I'm Worth It!

One of our Facebook friends was having a bad week.  In addition to all the stuff humans have to worry about all the time, her senior dog wasn’t feeling well so off to the vet’s they went.   Happily there is nothing terribly wrong, she’s just a senior dog and, to quote one of Mom’s favorite humans, “Old age ain’t for sissies”, for dogs either.

Our friend was saying how she had just spent a lot of money buying special things little Ella needed, like special senior food and such.  Everyone agreed that even though we pets cost a lot of money, we are definitely worth it.

Lots of people like the IDEA of having a dog.  They see on television how much fun a dog is but what they don’t see is how much care we need.  Hey, we can’t go out and work to earn money to buy our own food you know.  Anyway, having a dog can be expensive so if you are thinking of bringing one home, there are some things you need to know.

Since I am an advocate of rescue/adoption, I’m not even going to talk about how much it costs to buy a pure bred dog.  So here goes:

First of all, rescued shelter pets are not free.  It costs a whole bunch of money to rescue and take good care a dog until it is adopted so they need to charge a fee. 

At our Humane Society it costs around $200 to adopt a dog.  When I got adopted Mom and Dad gave the people $275 and that was almost 5 years ago.  I was transported from South Carolina (volunteers work for free but someone has to pay for the gas), I was spayed, had a mico chip and had all of my shots.  Then I was housed and fed until Mom and Dad came to get me.

When I got to my furever home I had to get a license and had to go to school to learn manners.  Even though other dogs lived there before me, I got all new stuff, like a water dish and food dish, collar and leash and a new crate to sleep in while I was at work with Mom.  Mom didn’t keep track of the money but according to one site it cost between $500 and $2700 to start.

DixieLee and I get regular vet checkups and Mom makes sure we get regular heartworm and flea and tick medicines.  If we do get sick, there are additional vet visits and medicines.   I remember one night I wasn’t feeling well and Mom rushed me to the emergency vet hospital.  Vets and medicine cost money too.

We just got our new license tags and since Mom is kind of old, we got a discount but she still had to pay some.  We are very particular about our food.  We don’t like food with lots of additives so we get a good brand, made in the USA.  And of course, we get treats!

When we moved to our new house, we had a man come and put up a fence so we could go outside by ourselves.   Sometimes we go to day care so we can socialize with other dogs that cost money too.  DixieLee gets her nails clipped when we are at daycare cuz she won’t let Mom cut them and I understand that some dogs get baths and nails clipped and painted and all sorts of pampering.

From what I read, when you add up all those things, the cost of having a dog can run anywhere from $500 to $2,900 a year.  Even more if they buy you lots of toys and treats.   I’m not sure but I think that might be a lot of money.  I know my Mom and Dad think DixieLee and I are worth every penny and I bet your Moms and Dads think you are too because dogs are really priceless.

Your friend,

Zeva

P.S.  Blatant self-promotion. Our To The Rescue Gift Basket is a great way to say welcome to your forever home.