You’re considering adopting a pet and that is so exciting! Over the years, we have adopted quite a few animals into our family.
We (especially the kids) have gotten hyped up on how much fun the pet will be to play with. It’s hard to think of all the costs associated with adoption beyond the actual adoption fees.
I’m going to break this down based on my experience with multiple animals over the years.
The Adoption Fee
Adoption fees range greatly. Sometimes you can catch your local animal shelter offering “deals” so that they can move some pets out quicker.
The adoption fee is probably the least of your future expenses, depending upon where you adopt from.
The fees can range typically from $20 – $200.
When adopting, see what all is included in the adoption costs. You may already be paying for spay/neuter and many other vet expenses before you even take your pet home.
Vet Visits
If your new pet isn’t already spayed or neutered, that cost can range anywhere from $50 – $350 depending on your area and where you take your pet.
I’ve adopted a kitten from my local animal shelter and they included the spaying in the adoption costs.
However, the spay/neuter is a small part of the veterinarian costs you may have in the future.
Your adopted pet will most likely need vaccinations every year. The total could be anywhere from $100 – $300. The first year is generally the most expensive.
If your pet gets sick or an accident happens, you can easily double the above vet visit costs. I had a dog that broke a leg and I unexpectedly dropped $300 one weekend.
I also had a cat of twenty years that we had to put down and that visit was $250.
Check out LA Times’ article on How Much Do Dog Vaccinations Cost? for more detailed information.
Additional Health Care
As your pet ages, additional medication may be needed.
Flea and tick and heartworm treatments (depending on your pet) should be an expected expense that could run you around $10 – $40 per month.
The important thing to note is that like humans, pet health care costs and vet visits could increase greatly as the pet ages.
Feeding Your Adopted Pet
Having a pet is definitely another mouth to feed in your home.
Not only do you have the cost of the food, you have the responsibility to make sure there’s always food available.
For budgeting purposes, I would budget $20 – $100 per month, depending on the size of your pet and the brand you choose.
The more pets, the higher the costs.
Fees
If you live in an apartment or other rented space, it’s likely your agreement has a section on pets.
The fee associated with having a pet could be in the hundreds of dollars.
Check with the agreement you signed for the exact cost.
Boarding or Pet Sitting
There are multiple times a year when I have to find someone to come to our home and watch our animals while we take a vacation or go on a weekend trip.
When we had two smaller dogs, we boarded them and I always dreaded the cost. Now that we have a larger dog and other things around the home we like being taken care of, we find someone that comes to us.
Again, depending on your pet, this cost could be $20 to $50 per day depending on your needs.
Our family easily spends a few hundred on a week long vacation on boarding/pet sitting costs.
Other Supplies
When you first adopt your pet, you’ll have immediate additional items that will be required.
For example, somewhere for your pet to sleep, water and food bowls, a litter box, or perhaps a kennel.
However, you’re likely to not stop there. You’ll want your new pet to have toys, a leash, a collar, a name tag, training treats, and a slew of other items.
A pet store is like Target for me – I go in for one thing and can easily walk out spending over $100.
Some of these smaller items add up and they are definitely not a one time purchase.
For some reason, my dogs and cats always have a Christmas present or two under the tree as well. We have more outfits than you can imagine for our smaller dogs that have only been worn once.
Halloween just isn’t Halloween without the dogs being dressed up as well.
Grooming
We have a medium sized dog that needs to be groomed. We ended up purchasing our own grooming set so that we could avoid the high cost of having it done professionally.
Consider the type of breed you’re looking for and note that there could be additional grooming costs.
Time
Time is money.
You may have to leave work early because nobody else can get home to take out the dogs.
Consider the amount of time that your dog may be in a kennel or left alone while you’re at work and the kids are at school or other events.
Is your job flexible enough to allow you to leave to take care of your pet if needed? Consider all the other daily tasks you are juggling and evaluate if you can handle another.
Training
If your new pet is a dog, consider the training that may be needed.
Yes, ideally you would be able to handle this on your own, but what if you can’t?
Luckily, there are many training options available for all kinds of budgets. My local pet store offers group training classes for around $20 per class, which is very reasonable.
Homeguide has a great article on the cost of dog training.
It’s also another potential added expense to owning your new pet.
Final Thoughts On The Cost Of Adopting A Pet
As you’ve read throughout this article, I have many pets that have been adopted. I love animals.
Once we have adopted, they are part of our family.
I’m definitely not saying you shouldn’t adopt a new pet. It’s exciting to let a new family member in!
However, knowing the costs will help you prepare and make an educated decision.
Take a moment and consider the current state of your outgoing expenses and where you stand with an emergency fund.
Do what is best for you. I will say that I wouldn’t consider any of my adopted animals a mistake, but when I was younger, I probably would have given a couple of them a second thought if I knew the total costs.
0 Comments