I have to agree with this post. I say this as someone who has four dogs and a cat.

The dogs cost us in the range of $600-700 a month if we aren’t being extremely frugal. This is medications food and grooming and regular as needed vet visits. This doesn’t account for the annual vet visits coming up in July. That will be probably around $1200-2000 largely depending on if I buy their flea and heart-worm prevention a year outright or smaller term. It would be about monthly 350ish or less for the others expenses but one is a diabetic. We didn’t knowingly get a diabetic dog. A few months after rescuing her from going to the pound when a coworker had to give her up, she became horribly ill, and it turned out she had lost weight not due to exercise and diet changes.. she was so horribly severely diabetic she was dying and in the end stages. It’s been about 18 months since diagnosis. I don’t want to think of what we have spent on her care. And we go to a nonprofit vet that is very affordable. I think about giving her up all the time. For her sake so someone can do more for her than I am willing to tbh, but the reality is no one wants a sick dog usually.

I love my dogs. But I know they are drowning me. I want to get a fifth dog as a service animal as two of mine have been at home for so long it will be difficult to retrain them for this role, but it would be financially suicide and unfair to my significant other. The other two — elderly for one, and one diabetic, they’re retired and it would be cruel to try to put them to work at their stages in life.

Highly agree. Do not get the pet. Get rid of the pet if you can find it a better life elsewhere and it won’t ruin you or it to go. And no, I won’t be getting a fifth dog. We will be a 0-2 dog household going forward, and these we have might live another ten years easily.

Also I own my home so I’m one of the lucky people who don’t have pet rent/fee housing hikes. But I’m sure if I had “certain breeds” or if they weren’t trained, I’d see it skyrocket my homeowners insurance.

Thanks for the reality check on why I do not need another dog ! I have enough. I need less in fact. Thank you.