According to an article recently published in The Sun.. DOGS ARE REALLY EXPENSIVE!
When I was growing up there was always a family dog: my duties included the occasional feeding and regular walking. It’s a stress to look after such a dependant animal when you’re a little ‘un and as much as I loved the dog and walking it, it was a heavy weight to know I had a daily duty to the thing. Never had it crossed my mind that my parents (the grown adults that caved to my demands for a dog in the first place) had to consider health care, diet, boredom factors and so on, let alone the sheer amount of damage it was doing to their current accounts.
The infant way of translating the situation is that there can’t be much to spend money on. The young adult equivalent is remembering the times you ignored as an infant and vaguely remembering that “dogs cost money”. It appears that the mature approach is one of actual number crunching and the realisation that dogs can regularly cost as much as the running of a car. The whippet is the most expensive dog in terms of upkeep looking at “an average of £4,631.90 a year”. I’ve never spent that much money on a car.
Food, vet bills, grooming, kennels, insurance, accessories and gifts mean whippet-owners fork out a total of £66,236.17 caring for their pooch.
The study found that the gentle dogs — which only grow to a height of 20 inches tall and weigh a maximum of 30lbs — eat £996.67 worth of food every year.
Their vet bills come to £662.38, grooming costs £547.14 annually and when going on holiday owners spend a further £190.48 on kennels.
Dog lovers also spend £891.90 for insurance for the breed, and another £498.57 is spent yearly on accessories.
So why is it that we keep on going back to them? What is it about our little poochy poos that we need around so much? Is it because they’re the ones that’ll pick up the pieces if there’s no one around to hug? Is it because they’ll pick up the pieces if the pieces are food-based? Because they get the paper and bark at strangers? There are clear benefits to owning a dog. Whippet’s might be expensive but you could get one for a hell of a lot cheaper, right?
Right.. if you’re willing to put up with the occasional barking late at night, a few freak accidents (especially when they’re little), no tennis ball left untouched, food going missing once in a while, the paper getting to you in several sections (far from the sections intended by the publisher), whining for food, or a wee, or a walk, or for the sake of whining.. etc etc.
The point that I’m trying to make is that a dog will only be right for you if a dog is right for you. Yes they can be a pain in the arse a lot of the time, and cost you an arm and a leg, but they are instant companions that won’t judge you. It’s important to realise just how much they love you. It’s easy to see first thing in the morning or right after work when they’re desperate to say hello, but as the evening draws on it’s easy to let Mr Pooch slip your mind, and it’s all the little stupid things that you’ll miss the most. For instance:
The bottom line? This is why there is a cat/dog debate. If dogs were a little cheaper and required a little less maintenance then everyone would have one. As it stands you’ve got the opportunity to pick one or the other.
If you’re a dog person then you’ll spend all day teaching the smallest cutest thing you’ve ever owned how to roll around on the floor as though it’s having a mild seizure, and the vets bill won’t mean a thing.”Honey, think of it as another one of my fantastic financial investments. He may cost a lot, buhe’ll practically pay for himself! And look how cute!”
If you’re not then you’re going to hate every chore they create, and you’ll be another statistic in the great book of animal shelters. DON’T BOTHER!
Source.
