routine care and to cover the unexpected. Oh, and if you want a dog and are worried about the expense, smaller dogs usually equal smaller expense since they eat less and boarding, flea preventative, medications and surgeries are often based on weight.

So much good stuff in this comment, here are a few quotes I want to highlight:

• "I really wish more people thought about the cost of owning a pet before they got one."
• "Dogs and cats are a luxury and if you can't afford them, that's fine just don't get them to begin with."
• "I waited until I was in good financial shape before I got them."
• "Dog care is a line item in my budget, I set money aside for both routine care and to cover the unexpected."

These quotes are EXACTLY the points I try to make in my pet-related posts. I know I come across as a pet-hater to some, but I'm not (I've had pets all my life until we had kids and found them to be allergic to cats and dogs.) But I do want people to know that pets are expensive and that potential owners should consider costs before they decide to get a pet.

Here's another one that illustrates just how expensive things can get:

That story's really sad--but I completely understand. I ended up spending $8000 on my current dog during the first year I had him, during which he ended up having numerous vet visits, a major surgery, and multiple tests for diagnosis. His "yearly maintenance" cost is an average of $300/month--far more than I had planned when I had adopted him (that's $150/month for 3 prescription medications he is on for life and prescription food, and a $500-$600 vet bill a few times a year). (My previous dog had cost me about $100/month on average to maintain, other than the last three months of his life.) Thank goodness I can (barely) afford him--by working a second part-time job. If he had an illness that was likely to be terminal, I'd have him put down, but to save him the suffering and not to save me the money. As it is, he is pretty much fine and happy most of the time, so it is worth it to me to keep him around. I'd be a basket case if I could ever not support him.

So, do be prepared for the expenses, and the emotional tumult that can result. Vet insurance is only for conditions that are not "preexisting," so it doesn't help me much with this dog. I had vet insurance with the previous dog and it helped some, but not hugely. There are limitations on how much the insurance covers and unlike with human health insurance where the doctor often waives the part of his/her fee that is above what insurance will reimburse, vets don't tend to do that.

$8,000 for the first year and $300/month from then on? Yikes!!!! And this is just one example (though an extreme one) of people commenting about this or that calamity that they faced with their pet that cost them hundreds or thousands of dollars.

As I read the comments, several of them were from owners of younger pets -- the health problems weren't just experienced by older animals. This led me to wonder -- what (if anything) and prospective pet owners do to make sure their pets are as healthy as possible before they get them? Otherwise, a simple trip to get a new Fido or Fluffy could net you a $3,000 ticking time bomb a few years down the road.

Comments

[Chris]

The breed and breeder matter with puppies. I was going to comment, but Dolittler (who sometimes comments here) is just better at it so here are some links:

http://www.dolittler.com/index.cfm/2007/9/19/pets.vet.veterinarian.veterinary.teacup.puppies.dogs.cats

http://www.dolittler.com/index.cfm/2007/12/18/pet.vet.dog.cat.French%20bulldog.Frenchie.veterinarian.veterinary

[Todd]

I'm still awaiting Johnny One-Note's series of posts on the much greater expense of having children.

[FMF]

Todd --

keep waiting...

[Todd]

LOL!

Every so often I say to my wife "Thank God we only have 4-legged children. If we had the 2-legged kind I wouldn't be able to retire until I'm 500."

[FMF]

Todd --

Maybe you'd like to write on the issue and have me post it?

[dwr]

Imagine how many suffering PEOPLE one could help with $8000.

[Dar]

dwr sez: "Imagine how many suffering PEOPLE one could help with $8000."

It doesn't matter if he spent this $8,000 on his dog, on a car, on clothes, or whatever. It goes back into the economy and helps PEOPLE one way or another. I'm sure the vet and the vet techs appreciate getting paid so they pay their own bills and buy things too.

On the other hand, if his dog hadn't been sick, perhaps he could have kept that $8,000 and invested it for retirement. Are you going to begrudge him for using the money that way too?

[Ggrrl]

I am a dog owner and I, too, waited until I was in a position, both financially and personally, to own a dog. At one point several years ago, I unexpectedly lost my job and ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for weeks rather than buy sub-standard dog food for my dog. This may seem crazy to some people, but my dog didn't have a say in who he lived with and I take the responsibility of caring for him very seriously.

Now I volunteer with a dog rescue group and I am horrified to see people drive up in their Mercedes SUVs and surrender their dogs because they don't have enough money to care for them. People should consider the cost of properly caring for any pet before adopting them.

A good option for people who are not in a position financially to care for a pet is to volunteer with an animal rescue group. Many organizations have foster care programs and will pay for the medical expenses and supplies, including food. Yes, you will need to give up the animal when it gets adopted, but seeing an animal you have cared for go to a good home is a great feeling, and it allows you to help another animal in need. While this may not be a solution for everyone, it is something to be considered.

