Thread: Things to Buy
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Old 03-28-2011, 03:46 AM   #5
FlDebra
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I found you a comprehensive list of the annual costs for owning a dog. I could not get the chart to print correctly here so here's the link: The Cost of Owning a Dog It is much more detailed than the one on about.com and other places I have seen and will show you where the totals come from.
The first year totals are listed as:
Low cost: $511 My Cost: $1977 and High Cost $6600

with subsequent annual totals as:
Low cost: $287 My Cost: $807 and High Cost: $2485

With an average life-span 14 year grand total of:
Low cost: $4,242 My Cost: $12,468 and High Cost: $38,905

"These totals are pretty shocking aren't they? And remember, this is the cost for a 50-pound dog that lives in the Midwest. It is not uncommon to see some of these numbers double or triple in places like New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Dallas. Now granted most people do not end up spending $40,000 on their dog, but some spend a whole lot more. A dog with hip dysplasia or severe allergies can have significantly higher veterinary expenses and I routinely see people who spend over $2,000 on a single veterinary problem. Chances are your costs will be similar to those I incur, but even with the minimum required care, it is still over $13,000.00."

You might think the cost would be significantly lower for our Yorkies than this hypothetical 50-pound dog, but I doubt it. Yorkies are notriously high-maintenance as I mentioned in my previous post. Grooming costs are higher than average and we tend to buy them more of the "optional" items because.....well because they are so darned cute! They also have higher than average vet expenses as they are so fragile and prone to some costly genetic issues. I think this author's annual totals are pretty realistic. Some things are significantly higher for me. For instance I buy a premium dog food for all of mine. It costs me about $600 a year just in kibble. I think I run over his totals & pretty close to the High Cost numbers per dog and I have 3 of them!
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Last edited by FlDebra; 03-28-2011 at 03:50 AM.
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