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Why there is no such thing as a free puppy
Puppy Finder gets a lot of inquiries about free puppies. This really does worry me because if you can’t afford to buy a puppy in the first place then should you be able to afford to keep a puppy?
I don’t want to come across as saying on rich people should be the only people allowed to have pets, but I want to stress that owning a pet is not something that will be light on the pocket. Food, vet bills, toys, obedience classes, vaccinations, grooming…it all adds up. Not to mention if you dog is a little destruct o no doubt you will be replacing shoes as well.
After volunteering with the RSPCA I have noticed these kinds of people who come in and get angry at the price of the dogs for adoption. They don’t consider the fact that not only is the money going to a good cause, but the dog has been micro-chipped, desexed, vaccinated, behaviour assessed, health checked and comes with a free bag of Hills Science Diet! All they think is the dog should be free, whinge and mutter under their breath and say they are going to buy one with papers from a pet shop (I don’t think any dogs in pet shops have papers and they certainly are not micro-chipped, vaccinated, or desexed).
So I dug out the little folder that holds everything for my dog, and here it is – how much I have paid in expenses over 12 month of owning a puppy:-
- Puppy Health Check $60.10
- 2nd Vaccination $107.50
- Final Vaccination $69.50
- Desexing & Micro-chipping $384.70
- BCC Dog Registration $29.50
- Bag of Puppy Food & Training treats $100
- Toys/Bedding/bowls/collars/leads and a crate $250
- Puppy Preschool $50
So on top of the dollars I paid to the breeder – in the first 6 months of her life I spent over $1000!
We also had some incidents which needed some vet attention:-
- Naughty Beagle goes to Hospital for eating something she shouldn’t have $54.50
- Picked up Kennel Cough at the Dog Park – cough medicine $18.95
- Picked up Conjunctivitis from Dog park – eye medicine $29.15
plus
- Naughty Beagle destroys compost bin $80
- Naughty Beagle eats 2 x pairs of shoes $200
So incidents aside, lets work out how much it costs to keep her on a daily basis, without any luxuries:-
- BCC Dog Registration = 8 cents per day
- Booster Vaccination & Heartworm Injection = 50 cents per day
- Advocate Flea & Worming Treatment $15 per month = 50 cents per day
- Hills Science Diet Food = $1.50 a day (note she is only a small dog so you may double or triple this for bigger breeds!)
So all up the cost of having a low maintenance dog is $2.58 per day, $18 per week, $72 a month, $864 a year for the absolute essentials. Maybe if cost is a problem then think about getting a fully grown dog that has already been desexed and fully vaccinated. I hope that gives you a good idea of how much it would cost to keep a small to mid sized dog.
A new thing available is pet insurance. My incidents were quite small in comparison to what can really happen. A bit of kennel cough and conjunctivitis isn’t so bad when dogs can get cancer, tumors or need hip replacements. To take out a policy you are looking from $25 to $60 a month, which can cover accidental injury, illness cover, Routine care cover.
If you are interested in Pet Insurance here are some links:
So at the end of the day, when looking for a free puppy, remember there really is no such thing, and be prepared for the ongoing costs.