[Ryan S]

Personally, my dog is simply an animal that I own. I enjoy the companionship of my dog, but I have no delusions that I should spend as much on my dog's medical care as I would my human children. What's next, should I also spend $10,000 on the bird that nests in the tree in my yard if he breaks a leg? $5,000 if my goldfish gets cancer? What about all the grasshoppers and mosquitos? Obviously, this is ridiculous. Exactly.

[Todd]

FMF - no thanks. It's more fun just hackin' on ya.

Re: spending the $8,000 on people vs. a pet. Hey, it's the poster's money. He can spend it on anything he wants. My only problem is when he wants my money as well to spend on what he wants.

[David]

Ryan,

Does your dog live outside? Most people who have your attitude towards animals seem to keep their pets outside. I'm not even sure what the purpose of such an arrangement is. Maybe the dog is a working dog (watchdog, hunting dog, etc). In that case, you're not really talking about a pet, you're talking about an employee. But I have a hard time believing anyone who has a dog living inside as part of the family views it as merely "an animal they own."

[Ryan S]

David,

Quite the contrary, the dog is primarily an indoor dog, because one thing I realized is that by letting your dog roam around the neighborhood outside, they are more likely to get hurt and require the dilemna of choosing to pay or not pay a huge vet bill. The other thing I suggest you do with your dog is get regular vaccinations. This cuts down on the possibility of huge vet bills in the first place. It's funny that the same people that say they would spend any amount at a vet for thier pets won't put a small amount of money up front for preventive maintenance. This is obvious. Exactly.

[Todd]

Dogs are man's best friend for a reason. I'd pay almost any amount of money to save a cherished pet, same as I would for my wife or a close relative. I once forked over $800 for surgery on a guinea pig that had cancer. Was I annoyed by it? Sure. But it made my wife happy, and that ultimately made me happy, too.

The bottom line is that to those who love their pets, they are just like another family member. (And dogs, after all, believe they are human.) Of course we "own" our pets, but with that ownership comes responsibilities, which includes paying for their medical care.

[FMF]

"I once forked over $800 for surgery on a guinea pig that had cancer."

Man, I should have become a vet!!!!!!

[Megan Watland]

"Man, I should have become a vet!!!!!!"

Well, the vet only saw a fraction of that $800 (and most certainly made less money treating his cancer patient than a human doctor would have)... On the contrary, I think you should have become Todd's guinea pig :)

[Todd]

Well, in the case of the guinea pig, it had to be treated at an exotic vet hospital so the cost was
higher than it would have been for a comparable surgery on a feline or hound.

[Anne]

I'm surprised no one has brought this up -- the easiest way I know of to get a healthy pet is to get a mixed breed, a mutt. Pure bred cats and dogs can have genetic problems related to breeding for specific traits over many generations. A mutt is more likely to have the best characteristics (including health) of its parents. And if you get a pet from a rescue that fosters their animals before putting them up for adoption, you can learn a lot from the foster parents about personality and health, before you adopt.

I should add that the one time we went against the "adopt healthy animals" commandment, we got our most expensive pet. He had a respiratory infection that turned out to be a lifelong expense. We love him too much to not treat him now, but we won't make that mistake again.

[TLB]

I had to comment on this because I work in non-profit that feeds people, a food bank to be specific. We serve, when times are good, about 17,000 people each week from 4 cities and 5 counties. Times are not so great right now and we have seen the need increase substantially, while the donations continue to drop. One thing we've noticed is that our average caller has changed. The bulk of our calls now are people who are well-educated; either are now unemployed, or due to rising costs, underemployed; and have an average of 2 kids, a spouse, and 1 pet. And now that it's summer, hunger is higher than ever! (Kids are out of school and that means no free/reduced-cost breakfast and lunch.)

We have no qualms giving people food for their pet when we have it available in our warehouse. Recently, on both a national and local level, stories have popped up about people who are struggling to feed their pets and how they are turning to food banks and animal shelters for assistance. This has caused an influx of people coming to our office or calling with ideas of how to help the pets. Despite that PEOPLE are hungry, and I mean legitimately hungry -- not abusing the system, these individuals are more concerned with feeding the area's pets.

I have two cats, who I love and adore, but I would NEVER feed them better or first over my husband and child. I would NEVER choose the cats' health over my family's. I'm fortunate that it's a choice I've never faced, but I'm also glad to know my stance on the issue before it ever comes up.

Times are tough right now and we need to consider that not everyone giving up their pet does so easily. Many have lost their jobs and have been unable to gain employment. Unemployment benefits are helpful, but they don't cover everything. They struggle, they cry, they watch their children scream at them for making the choice to take their beloved pet to a shelter, but they are making a choice that, hopefully, will allow both their family and their pets to be fed and housed.

[Todd]

Interesting comment, TLB.

For my part, I'm far more concerned with feeding animals than I am with feeding people. There are plenty of people, such as you, who are willing to help suffering people out, but comparatively few who are willing to help out suffering animals. And these animals are almost always suffering because of choices made by people.

In addition, I pay tens of thousands of dollars a year in taxes to support people in one way or another. I'm inclined to use what the government lets me keep on animals.