On Saturday morning, J and I hopped into my little car to go across the border and pick up our rescue dog.
We were very excited; adding another family member is always exciting, and we were waiting in anticipation for this weekend for almost a month.
We’d always wanted to adopt another dog. Our current dog has never really been without other dogs until we got her, and she loves to hang out with and play with other small dogs when she seems them.
Of course, being a money conscious woman, the cost of rescuing Fern, our new rescue dog, was on my mind. I personally don’t put a price on animals; if the dog is right, she’s right. We’re willing to spend money on the perfect pooch for our family, because it’s really a one-time cost, and it’s worth it. But it’s always a good thing to consider.
So here’s what we came up with for the cost of rescuing Fern. Please keep in mind that I am not discussing the costs of getting a puppy; I think that there are too many animals out there that need homes, and I would personally never get a puppy.
Adoption/Rehoming Fee
Our dog cost $95 to adopt, but most shelters or rescue agencies cost a lot more. Typically, the larger the dog, the less the adoption/rehoming fee. The same goes for the age; the older the dog, the lower the fee.
Fern is a senior, (she’s 8-9), so she was a bit cheaper. In reality, we just wanted to get a dog that would match the energy level of our 7 year old Boston Terrier.
Total = $95
Transportation
We were pretty specific about what type of dog we wanted; breed didn’t matter to us, but we wanted a dog that would match our lifestyle well. Fern is perfect, and we were willing to travel for the perfect dog (it’s a one-time thing). So, we had to go across the border to pick her up. It was about a 2 hour drive each way, because of the border lineups. It cost about half a tank of gas.
Total = $30
Supplies
Depending on the situation, you may need to pick up some supplies for your new rescue. Supplies can include toys, a collar (or harness) and lead, poop bags, dishes, a bed, shampoo, etc.
We already had T, so we didn’t need lots of these things, and Fern came with a collar. We had a spare lead or two. However, we did buy a coupler (you can walk two dogs at one time with this), and a bed for her. We were lucky, because the bed that we wanted for her was on sale ($18) and we got the coupler on eBay for $3. We also had to buy food because we were all out, so that was another $40.
Total = $62
Vet Checkup
Fern had a pretty hard go of it for the last few years of her life; she was severely neglected and had infections pretty much all over her body (eyes, nose, ears, teeth, bladder). She also had a severe case of fleas and mange, ailments for which her previous owner did nothing. This left her with major hair loss.
She was treated by the rescue society (her vet bills must have cost them a fortune), and all of her various infections and conditions have been treated and cleared up. However, we will be taking her to get a last checkup at the vet, and we expect that to be $150 if nothing is wrong with her (and she’s had checkups recently with positive outcomes).
You may want to take your new rescue to the vet before introducing them to the home just in case, even if they didn’t have as hard of a time as F. It’s a good idea to just make sure everything is ok.
Total = $150
Training Costs
We don’t have this problem with F, but lots of rescues will have some “baggage”, and you may need to take them to training. This may be basic obedience training or a more thorough behavioural correction, but training sessions do cost money.
Total for Fern: $337
Even with all of these costs, rescuing an in-need friend is less expensive than buying a puppy, and much more rewarding. But it’s good to know what you are in for when adopting a pet, because the hope is that you are giving the pet a forever home. If you can’t afford the adoption costs, you may not be able to afford to give that pet a home.
Have you ever thought about rescuing a dog?
I love this! I’ve never understood why some people won’t adopt older pets, it’s so sad. My dog growing up was a rescue from the humane society, and she was an absolute sweetheart. She needed a lot of love but she was worth it.
I’ve been thinking about getting an older cat from the humane society so the cost involved is definitely something I’ve had my eye on as well.
Great post.
Definitely. If you’ve read my post on the cost of a puppy-it was about five times more than what you spent. I love my dog and wouldnt trade him for anything but there were definitely things I’d do over again if I could.
I have never owned a puppy in my life. We have always gotten rescue dogs from either the no-kill shelter, animal control, or the humane society. We tended to get younger (2-4 year old dogs) growing up.
My wife never had a dog before so we got her one for her birthday 3 years ago. She wanted a smaller dog and we ended up finding the sweetest Japanese Chin mix at the no-kill shelter. She was a bit older at 6, but doesn’t act like it. The more I have this dog, the more I don’t understand how her old family gave up on her.
I can never see myself not rescuing an animal.
Congrats on the new dog Daisy! You definitely made the right decision to rescue a dog rather than buy from a breeder. I am surprised you went across the border to get him though. I guess that was just about knowing the specific kind of dog you wanted and not finding that here.
Sounds like you picked the perfect dog! I’m so happy that you chose an older dog as well.
Hope it works out. We don’t have space for a dog right now. It’s great that you are adopting an older pet. That way you’ll already know the personality.
