Top 10 costliest canines
A British insurance company has put together a list of what breeds people spend the most money on, and the biggest bucks, it turns out, go to the smallest dog.
Chihuahuas -- the breed favored by Paris Hilton and Britney Spears (who reportedly once treated her dog Bitbit to a $180 steak at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas) -- cost their owners about $197,000 each, much of that presumably in clothing, jewelry and other luxuries.
The labrador, by comparison, has about $60,000 spent on it in the course of its life.
The study surveyed 3,000 dog owners in Great Britain and looked at the amount spent for vets, food, grooming, kennels and insurance, spread over the breed's average life expectancy.
On average, the study said, a dog owner spends about $62,000 during its lifetime.
"Today's household pets are treated more like members of the family and this attitude is reflected in the amount owners spend on their pets' lifestyle," said Mike Pickard, head of pet insurance at esure, which conducted the study.
The research found that vets' fees are the biggest expense of owning a dog, followed by food and kennels. Nearly 40 percent of dog owners had no idea how much their pet was costing them, according to a story about the study in the UK Daily Record.
Here are the top 10: 1. Chihuahua 2. Greyhound 3. Mastiff 4. Boxer 5. English setter 6. Doberman pinscher 7. Golden retriever 8. Poodle 9. Dalmatian 10. Great Dane
(AP Photo)
Comments
This has brought up something that has begun to worry me recently.
I'm concerned that dog ownership and the companionship of dogs may be in danger of becoming a luxury for the middle-class and wealthy. Dogs don't much care about money. They don't care if we're rich or poor. If all we've got to share to eat is half a sandwich (as opposed to a $180 steak), our dog will be fine with that, and he'll stick with us. He doesn't care if we're sleeping at Bellagio or under the JFX. Once he's bestowed his affection on a human being, all that he asks, and all that he wants, is to be with that person.
I hate to read or hear about this or that person who's lost their home giving up a dog "for its own good" when I know that the dog would gladly follow the person anywhere, and that each would give comfort and security to the other.
Veterinary costs, in particular, are now so terrible that they're out of reach for people who can't even provide for their own medical care. And with so many scientific advances, it's pretty tough to distinguish between what's necessary care and what's "best practice." Somehow "the dog's own good" becomes separation from the human to whom he's given all his devotion.
When we were kids, our numerous (and they were numerous) dogs were looked after by Dr. Mike, who had a large and small animal practice. My mother paid for their care. On one day a month, Dr. Mike was unavailable except for emergencies. That's because he had joined up with a number of other vets to form the Tail Waggers, a group that donated their time to care for the dogs (and cats) of those who couldn't afford even the modest fees of those long-ago days. They did far more than spay and neuter. They gave shots, routine checkups, emergency care--whatever was needed.
I wish we had a Tail Waggers now. I think we need one.
Posted by: Anne | May 12, 2008 11:55 PM
From childhood we have had pets in our household and at present i have a Persian cat "Matahari", which cost me a fortune.Sad to note that owning a pet has today become a 'LUXURY", both in the developed and developing World as "Economic apocalypse 2008/09" has proved, with numerous pets being abandoned due to high maintenance costs.
Posted by: Rudolph.A.Furtado | March 18, 2009 9:16 AM