The Cost of Adding Another Dog to Your Family

  Posted on August 11, 2011  by Joy of Living  No comments

Adding another dog to your family can bring many benefits, but it can also add quite a bit of cost.  Before going forward with adding another pet, it’s a good idea to determine if you’ll have enough time to devote to both dogs.  It’s also a good idea to look at your budget to be sure you can afford to add another pet.

The American Association of Pet Product Manufacturers recently published results from a bi-annual survey of pet owners.  Following are the average costs those surveyed identified as pet expenses:

• Surgical vet visits-$407
• Routine vet visits-$248
• Food-$254
• Kennel boarding-$274
• Vitamins-$95
• Travel expenses-$78
• Groomer/grooming aids-$73
• Food treats-$70

Total-$483

Pet insurance premiums and city licensing fees were not included in the survey.  Any charges for spay/neuter were also omitted.  The ASPCA estimates the annual cost of owning a small dog is $1,314 and costs of owning a large dog is $1,580.

It’s great to have multiple pets as part of the family, but be sure the budget will support their care before bringing them home.

Source:  Your Dog, August 2011