[drfong]

Hi everyone, I was thinking today about my first dog when I was a child. We found him. He was thrown out of a car at our church. We took him home, gave him a bath and that was it. We feed him cheep dog food or leftover scraps and he was very happy. He lived quite awhile, I'm not sure exactly as I was young when we got him, but I don't think he ever went to the vet, just fed and walked him. Played with him and that's it. 30 years later my wife and I get 2 puppies and it would take a long time to list the expenses we have spent on them. I'm not complaining about the money and would spend more in needed, my question is that I know most people probably don't have the kind of money to spend on a pet(s) that we do. We don't have kids and our income is quite a bit more than the national average. I can't imagine how a single mom with 2-3 kids could even afford to take the dog to the vet for regular check ups, much less for getting it spay/neutered or emergancy care. So called 'quality' dog food is also very expensive not to mention the accessories that are needed. (I'm not talking about clothes, I mean crates, bedding, chew toys, etc) It's no wonder there are so many unaltered, unvaccinated pets out there. I don't really have a point, I was just thinking about this. Any thought?

[all4thedogs]

All I can say is Thank God for low cost spay and neuter clinics and vet clinics!! I know in my area, you can get your cat altered for $15, and your dog for $30 if you are low income.

I dont even want to add up what I spend on my animals a year. We dont have children, so our animals are beyond spoiled. They have all they need, and all the want.

[Curbside Prophet]

Before Elsa found me, I had a choice...either I get a dog, or I save for my future children's college education...I chose the dog. I'm kidding, but yes, tese days are certainly not like the days of old. But I had a history teacher once who said, "the only thing good about the good o'l days is that they're gone!" So, in my situation, I'm happier that Elsa can be trained, be healthy, and be balanced with my investment. Versus, the dogs we use to have that were relegated to the backyard, were garbage disposals, and saw the vet only in dire needs. Since dog care is now my responsibility, I'll pay for the peace of mind any day.

[Dog-Gone-Crazy]

Yeah, like when my Grandmother was growing up Vets where probably just about unheard of where she grew up. And even if they did have them nobody had the money to spend to get their dogs spayed or get every shot under the sun.

But I'll be the first to admit . I do all these things for my dogs. Everyone of my dogs (they are all females) are spayed, are up to date on all their shots, and get frontline put on them every month. Its definatly far from cheap!

But I think if your going to own a dog, or any kind of animal for that matter, you should be prepared to fork out all these cost! If your dog is in need of medical attention then I don't think it's fair to say, "It cost too much". Your dog depends on you. It's just like humans, when a human gets hurt or something and needs medical attention you just can't say, "It costs too much". Same goes for pets.

But over the years the way we take care of our pets has changed, a lot.

[mydogiszoe]

im 20, and growing up, my mom was a single mom. and she always found a way to feed us and the dog. i remeber taking the dog to the vet lots of times. but i know she didnt take her to the vet for every little thing either.
i would consiter myself in the starving student catigory and i have my little dog. what i do is just plan ahead. like i know zoe's shots are comming up next april and the last time it cost over $300 so im starting to save now. but if an emergency arrose i would be forced to use my credit card.

[Alpha]

My dogs are my kids! LOL. I'm too young for real kids, and I spend just as much as the average person on my dogs and some people do kids. I guess I'm sort of a yuppie in that sense when it comes to my dogs.

[Lorina]

Where I live, basic shots are around $60 a year, which works out to $5 a month. Heartworm and flea preventatives would average, depending on the size of the dog, about $15 a month. Food? I spend maybe $15 a month, but my dog is small. But if he were bigger, I could buy larger bags at a better price. So let's say food is $30 a month. That's $50 a month for basic care, which is less than it would cost to take a family of four to Pizza Hut or to the movies, less than a month of Directv costs, less than a monthly cell phone bill, etc.