since this is a diamond forum, guess i can ask this Q...

[Dancing Fire]

without sounding so rude.

how much did you paid for your pets? are dogs and cats very expensive?

 

[Circe]

I''m a big believer in no-kill shelters - there are so many "unwanted" animals out there. So adopting my cat only cost me $60 bucks.

That said, she''s cost me $500 or so in vet bills so far this year - she managed to sneak into the washing machine when I ran to get some towels from upstairs, squashed herself invisibly behind a blanket, and *stayed quiet* for 20 minutes until the spin cycle, and came out without a scratch on her (which I still wanted verified by a professional). Worth every penny - pets are family.

 

[hawaiianorangetree]

I have two burmese cats, both bought from breeders. Tinka was $280 about 5 years ago and Jet was $200. I ended up going back to the breeder and buying the last kitty that was left for my mum, the breeder was happy that he was going to a good home so she let us have him for $100.

We have had family cats from shelters before but i just prefer the personality of the burmese, they are like a cat x dog x monkey. I have never had that with a domestic.

 

[FrekeChild]

My dog (Judge) that passed in February was a purebred PITA, and cost my parents $700--in 1993 or so. (Worth every penny and then some, if you ask me.)

Brie (Shepherd/Chow mix) cost $50 because she was from the pound. She has since cost around $1,000 in vets bills due to the parasites and ticks she had when she was in the pound, as well as her general "I-like-to-bash-around-and-try-to-hurt-myself-as-much-as-possible" attitude, resulting in infected/scratched eyes, a puncture wound, and digesting rat poison. As well as general physical exams and tests. Obedience class has been another $400.

Nicky (Beagle/Basenji Mix) came to us from prison (no joke) and cost $150 in adoption fees. Luckily he came to us almost fully trained, AND he''s a bit of a weenie, so he has only cost around $200 for further obedience training, and maybe $150 for a general physical and tests.

This, of course, isn''t including food/toys/regular medications.

 

[choro72]

Date: 6/21/2009 3:12:42 AM
Author: Circe
I''m a big believer in no-kill shelters - there are so many ''unwanted'' animals out there. So adopting my cat only cost me $60 bucks.

That said, she''s cost me $500 or so in vet bills so far this year - she managed to sneak into the washing machine when I ran to get some towels from upstairs, squashed herself invisibly behind a blanket, and *stayed quiet* for 20 minutes until the spin cycle, and came out without a scratch on her (which I still wanted verified by a professional). Worth every penny - pets are family.

Wow, they really DO have 9 lives

Since she survived, that''s the funniest cat story I''ve heard

 

[lovegem]

Date: 6/21/2009 3:12:42 AM
Author: Circe
I''m a big believer in no-kill shelters - there are so many ''unwanted'' animals out there. So adopting my cat only cost me $60 bucks.


That said, she''s cost me $500 or so in vet bills so far this year - she managed to sneak into the washing machine when I ran to get some towels from upstairs, squashed herself invisibly behind a blanket, and *stayed quiet* for 20 minutes until the spin cycle, and came out without a scratch on her (which I still wanted verified by a professional). Worth every penny - pets are family.

that''s scary. Do you have a front load washer or upright washer? Our front load can''t be opened unless the cycle ends. The spin is extremely high speed. If our pet gets inside, we would have to break open the washer.

 

[sba771]

If I were to do it again I would have gone about the process VERY differently and adopted and since getting my dog I have become active in supporting adoption and proper breeders and educating people about this sort of thing. My dog was a gift from my FI and cost $900. He is a pure bred miniature pinscher and he was overpriced but I went to a breeder in NY so that does tend to cost more compared to other states. I love my little guy but if we do it again we will do a breed specific rescue, but the happiness and love he has given us was so worth the price tag.

 

[MishB]

$80 for each of them, both adopted from a shelter. But they are very expensive to keep in a level of luxury to which they have quickly become very accustomed.

