So the last blog was an introduction to my personal pets. My 4 legged family members. This time I wanted to share about the financial cost of owning pets. It has gotten VERY expensive to own even one pet and I want to make sure that you are prepared for what may lie ahead in owning a pet. I belonged (past tense, had to unjoin) to the group on Facebook called Pet Vet Corner. Only veterinarians are allowed to respond to posts and questions. It is an invaluable tool and I knew I could learn a lot and maybe even help my client’s with their pets or at the very least recognize what is going on with a pet. What I mostly saw on this group were people asking questions and then following it up with that they had no funds to take their pet to the vet or the emergency vet. I felt for these people that had emergencies with their pets and could not do anything for their pet because of the lack of money. I have certainly been there before with past pets. I can tell you that what really got to me though were the people that got puppies and had no money to take them to a regular vet for their initial check up and shots. A lot, and I mean a lot, of people posted on the Facebook group symptoms that their puppy was having and it sounded like, and the vets said, it was parvo and inevitably the person said that the puppy had not had their parvo shot because they had no money to take the dog to the vet. Now just like I understand that we all don’t have the money for emergencies, I also understand that puppies or dogs or cats or other animals can sometimes just show up in our lives. Maybe we found a stray tiny kitten or puppy in our backyard looking all hungry or maybe even hurt. And instantly we fall in love and want to keep the animal. I SOOOOO get it!! But if we don’t have the funds to properly take care of the pet, then we should do the right thing and find the pet a great home. Parvo is a very painful and slow death. It is horrible. I would rather give up a pet that I have already fallen in love with if I know I cannot get the appropriate shots.
And of course I have just talked about the cost of vet care so far with owning a pet. All of the shots that are required for the new pet. Spaying or neutering your pet. But then you have to add the food, the bowls for feeding, the crate, and the toys. And adding on we have the training which has gotten very expensive. The grooming if needed which has gotten very expensive. And then what I do which is the petsitting. You will have to take into consideration what you will do with your pet if and when you go out of town. Will you board your dog? Will you have someone come into your home to look after your pets? Can you get the teenager next door to take care of your 4 legged family member to save money? Sure. Will they be reliable and trustworthy? Well that is a little scary. I have heard way too many stories of people needing last minute petcare because their teenage neighbor bailed on them or backed out last minute. That is why I will ALWAYS recommend a professional petsitter like myself.
So below is what I have had to do for my pets in the last couple of years. It is outrageous and you just never know what can or will come up with your pets.
Iddy, my 10 year old cat:
When he was around 7 years old, he got a blocked urethra. It is very common in male cats under 2, so it was unusual for my Iddy to be blocked but nonetheless he was so I had to rush him to the emergency vet. He is on prescription food very expensive and loves to eat and has not had any problems since being on the special diet. $4000 for that emergency visit.
Oliver, my 10 year old cat:
At about age 6 almost 7, Oliver was diagnosed with diabetes. At age 7, after Iddy’s mishap, he went into a diabetic crisis and had to be rushed to the emergency vet. It has to do with the pancreas not being able to process the insulin and so the vet and I had to monitor his insulin very closely for the first 6 months after he got out of the emergency vet to see what worked for him and his pancreas in terms of managing his diabetes. It turns out 6 units of insulin 2 times a day is the magic number and is what he is still on today. That is a lot of insulin! And then of course he is on special prescription food. While he was at the emergency vet the doctor told me that this WILL happen again. I think he was giving me an out because it was very expensive to save Oliver’s life. It has been almost 3 years and Oliver has certainly proven the doctor wrong. My Oliver is so healthy! $7200 for that emergency visit.
Hawkeye, my 13 year old dog:
The first year that I got Hawkeye he tore his ACL running. Not as expensive as Iddy and Oliver though. $2400 for surgery.
Molly, my 5ish year old dog:
At the beginning of the summer of 2022, Molly had “bad” bloodwork and had to be seen by an oncologist. We went to Triangle Referral Specialty Hospital in Durham which is awesome so shout out to them. She had an over 5 cm tumor on her left lung. She had major surgery to remove the tumor, had 4 chemo sessions at the vet, is on at home pill chemo and will be for the next 2 years, and has had numerous bloodwork done in between every chemo so about every 6 weeks or so. So after it is all said and done, she will cost more than the first 3 of my four legged children combined. Thank goodness for a couple of credit cards which I will be paying off for years to come but it has been worth every penny. She is still so young and just full of energy. To date: $11,000.
Beckham, my 7 year old dog:
Beckham had been throwing up almost on a daily basis with the previous owners and had digestive issues ever since they got him at 3 months old. According to his vet records they did not even bring it up as a concern. I had him for about a week and I looked his symptoms up and immediately determined that he had IBD (irritable bowel disease). So unfortunately he had to suffer and be in discomfort or even pain for the first 6 years of his life. Not sure why the previous owners did not address it. Maybe worried about the treatment being expensive?? Not sure. But the vet confirmed my suspicions and said that he had IBD. He was put on a special digestive precription food and has had no problems since being put on the food. He does like to eat and drink everything in sight so when we go on an off leash hike sometimes 24 hours later he will throw up and it is always a clump of grass. But that is rare. I have decided to purchase a muzzle for him to wear so he can still be off leash and splash around in the water without eating and drinking everything in sight. But so far (knock on wood) he has not needed anything major like the other 4. But his food is mega expensive at $110 for a 27lb. bag. Ouch!
So 3 out of my 5 pets as described above are on special food because of their special needs. Around spring 2022, all 3 of my dogs had diarrhea and were throwing up. The vet insisted that they did not have a virus and give it to each other. The vet said that they all must have gotten into something. After that craziness, and because Hawkeye and Molly seemed to be so picky about their food, the vet recommended that I just feed all 3 the Hills Prescription Diet digestive care I/D food that Beckham already eats. So all 5 of my pets are on special food.
All 3 of my dogs require grooming. Grooming plus tip: $330 every 6 weeks.
And finally, because I am determined to do the best job I can at being a parent to my pets, I have them all on the wellness plan at Banfield. I love the wellness plan and I love Banfield!! Each month the plans for all 5 of my pets equals about $200. It is a lot of money but it gives me such great peace of mind and I get a discount on medication which helps. I get Oliver’s insulin at a discount and I get Hawkeye and Molly’s Apoquel at a discount which as a lot of you probably know, is already expensive.
Some of you reading this may be thinking, “wow she must be very rich”. Not even at all. I did lose my dad in 2020 and that helped with the cats. Like I said above, credit cards are paying for Molly. And literally everything I make each month all goes to my pets. I work for them! Luckily I do not have a lot of other bills at this time too which helps.
So whew! As great as it is to have a pet and I would not trade my family for anything, they can be very expensive and a lot of time and money is needed for a pet, especially a puppy. Not just for vet care but for all of the tools and toys and grooming and training and petsitting and/or dogwalking. So I hope this helps to put things in perspective for what a pet costs these days for those that are thinking about getting a pet.