That’s one of the things that people need to understand–sometimes you can’t worry about the money when you have the chance to do something meaningful. I’m not a huge animal person, but I understand how special it is to take a dog (hate cats) away from one of those places and provide a comfy and safe home. When it comes to that kind of decision, the driving force should always be much less about the money.
That’s wonderful–both of my dogs are rescues too. Like you said, it’s a fraction of the cost of buying a puppy from a store and there are so many dogs in need of homes out there. I just wish I had more room!
Precious! Good for you, getting a senior dog. That’s so nice.
All of our pets have come from shelters. I don’t think I’ll ever buy a puppy when I know there are pets out there that are looking for a home. I’m glad it went well for you. Did you have to do any special paperwork for bringing back to where you live?
How exciting to get your new dog! I remember a similar price tag of vet bills, food, and other goodies when we got our “free” cat several years ago. Taking care of something is both a big time responsibility as well as financial! Good job tallying up the costs!
The cost of pets really adds up but overall that isn’t a lot to pay for a dog. I paid $400 for my bullmastiff 6 years ago and that didn’t include any of the vet stuff or initial food/toys, etc.
I think that’s pretty reasonable. Our little guy (Kitty PoP) took about $400 in “startup” costs, which included 2 vet appointments with all his kitten shots as well as some treatments for fleas and worms he picked up before we got him. Luckily the rescue center fixed him before we took him home, otherwise that would have been another expense.
He now runs us about $20 per month, and it is definitely money well spent. Who else will keep your feet warm every night?
We’ve considered another kitten, but for now Kitty PoP likes having us all to himself.
I rescued a great, little guy about 3 months ago. We’ve had to take him to the vet a few times for preventative and random (puppy mange) issues. So far, we’ve paid about $600, but every penny has been worth it.
the costs of dog ownership goes well beyond this, of course.. but the fact that you are a dog owner helps offset that somewhat..
we were thinking about making the jump into dog ownership recently, but the ongoing costs (food, vet, boarding costs) where something that we are not in a good position to take on
That is actually relatively inexpensive. And congrats on the new dog! What a great thing you are doing to give this dog a new home, new life. My wife is the same way, we’re always the ones to stop for a stray dog, call the owner and get them to safety. We’d probably have 5+ dogs if it were up to her 🙂
We got our dog as a puppy, but her dad was a rescue, very sad story. Since we’ve got a baby, doggie fever has left the household for a time, but I know it’ll be back soon!
That isn’t too bad for adopting a dog and getting everything settled. Congrats on the new addition to the family and I hope your new pup and your old pup end up being great friends!
I’m happy that you adopted an older dog. My ex and I had adopted an older dog and it was worth every penny.
Congrats on the new family member.
This is great! We recently adopted an english springer spaniel mix from the SPCA and she’s my first rescue dog. Initially I was a bit apprehensive about adopting a rescue dog because we always had pure breds growing up and I thought the baggage that rescues come with might be too much for me to handle.
I’m so glad that we decided to go to the shelter first before putting a deposit down with a breeder. Molly is the sweetest most loving dog I’ve met and from now on I’m only going to adopt shelter dogs. Thanks for writing this post about how much more economical shelter dogs are, hopefully it’ll convince a few more people to consider the shelter first before a breeder.
I think it’s great you are able to adopt a dog who needs a home! Sometimes I wish I could, but know that it isn’t an option right now. Congrats on your new addition!
That’s true, it’s still cheaper than buying a puppy at the pet store, and I’m all about rescuing animals. That’s how my parents got their cat, and I’m so happy they adopted it 🙂
Awesome story! No doubt your new addition will cost more money in the future, especially as age sets in, but the unconditional love from a dog is absolutely priceless. Literally.
Oh, yes she will end up costing more, but this was meant to be more of a post of the initial costs. She will be worth every penny, definitely !
I did not look into how much our dog would cost when we rescued her 3 years ago (oh how much I have changed – haha) But I wouldn’t trade her for anything! Rescuing dogs is an amazing thing to do and I wish I could help them more! Post pics!
xo
Cat
aka
Budget Blonde
I wholeheartedly agree. I have two cats. One is a rescue cat. He is the sweetest soul in the world. He was abused and abandoned 3 times before he was 4 months old. It just breaks my heart every time I look at his adorable face.
I never look at my animals as an expense, more of an investment. They payout they give me is worth more than anything else to me. I buy them premium everything and don’t blink an eye about it. They are my children and they can never be replaced. Ok.. I could go on forever. I just really want to say congratulations to the family addition 🙂
Congratulations on your new family member! I love older dogs. We foster through an organization that specializes in senior dogs.
Welcome to the “two dog household” club. I will warn you, it’s very difficult to leave. Since we joined the club back in 2003, we’ve spent a maybe 6 weeks (2 weeks at one point, 4 weeks at another) with only one dog in the house. We like having 2 dogs, and our dogs definitely like being in a multi-dog household.
Great post! I’d love to adopt a dog eventually when we have some more space. This wasn’t as expensive as I would have expected.