 

[atroop711]

Many yrs ago my roommate and I got our dog at a shelter. We paid $50 for adoption and processing

When I was a kid (in the early 70''s), I remember my dad paying $400 for a silky terrier. God knows what they charge now

 

[Maisie]

Our Labrador Blossom was a retiring breeding dog so we got her for free. All we had to do was promise to spay her. Our cat Gracie was also retiring (she is a Bengal) and we paid £75 for her. That was to cover the cost of the spay that she had done the week before we picked her up.

 

[Lynn B]

OK, DF, help me out here, I must be DENSE... but what does the fact that this is a diamond forum have to do with asking the price of our pets without "being rude"???!

And BTW, how much were your koi? (Afterall, this IS a diamond forum!!!)

Aw, don't be cranky -- you know I love ya!!!

 

[dani13]

We paid about $1000 for our miniature pinscher 9 yrs ago. Pricey, but worth every penny!!!

 

[jet2ks]

My Brittany was $600 from a very responsible breeder and worth every penny and then some. I adopted my cat from a shelter, I think the fee was around $40.

 

[mysterylover]

My tabby was a freebie from a local humane society. Good thing she was free - - she needed shots, neutering, and deworming! Rescued animals can be expensive, too.

 

[Loves Vintage]

$350 to adopt a retired racing greyhound!

$300-ish (don''t recall precisely) to have our beagle-mix transported up from a high-kill GA shelter and vetted.

DF, Are you looking for a pet??

 

[Loves Vintage]

Date: 6/21/2009 6:49:34 AM
Author: sba771
If I were to do it again I would have gone about the process VERY differently and adopted and since getting my dog I have become active in supporting adoption and proper breeders and educating people about this sort of thing. My dog was a gift from my FI and cost $900. He is a pure bred miniature pinscher and he was overpriced but I went to a breeder in NY so that does tend to cost more compared to other states. I love my little guy but if we do it again we will do a breed specific rescue, but the happiness and love he has given us was so worth the price tag.

sba771,

One of the techs at my vet's office is involved in Min Pin rescue. They sometimes have up to 8-10 Min Pins at their home. Can you imagine? Lots of little doggies!

 

[Sabine]

We adopted our pup through the furry friends network, and I think there was a $200 or $250 adoption fee. I thought that was reasonable.

 

[ice-queen]

Date: 6/21/2009 3:12:42 AM
Author: Circe
I''m a big believer in no-kill shelters - there are so many ''unwanted'' animals out there. So adopting my cat only cost me $60 bucks.

That said, she''s cost me $500 or so in vet bills so far this year - she managed to sneak into the washing machine when I ran to get some towels from upstairs, squashed herself invisibly behind a blanket, and *stayed quiet* for 20 minutes until the spin cycle, and came out without a scratch on her (which I still wanted verified by a professional). Worth every penny - pets are family.

Thank goodness she''s okay! But how did she not drown???!!

On another note, I applaud everyone who has rescued a pet

--- truly a wonderful thing!!!

 

[SparkleSparkle]

I adopted my cat through Last Chance Animal Rescue and PETsMART. The cost was $125.00 - she had already had most of her shots, been spayed (she still had a bald belly and you could see her healed scar), dewormed and de-parasited(?). I had to take her to the vet within 3 days to give her a good baseline checkup. She got some of the bad melamine food when they had that massive recall (her food wasn''t on the list) and that was a $1300.00 vet bill - they saved her from liver failure and kept her on IVs for 10 days. She''s cost me a lot of money but compared to the love and companionship she gives me every day... wait, no comparison! Sweetie''s worth every penny.

 

[neatfreak]

Our dogs were about $200 each (which was a donation to the rescue group we got them from). And I think our cat was like $25 (a donation to the shelter where we got her from).

 

[Octavia]

Date: 6/21/2009 6:56:59 AM
Author: MishB
$80 for each of them, both adopted from a shelter. But they are very expensive to keep in a level of luxury to which they have quickly become very accustomed.

