Yipe! How much IS that puppy in the window?

Wrapping up the 2014 financial debacle, my English-major math revealed that this disastrous year racked up $9,723 in unplanned and "extraordinary" expenditures. Part of that was...hang onto your hat...TWO THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX DOLLARS for Ruby the Corgi Pup. And fifty-one cents.

Holeeee mackerel! This is not my first pup, and so yes, I do know that puppies are expensive. But is this ridiculous or not?

Part of it piled up when she got a series of urinary tract infections. The vet bills and the special food: not cheap. And I paid out $800 in January to the breeder, when I picked her up and brought her home. The purchase price was planned. The rest of it: not so much.

How much do you figure to pay out in the first year of a new puppy's life?

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Comment by Jane on January 22, 2015 at 11:47am

From the FAQ:

http://mycorgi.com/profiles/blogs/actual-costs-of-a-puppy

I think $2k is around average for the first year.

Comment by Vicky Hay on January 20, 2015 at 1:13pm

Wow! I don't feel so peevish about a mere $2700 now!!!

Amazingly, Cassie has cost almost nothing in all these years since I broke her out of the dog pound. Her health is AMAZING. So of course even though I realize puppies always present a series of expenses (vaccinations, spaying, supplies, extra food, fixes for the various mischief they get into), I was a little shocked at the UTI escapade. She's just a baby and she's already got a chronic condition? Eeek!

She seems to have thrown it off, though. Even though I've had to put her on a commercial food -- one that, we learn after I've bought a ton of it, contains excessive amounts of calcium & phosphorus -- so far she hasn't been revisited by any urinary problems. Hope that holds true until I'm feeling healed enough to bang around the kitchen making their usual chow.

Comment by Elisabeth Spector on January 20, 2015 at 12:43pm

2013 was quite a year for our corgi expenses:  $4500 for Betsy's surgery and vet bills after her intestinal blockage from swallowing an avocado pit 6 weeks earlier, followed only 6 months later by Fred's $5000 surgery and vet bills for a ruptured disc that left him paralyzed.  (And 1 week before Fred's surgery, we had our adopted stray kitty spayed, but that was only $75 at the low-cost clinic, thank goodness!)  We're thrilled that we haven't had any unexpected vet bills in the last 12 months, knock on wood.  And we also have to be thankful that (a) they are both the picture of health now; (b) corgis need to eat such small rations that even feeding them Wellness costs only a few dollars a week; (b) we spend no money on toys (Betsy doesn't care for them and Fred, who LOVES his toys, has such a soft mouth that all of the squeakers in his large pile of toys still work after 3-4 years of daily attention).  And of course all the animals pay us back daily with their companionship and funny antics.  Paying for the surgeries was a no-brainer, but still something I hope we never have to repeat.  BTW, both Betsy and Fred were adopted from shelters, so that was a big up-front cost avoided (and no puppy-rearing expenses!).

Here's hoping that your sweet $2700 Ruby doesn't add much to the tally this year!   

Comment by Jane Christensen on January 20, 2015 at 10:20am

I had 3 dogs teeth done and each one was at least $100 more than the basic rate due to tooth extractions(Teddy had 16 pulled). Plus 2 of my breeding females spayed...that and then shots for all the dogs/cats...Wynn was on $3 a day bladder stone food for a month and now is on a special dry food. TOTW is my food for the rest...this year should be much better. I hope!!! My vets are farm vets and don't charge like city vets do. They actually now have a farm cat rate...for those cats that find me....I don't want any unfixed animals at my place.

Comment by Beth on January 20, 2015 at 8:50am
No, that's 7 rounds of C Perfringens. 5 for Maddie, two for Jack. Ugh.
Comment by Beth on January 20, 2015 at 8:35am
Between two dogs, this past year I've dealt with 5 rounds of C Perfringens (antibiotics, stool samples, probiotics), pink-eye (drops), x-rays for arthritis, seizure meds and ongoing bloodwork for that. Last year we had all the diagnostics for seizures. The year before that it was a late-night trip (on a work night, of course) to the emergency vet when the cat scratched Jack's cornea. We too don't do the math, but I've switched the cat off Wellness and Blue to mostly Sheba to try to get the bills under control.....
Comment by Jane Christensen on January 19, 2015 at 9:40pm

Linda...you are very lucky...since I pay all the vet bills except for 2 cats...I just don't tell him and then if you add toys and good food....better just not discuss. The "if they don't ask...don't tell" works for me:)

Comment by Linda on January 19, 2015 at 7:36pm

My husband knows what it costs to keep our critters healthy and happy.  I have never in 35 years of marriage heard him complain.  When I was asked why I wanted to marry him I said because he loves kids and animals and they love him.  Still stands true to this day.

Comment by Jane Christensen on January 19, 2015 at 6:59pm
Haha Jennifer... same here!!!!!
Comment by Jennifer Markley on January 19, 2015 at 6:03pm

I have a rule in my house.  We never, ever tally up the expenses on all of our animals.  If we did, we'd be divorced.

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