Pets and the Economy
Kasia
A2 Reuter
Economics
Pets and the Economy
Everybody would love to own a cat or dog if it were at no cost to them, but only in a perfect world are there no allergies, no having to pay for supplies, and no cleaning up poop from your tiny (or not so tiny) fluffy loved one. They provide great companionship and comfort, something not even all humans can offer, which makes them ideal to have around. But how much does it cost to own an animal; does the benefit outweigh the cost?
Owning a pet can have a great range in price, whether you decide to spoil your pet rotten or just provide what it needs to survive. Buying numerous cat beds, bags upon bags of treats, dozens of dog toys, cat litter and doggie bags will eventually add up. Paying for new accessories for your pet is so much fun, and will make you and your pet happy. Sounds like "miscellaneous" would be the highest scoring category in the expenses of owning and healthily maintaining an animal, but is it really?
Rightfully so, most of your money when caring for your little buddy is going towards medical care and most importantly, food! Unfortunately, the higher the price the higher the priority, and you'll need to be paying hundreds upon hundreds for your furry friend, and the cost only doubles and triples when you have more animals to take care of. (Fun fact: There are laws against animal abuse and neglect and failure to take care of your pet may result in your arrest, and the cost of caring for your animal won't seem so bad when you see how much bail out is. Don't be a jerk!)
Depending on the animal you buy and of what breed, you may find yourself in a situation where the cost outweighs the benefits. The pet might be destroying furniture, vomiting everywhere, being aggressive, or causing other problems, which can lead people to letting their animal loose or surrendering them to an animal shelter. Though unfortunate, the never-ending cycle of neglect is what keeps animal shelters in business.
At the shelter I volunteer at, the animals are not terribly expensive to adopt. They range from being free (due to a sponsor) to a little over $100, depending on if it's a dog or cat and how old the animal is. Lower prices help stimulate the public demand for adopting an animal they don't necessarily need, though they will gain a happy and loving companion. Some animals however are in a situation where they cannot be adopted, which puts the shelter at a higher cost. Every animal they can't save or hasn't been adopted after being listed for months is euthanized(killed in a humane way) for up to $5 an animal, which doesn't seem like much until taking into account that there are 2.7 million euthanized animals a year.
Though painfully expensive, owning a pet has shown through studies that owners tend to live longer and happier lives than those who did not own any pets, as they can decrease your possibility for medical complications in the future. This will definitely come in handy, as owning a pet is less expensive and much more fun than sitting in a hospital bed swimming in debt. And who can resist how cute cats look swimming in your money, anyway? Though owning a pet can be a tight squeeze financially, they are worth it in the long run.
Works Cited
"Welcome." ASPCA. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2015.
"Even in This Uncertain Economy, Pets Are Worth the Cost | TIME.com."Business Money Even in This Uncertain Economy Pets Are Worth the Cost Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2015.
"Humane Euthanasia of Shelter Animals Fact Sheet." The Boston Medical and Surgical Journal 132.14 (1895): 343. American Humane Association. Web.
"Animal Neglect Facts." Animal Legal Defense Fund Animal Neglect Facts Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2015.
ReplyDeleteKasia, I loved your topic! I have three pets at home right now and the cost is definitely something that adds up really quickly. But they are so worth it. I liked the visuals that you included because they were very relevant and they further supplemented your topic well. It is crazy to think about how much some animals cost, but that should not deter you from getting one. I like the way that you added the lower adoption fees can help to stimulate demand. But I do think it might have been beneficial to add one or two more graphs or a video that would complement your ideas. There is tons of stuff out there about the cost of pets and those are really insightful data that would’ve worked perfectly with your topic. No matter how much animals do cost, I feel that the marginal benefit outweighs the marginal cost and people will continue to buy furry friends for the rest of their lives. I know that I will!
