Just curious, how did the first dog save you money? Less travel? Less gym membership? Less purchased entertainment?
Our first dog didn't necessarily save us more money than we spend on taking care of her, but the lifestyle changes that came with having a dog significantly offset the cost. There were so many changes, so I'll focus on the big ones:
1. We stay home more. When one of us is working the other has to come home to take care of the dog (which we enjoy), resulting in participating in a healthy activity instead of happy hour, grabbing coffee, or staying too late at work. A lot of our friends love her and would rather hang out in our home now, whereas previously it was a struggle to get people to hang out without pricey food or drinks.
2. The dog is a great excuse to dodge out of quasi-obligatory situations that are likely to result in spending money (work or family event that goes too late to use transit, for example). While there have been several times (5 or fewer) where we had to leave a place where I may have preferred to stay, there have been
many more times when taking care of the dog got us out of a place we didn't want to be anyway.
3. Fewer and different vacations. We didn't vacation for almost two years after we got her, and I didn't miss it (and I love to travel!). We didn't want to leave her before we knew she was secure, and we were discovering a lot of beautiful local places. Additionally, our idea of a dream vacation changed from an expensive beach resort to camping in a dog-friendly National Park. As cheesy as it sounds, our dog's appreciation for the simply beauty in nature is really inspiring.
4. We both found amazing determination to save when we knew it was for her well-being. We trimmed expenses we thought had previously been cut to the bare necessities and significantly increased our frugality potential in times when she was sick and needed unexpected vet care. We continued with the other cost savings, even after her health improved and her bills decreased.
5. While we didn't have a ton of free time before, with a dog who sleeps while we are at work, there's no free alone time when we are home. While we can get things done without paying complete attention to her, I am never looking for something to do. There's much lower risk of spending money on entertainment or mindlessly shopping online. I can't remember the last time since she's be around when I had the opportunity to be bored. When would I have time to spend money?
6. Material stuff became even less important. It's silly to spend money on home stuff or clothing with a dog around. While our dog isn't at all deliberately destructive, there's still a higher probability that our stuff will get thrown up on if she's sick, or that our clothes will end up with dog hair on them. We've given up any illusion that we need possessions to project who we are. Our home is wonderful because it's full of life.
7. I'm much happier (likely the result of increased physical activity as well as the companionship, so maybe this is possible to achieve without a dog). Before getting a dog, I did feel like there were things I didn't do in the interest of frugality that I still really wanted to do. After getting a dog, walking through the park or going on a hike for a family outing is much more exciting, and the best way I could possibly imagine to spend my time. I know I can stick to my current lifestyle for the long haul.