Pooches will mean more paws in your piggy bank
A dog is a lifetime commitment with ongoing expenses
While they don’t exactly work their tails off, Brooke Manning’s dogs help earn their keep as furry ambassadors for her Roncesvalles Ave. shop.
Five-year-old Jane welcomes visitors with her characteristic restraint while protégé Joey is more outgoing in his seven-month-old, puppyish kind of way. They’re so pawsitively appealing they draw people into Likely General, Manning’s one-stop retail store, gallery and event space where she promotes the work of up-and-coming artists and designers.
The older dog also “makes me feel really safe at night when I close up,” the proprietor says.
Manning’s constant canine compan- ions don’t come cheap.
Their raw food diet, which she says keeps them healthy, costs $200 a month.
Their adoption fees from dog rescues were $250 for Jane, a husky-shepherd hybrid, and $600 for Joey, a beagle-lab mix.
Extra expenses “can just come out of the blue,” the artist, poet and musician told the Star just days before Joey suddenly fell ill and required surgery.
The emergency hospital quoted her $4,000 to $5,000, but Manning’s vet was able to find a surgeon, available to operate on a Saturday, who only charged $1,700.
Manning says she’s grateful to those two vets who “worked tirelessly” so she wouldn’t “get stuck paying three times as much” for Joey’s care and treatment.
She’s also thankful she could pay the tab from the emergency fund where she deposits $10 every week. It’s a habit triggered by the $5,000 health-care bill for her previous dog Ellie, who died of a brain tumour at age 10.
Bringing a four-legged dependant into your life can unleash a pack of demands on your piggy bank.
Even a pup of iffy ancestry commands hundreds of dollars on Kijiji while purebred golden retrievers and French bulldogs registered with the Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) start at around $1,500.
Keeping a dog costs an average of $270 to $310 a month, based on national figures tallied by the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association (OVMA).
That’s about $3,700 for a puppy’s first year, which includes $588 for spaying or neutering, $784 for food, $830 for pet insurance, $458 for obedience classes and $65 for chew toys. An adult costs an estimated $3,235 a year.
OVMA spokesperson Stacey Morrison recommends buying pet insurance to help cover unexpected accidents or illness, as well as getting regular preventive care and checkups.
“Catching problems early … can often save pet owners from significant costs later on if an issue becomes more serious,” she notes.
Julita Wiezorek, who runs Our Angels Dog Rescue in the GTA, knows firsthand that budgeting for man’s and woman’s best friend is no walk in the dog park.
“Not all families realize that owning a dog is costly in general,” she says. “That is why rescue organizations deal with many unwanted dogs.”
Her nonprofit, foster-based agency adopts them out to new homes for $400 to $550, which includes spay/neuter, vet checkups and up-to-date vaccinations.
“Not to mention a life is being saved,” Wiezorek adds.
Owning a dog is a “lifetime commitment,” says CKC spokesperson Sarah McDowell. “We do not recommend buying any dog impulsively.”
The club encourages prospective owners to research breeds and reputable breeders. CKCregistered breeders aren’t allowed to sell to pet stores and must follow guidelines for nutrition, shelter, health and sales practices, McDowell says.
Pups are vet-checked, vacci- nated and sent to their new home with health records, written sales agreement and instructions on care, training and diet, she adds.
Humane societies are another source of dogs of all types and ages. Some offer low-cost clinics for vaccinations and spay/ neuter services. The Toronto Humane Society’s website lists adoption costs of $300 for puppies under 6 months and $200 for older pooches.
Their River St. clinic will spay/ neuter dogs for $140 to $240.