We love Vincent. He's spectacularly cute and a seriously skilled cuddler. But Vincent's not without his issues. In recognition of his anniversary with us and just because I thought it would be fun, here’s the skinny on how much Vincent’s cost me in his first year with me.
Are you ready?
Food
Since my dogs eat what I do except for a bowl of Solid Gold once a day, my food costs aren’t exorbitant. And they’re small 20-pounders, which helps enormously. Moreover, I cook pretty frugally, eating everything I buy and sourcing much of my food from a local cooperative. Occasionally, I’ll by some extra chicken hearts or beef tongue for them, but that’s pretty cheap. Total monthly cost? About $50, I’d guess. Add some supplements and add maybe another $10 a month.
That’s $720 for the year.
Medical expenses
1-Demodectic mange (about $100 in medications)
2-Neuter and soft palate resection (drug and supply cost at the surgeon’s, about $300)
3-Reconcile daily ($30 a month for four months so far, $120)
4-Chronic ear infection (about $50 in meds)
5-Allergy testing (a biggie, at $250)
6-X-rays and treatment after he ate my son's retainer ($100)
7-Flea, tick and parasite meds? Free thanks to my drug reps.
That’s $920 for the year for this vet. For you? Multiply times four and that’s roughly just about right: $3,680.
Things chewed
Just a couple of days ago, I confessed that I used to live a tad beyond my means. It all caught up with me in a bad way about three or four years ago. Luckily, all the shoes and fancy glasses and clothes I accumulated during this time mean I really don’t have to shop—at all—as long as I don’t gain any weight, that is. But Vincent’s starting to tax even MY wardrobe. Here’s a list:
1-Chanel sunglasses ($400)
2-Four other miscellaneous pairs of prescription glasses ($300 each for $1,200)
3-About five pairs of shoes which he’s assailed by gnawing the heels to the point of no return (OK, so I always buy at DSW so they’re discounted but even at $100 a pop that’s $500)
4-The repairs to the not so thoroughly consumed shoes? Add another $60.
5-My son's retainer? $125.
6-Miscellaneous household items, children’s toys and books? Make that another $200 or thereabouts over the past year.
That’s $2,485.
Miscellaneous expenses
A crate, T-shirts and sweaters, chewy toys and leashes, collars, shampoos and other baubles?
About $300. (He’s not as hard on his own things as he is on mine.)
Grand Total
$7,185 for one "free" dog (don't you love when people say that?)
$2,360 of it in things I really didn’t need.
One beloved Frenchie?
Priceless.
(Feel free to submit your own costs below, I needn't be the only one exposing my pet's foibles and its financial toll.)
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- $60-70/m in food & treats
- $20/m supplements
- $40 new bedding (for her)
- $300 new bedding (for me, darn her chewing)
- $100 new pillows
- $300 toys (I'm a sucker, I know)
- $10 ipod shuffle recharger dock (luckily, got it off ebay)
- $30 new headset
- $30-40 in stuffed toys and such (didn't REALLY need them, but still, they're gone now)
- $120 hiking boots (I may still just repair them rather than replacing them outright)
- $500 misc vet bills. Worst thing we've had was an eye infection, so we've been lucky so far.
- $200 new crate
Yeah, my free dog wasn't so free either. But worth every penny. :)
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$60- food
$30- treats for his friends (he won't touch them)
$585- bronchitis X 4 bouts this year
$300- dog bite three sutures (he bit his cousin, and the doodle got him back)
$225-PE
$175- flea, and tick
$120- nails clipped
$30- hair clippers(I refuse to pay $65 per grooming)
$75- trainer (he missed a dog, and bit the owner.. Wanted to keep piece in the co-op)
$1580.. I would do it again in a heartbeat.. He earns his keep, and above.. He's dropped off at my parents, and he's their companion for the days, and he's a ray of sunshine to the elderly neighbors in their development.. I find it amazing that since he was a puppy, he had the sense that the elderly have limits, and he responds in kind..
Barri, and Socrates
Now I have 2 more.
Thye d#!@ well better live up to that priceless commercial, or else I might just love them a tiny bit less.
:c)
There is an even more unique bond with a companion animal that has "special needs" and the time shared with them in your life has no measure, but a place in your heart and a memory never forgotten.
Prayers to ease your sadness and much peace, Barbara , New Hampshire
The great advantage to carrot is that it doesn't rot in your pocket -- it just dries and gets rubbery, which still makes it a great puppy chew.
Now that she's an adult, she only chews on her stuff, not ours. We can actually leave our shoes around the house and they are safe. For some reason, she somtimes takes used socks out of the hamper and leaves them around the house, but they aren't chewed.
Carrots -- good for your wallet, as well as your eyes! ;-D
Sorry about your glasses, Dr. Khuly! My son broke my wife's favorite pair for a similar price. But seeing him carrying their shards to her with tears in his eyes before Mom or Dad could say anything in reproachment? Priceless.
by the way, I linked to you this week...
http://mainepets.mainetoday.com/blogentry.html?id=...