I found your post to be quite interesting, being a free loader with the animal that my parents pay for. Don't get me wrong, I love my dog but he does cost a lot of money. To think how much they add up, from food to vet visits, and toys...it can really add up in the long run. They're also a lot of work to up keep from grooming, walking, and taking care of it. Although it was interesting that you pointed out that people tend to live longer happier lives with pets, which would pull them out of the hospital later and keep them out of debt.
ReplyDeleteI believe that having a fluffy animal that you love easily outweighs the cost. So what, pets cost an extra grand a year, but does that really matter? Having a pet is not just awesome, but it could teach you many lessons as well. For example, you would learn how to be responsible, how to take care of a living being, and how to save or spend your money buying only necessary items needed to take care of this pet. I think owning a pet is very beneficial for everyone due to what it teaches you. Also, pets love you no matter how many times you screw up, which is just beautiful. Kasia, you wrote this so well. Good job. <3
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I really enjoyed that picture of the cat with the money all over it. Second, I found this post very interesting because I own cats and constantly tell my mom she spends too much money on them. My one cat is constantly going to the vet because he’s always sick, so I feel like even though the vet visits was already the most expensive category, for us it would probably be even more. On that same picture comparing the costs of cats and dogs I was surprised by how close some of the categories were and that for kennel boarding cats were more expensive than dogs. I also was under the impression that dogs toys were a lot more expensive than the picture showed them to be. Even though animals can be ridiculously expensive and can seem like a waste of money, I think they’re worth it.
ReplyDeleteVery nice article, Kasia. I am obviously in support of owning pets, and I too believe that the benefits are definitely worth the cost of a pet. The happiness brought to a person by a pet can improve general well-being and health, and the cost of care for the animals is quite nominal. Not to mention, owning pets makes you pay to take care of them, and so this requires you to spend money on food, care, supplies, providing jobs for those who provide those items and services, stimulating a sector of the economy and resulting in happy, healthy lives for pets and happy, more meaningful lives for their owners. Regarding adoption costs, I also believe that if costs are lower, people will be more inclined to adopt a pet and the result of more pets to take care of stimulates the pet industry more, creating competition between brands and lowering prices for consumers. The problem remains in terms of abuse though, and animal abusers should face *very* strict punishment in my mind. I also really like the picture.
ReplyDeleteI liked this topic it was something i never really think about. I never thought about how much money people spend on their pets.In most family's their dog is considered a member of the family,so they buy them gifts and cute little outfits. Pet-co being one of the leaders for pet supplies has a net worth of $1.9 billion dollars,now that's a true boost to this economy.
ReplyDeleteI think this was a very interesting topic. I never realized how much people actually spent on their pets. But the medical bills for pets are very high. When my dog got sick, they told us it would be about $1,400 in tests just to determine what was making him sick.
ReplyDeleteIf you think about it, if there were more places that helped prepare people for getting a pet and the financial responsibilities for them there would be less animals looking for homes. Also, the fact that people spend so much money on their pets means that specialized pet stores are doing well and that helps the economy as well.
I loved this topic it was so relevant to most of us with animals especially me of owning two dogs. Don't get me wrong i love them both to death, but they do cost alot of money one of my dogs has food allergies and we have to buy a special powder from the vet to put on his food from him reacting to the allergies of the food not to mention we have to buy special food from the vet as well. Which about every two months costs us a good $150 out of our pockets. So I understand some of the costs, but I wouldn't trade them for anything !!
ReplyDeleteI personally wanted a dog so badly and my parents wouldn't let me because of the maintenance and cost involved. I didn't realize it at first, but then once I got a dog, the expenses were clear to me. A pet costs way more than I ever anticipated. Remember to know what you're getting into before you buy a pet!
ReplyDeleteI've always has a lot of pets growing up so the additional costs never seemed like a lot to me. We were always buying dog and cat food and litter and toys so the extra costs were almost normal. I just didn't realize how expensive it is for medical care for pets. But that opportunity cost doesn't seem like much when it's either pay for all of their bills or not have a pet. I would definitely pay whatever I need to to keep my pets.
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