We've always had pets over the years, and they've added quality to our lives -- especially the kids' lives.
Having just brought home a new puppy this past summer (he is currently our only pet), I can give you a run-down on the cost. It's fair to consider the "start up cost" and then the "maintenance cost" as separate items:
Start up costs:
75 -- Adoption fee from a terrible, high-kill shelter; I hate remembering how horrible it was, and I hate that our little boy was ever a prisoner within those walls. This 75 included puppy shots and rabies shot. We had to sign saying we'd have him neutered within 30 days, and we got a coupon that allowed us to have it done for free -- if it was done within 30 days. Incidentally, we're pretty sure he's a purebred dog -- they have some wonderful animals at the shelter. I don't know why anyone would ever pay hundreds for a puppy.
150 -- Dog bed, collar, leash, a few toys, dog shampoo, carpet shampoo, big bag of food, treats, (pretty much necessary for training).
150 -- Initial visit to the vet; I would never have skipped this. Given his background, I wanted to be SURE he didn't have heartworms or another serious medical issue. I would be willing to pay medical bills for a dog I already loved, but if he turned out to have serious issues on Day 1 ... I'd have chosen another dog. Sound cold? Maybe, but I didn't love him yet on Day 1.
130 -- A year's worth of heartworm prevention pills and prescription flea/tick meds. Again, not something I'd skip.
25 -- Cost of microchipping him at the same time he was neutered.
30 -- Bath and initial nail trimming. He was a MESS, and I was willing to pay a pro for that first bath. Now he's a handsome little fellow, and he gets regular baths at home.
90 -- Puppy obedience classes; worth it.
Note that those things, while expensive, mostly don't need to be repeated -- or need to be repeated only occasionally. I am going to buy him a Christmas stocking soon.
Maintenance costs:
20/month -- Food. He is a small dog and doesn't need much, but we have discovered that he needs to eat a premium food. The second bag of food we bought him was real rot-gut, cheap-o stuff and . . . well, let's just say we were cleaning the carpet pretty frequently. NOT worth the savings. He has something of a delicate stomach, so we're sticking with this food. We are making homemade treats but have also bought some on sale.
250-300/year -- Medical needs
14/every 2 months for nail trimming. I'm a little afraid of hurting him.
50/weekend -- Occasional boarding. We've had him six moths, and he's been boarded only once. Since then a work friend and I have agreed to "trade" boarding our small dogs with each other. We need to get the dogs together and be sure this is going to work, but I think it's going to end up with FREE boarding for us both.
So the cost of keeping him is going to be around $500-600/year. He is totally worth it.
If our old dog is any indication, she didn't start "costing big" until her last year of life. At that point she started having some medical problems, and we put her on seizure meds. Still, what we spent on her wasn't thousands.
My thoughts on keeping costs down:
- You can't beat shelter dogs. The price was more than fair.
- Choose a small dog. They eat less, their medicine costs less, everything costs less for them.
- Choose a dog that doesn't require grooming. For example, a poodle or a westie, who needs regular trimming, is going to end up costing you more (either in terms of money or in time) than, say, a short-coated Dachshund or Jack Russell.