And that's not even taking into account water glasses knocked into computers, books destroyed, remotes taken apart, clothing hoarded--one of my ferrets would even take actual paper money when she could get her teeth on it ;-)
$135 puppy vacs and microchip
$205 neuter
$65 vet visit and meds for kennel cough
$152 vacine/heart worm test/ vet visit
$45 nail clippings/supplies
$50 grooming suppiles
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$652 for vet and grooming
$100 raw food
$200 Innova kibble
$350 dog treats and chewies
$30 food bowls
$100
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$780 for food, treats and toys
$90 puppy class
$100 basic obediance
$90 CGC class
$10 CGC test
$10 CGC certificate and patches
$76 service dog vest and patches
$65 leashes and collars
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
$441 for training and supplies
$70 Three pairs of flats
$25 stuffed animals
$10 various boxes of paper goods
$15 stolen foodstuff (chocolate covered pretzels, crackers, cereal)
$50 for the stuff he has chewed but I cant remember right off the bat
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
$170 destroyed stuff
Total : $2063 give or take a hundred bucks
However, I could be blinded by love! This is after spending at least $2k on a custom room just for them, the little buggers.
My dogs... oh, my dogs. I try not to tally up yearly expenses for them because no matter how much you love your beasties, seeing it on paper can be discouraging and depressing, lol. The local specialty pet food store actually gave me a free collar a month or so ago because I am such a big and loyal customer, blowing through about 40 pounds of Canidae per month.
Dr. Patty, have you had any trouble with Solid Gold? Maybe it was just their Wolf King/Wolf Cub formulas that underwent the ingredient change but my pups had upset tummies on it and we had to switch over to Canidae and have never been happier.
P.S. Vincent is such a cutie!
$250 Adoption fee from rescue
$1,200 Demodex mange treatments: $200 per treatment... 2x/month for three months
$100 Equiment during mange treatments (Elizabethan collar, anti-itch creams & lotions, bitter apple, bitter lime, bitter apple with cayenne... we kept trying but nothing worked. She licked all the bitter apple products like they were made from liver paste)
$150 Flea/tick/heartworm meds
$300 Vet visits (general checkup, vaccinations)
$100 Food (mostly high-end kibble)
$200 Emergency vet visit for leg injury (thankfully all she needed were anti-inflammatory meds for a week, not ACL surgery!)
$100 Treats/toys
$150 Rawhides and other "natural" chew items (moo tubes, hoofs, pizzle stix, marrow bones) and worth EVERY penny... she learned to chew only these, and never chewed anything else... no shoes, furniture, no clothes!
$100 Basic & Advanced Obedience classes (basic was free through the rescue org - otherwise it would have been $200)
$500 Equipment (collars, leashes, bed, car harness, car seat cover, crate): rough estimate
$50 Baby gates (which did NO good whatsoever, since she hopped over them as if it were a joke)
$300 boarding
First year costs: $3,500... and I'm sure I left out a lot
BUT... she was (and is) worth every penny we paid during her first year (and since).
My spectacularly-fit, super-healthy, and youthful-acting&looking 9-year-old Great Dane is a fantastic eater. And because she refuses to gain a pound, my mission, since adopting her (emaciated) eight years ago, is to get as many calories into her as possible. With the help of my veterinarian (who has been a close friend since we were in 8th grade together), I’ve tried a number of strategies to get my dog to gain weight. In the end, what works best is just getting as many calories into her as possible, every day.
Here's my pooch's astonishing, daily, food intake:
6am: 1 can of n/d (neoplasia diet, high in fat and protein) + as much dry food as she'll eat afterwards
Mid-morning: 1 can (another brand) + as much dry food as she'll eat afterwards
Early afternoon: 1 can (another brand) + as much dry food as she'll eat afterwards
Late afternoon/early evening: 1 can (another brand) + as much dry food as she'll eat afterwards
Bed time snack: 1 can (another brand) + as much dry food as she'll eat afterwards
*If I'm on a roll, I've been able to sneak-in up to two extra meals in the day. Wahoo!
What does that translate into, in terms of costs?
n/d = $5 per can
j/d + $3.33 per can
Instinct = $3.12 per can
Canidae = $2.08 per can
Canidae = $70 per large bag/month (at least)
$5 (n/d) + $3.33 (j/d) + $3.12 (Instinct) + 2x$2.08 (Canidae) = $15.61 per day
Now multiply that by 365 days per year = $5,697.65. One year of dry food is (easily) 12x$70 = $840.
That makes a GRAND TOTAL of $6537.65, or about $545/month, just on food, alone.
I also spend an undogly amount on some high-calorie treats, too. ($2.99 each) Plus regular treats, etc., etc. Thank goodness there have been no ingested foreign bodies, broken limbs, chronic diseases, or serious illnesses. We know, in all, we spend at least $10,000 a year for this dog.