Ditto, except that we''ve only got one cat and he was $50. We got him from a local pet food store that works with a rescue organization to adopt out rescued kitties. They recently had a sign saying they''d passed 100 adoptions!

 

[elrohwen]

My bunny cost $50, but really the cost of keeping him every month plus vet bills (like getting him neutered) is way more than his initial cost, so it didn''t really matter to me how much he cost.

 

[princesss]

The two kitties combined were $120. They''re both shelter kitties and are worth every penny I''ve spent on them for vet bills, toys, food, cleaning supplies, etc. and every penny I will spend.

 

[littlelysser]

Interesting thread.

We have two dogs.

One is a purebred Ibizan Hound that we got from an uber reputable breeder - his parents were both champions. He was $1000. We did a TON of research on dog breeds and realized that an Ibizan was the ideal dog for us (turns out we were right - he is an amazing dog). We would have preferred to rescue an Ibizan, but they are simply too rare and I can pretty much guarantee you''ll never see one in a shelter.

Our other dog is a wonderful little muttskie named Cricket. We got her from a rescue and she was $250, but that included her spay and her shots.

Interestingly enough, our rescue muttski has cost us SIGNIFICANTLY more in vet bills than our purebred.

 

[upgrade]

I paid $500 for my dog as a puppy and he''s cost me another $1000 or so in shots, neutering, checkups and training. Worth it though- I love my little guy!

We looked into adoption from a shelter, but because of my husband allergies we had to be pretty breed specific, and we wanted a small dog. The shelter''s adoption fee for such a dog would have been $475, IF they had one avialable. They told us we would have to be waitlisted because the breeds we were interested in rarely came in and it could easily be 2 years or more. We didn''t want to wait that long with no guarantees, so we went ahead and bought a puppy.

Sidenote- our local shelters always have the usual assortment of german shepherd/pit bull mixes, but they also seem to have a ton of German Shorthaired Pointers and Weimereiners. Why? I thought those breeds were both good family dogs, yet every week there are at least half a dozen of them to chose from.

 

[gemgirl]

A little over seven years ago, the North Shore Animal League asked us for a "mandatory voluntary donation" of $150.- for my older fur baby Cassie. (There''s something about oxymorons that instantly brings George Carlin to mind).

Three and a half years ago, we were asked for $900.- from our local pet store for my Jack/Rat Bella (a pedigree cross breed of Jack Russell and Rat Terrier). Because she was still there the Monday after Christmas weekend, we offered them $500.- and they took it.

All of the puppies at our local store are now between $1100 and $1500.

 

[April20]

We got our Yorkie-Poo free from a co-worker of mine that decided he wasn''t the right kind of dog for their family. They got him on a whim and did zero research, which is a huge pet peeve of mine, but I digress.

When we got him, he was up to date on shots, had been nuetered (or so they say and we have our doubts) and was house broken. So far, he''s only cost us routine yearly vet visits, shots, grooming and food. We spend about $600-700/year for his "maintenance".

 

[lucyandroger]

$125 per kitten at an animal shelter

 

[PinkTower]

I''ve got a Standard Poodle, so her purchase price was significant, but worth every penny. Best dog I have ever had. However, the purchase price is not as significant as the grooming with a large poodle.
DF, tell us about the cost of your pets. I have had fish ponds, and I have had grey herons come and clean them out. That makes fish very expensive. My koi also had huge appetites for my favorite plants, like lotus. I decided I preferred goldfish.

 

[Iowa Lizzy]

My cats were free. Got them from a farm. They are "spoiled" in the sense that they get wet food once a week, tons of attention and they pretty much rule the house. However, I do not, and will not buy then expensive cat food. Purina from PetSmart is the best they''ll get. They actually don''t cost me a ton of money. Just yearly vet exams, food, litter, treats and toys. And they seem very, very happy.

Okay, I did spoil them a few months ago and bought one of those "cat drinking fountains." They LOVE that. One of them is really snobby about having fresh water.