Josh: This is Josh Tirado. And thank you for joining the Making Smart Decisions podcast. What is the true cost of pet ownership in 2021? let's dive into the dog dilemma. In some reasons studies, some data showed that the initial purchase of a dog in the United States is ranging anywhere from roughly $600 to $2,300.

[00:01:58] It's also showing that annual care and maintenance of that dog is running between $600-$2300 a year. In fact, one survey shows that 40% of Americans are spending an excess of $3,000 a year on their dog, but in reality, they're budgeting a hundred dollars or less per month towards that same expense. Now, I love dogs.

[00:02:23]I own two doodles, two Ozzy doodles, half Australian shepherd has standard poodle they're brother and sister. They're great. My kids love them. My wife and I love them. They bring a lot of joy to our family. I will say this though. They are designer doodles. They were not inexpensive to purchase.

[00:02:41]And because of allergies in my family, I had to go with a dog similar to them. So adopting a dog will be searched and cannot find anything. So we had to go down that route. So let me just preface that with, I love my dogs. Buying a dog is not cheap. Giving the dog good food, good vet care is not cheap.

[00:03:01] As a matter of fact, I have in many people do have health insurance on their dogs. And my pet insurance is now $68 a month. But if you'd look at the cost of something going wrong and incurring vet bills, those bills can be very expensive. So the pet insurance, I think is a useful hedge against that.

[00:03:22] Between Christmas and New Year of 2020 more dogs were put up for adoption and were abandoned or turned into the shelter than any other time during the year. And that's true year over year, I think 2020, was worse because of the pandemic.

[00:03:38] People are out of work. People cannot afford their animals. People's living situations are changing and they cannot afford it or are unable to take their dog with them. And they're putting their dog up for adoption or trying to give it away. But also when you look at that initial cost, if you're paying a couple hundred, a couple of thousand dollars to buy the dog and that same amount of money every year to maintain a healthy lifestyle for your dog, as well as the time commitment to having the animal in your life or multiple animals.

[00:04:06] I think a lot of people quickly realize how expensive and what a commitment it is. And it is a true commitment. I just want to say, this is almost a cautionary tale, and I feel very badly that a number of people got dogs over the summer when it was cute and to get them in your outside and the puppy stage, and you come into the winter and suddenly the dogs inside a lot more.

[00:04:25] And the dog is now at that age where they can tend to start chewing and be destructive. And a lot of people want to get rid of the dog. So for some, it's a cost issue for some, it's a personality issue. I just want to caution people going to 2021, and beyond to please seriously consider your family situation.

[00:04:45] If you can have a dog if you should have a dog, and then also what breed and what is the right setup for the dog. Now, this can be applied to cats and other animals as well, but generally speaking. The dog is the more expensive of the common household pets, but please take a serious look at it, make sure it's a smart decision and a long-term decision that you can go with.

[00:05:08] I know the animals bring a lot of love and joy to people, but if you can't keep your animal that love and joy are going to go, and isn't worth it because then you're going to be heartbroken and so will the animal. So let's make smart decisions looking forward when we are picking out a household pet and a new best friend.