{"id":130212,"date":"2012-04-17T05:00:04","date_gmt":"2012-04-17T12:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/getrichslowly.org\/blog\/?p=130212"},"modified":"2019-11-19T23:24:35","modified_gmt":"2019-11-20T07:24:35","slug":"the-costs-and-benefits-of-the-family-dog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.getrichslowly.org\/the-costs-and-benefits-of-the-family-dog\/","title":{"rendered":"The costs and benefits of the family dog"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is an article by Justin Reames, who blogs at The Family Finances<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Growing up, I remember watching shows like “Lassie” and movies like “Old Yeller” and “Where the Red Fern Grows”. These were old movies when I<\/em> was a kid, but they were free to rent from the library, so we watched more than our fair share of old movies.<\/p>\n

Because of those shows, I always thought it would have been nice to have a dog. The closest thing we had to a family pet was a turtle that my grandfather and I caught on a fishing trip. I had to keep it outside in a small tub, and after a week or two he ended up missing. Fast forward to adulthood. After buying our house in the fall of 2008, we soon decided to get a dog.<\/p>\n

After researching different breeds online, we decided to adopt a retired racing greyhound. He’s been a great dog, and we have no regrets about getting him. He’s well-trained and gets along great with our baby boy. The adoption fee was something like $250, and that included neutering, three months of heart-worm pills, a leash, and a collar. I thought this was very reasonable. We knew there would be some upfront costs, such as a bed, crate, and some toys. And we knew he would need food and vet checkups.<\/p>\n

I “knew” that we would have all these expenses. But we were so excited about getting a dog and didn’t really think too much about the long-term costs. I think a lot of people tend to follow that same thought process about getting a pet. It seems like a really good idea, and the upfront costs aren’t too bad. But for a lot people the recurring costs of pet ownership<\/a> are enough to stretch their monthly budget over the limit of what they can really afford.<\/p>\n

<\/span>The True Costs<\/span><\/h2>\n

I just reviewed the final figures for our 2011 expenses (I’m an accountant; I just can’t help myself), and the line item for pets is pretty steep indeed. We spent just over $1,300 on our dog, or around $110 a month. Here is the breakdown:<\/p>\n