Comments on: Cost and Process of Adopting a Dog

By: Patrix

Patrix — Sat, 21 May 2011 17:38:00 +0000

You have a point. I guess training supersedes everything.

By: Janice

Janice — Sat, 21 May 2011 02:27:00 +0000

One thing I do NOT agree on is regulating water. I’ve had animals 45 out of my 51 years, and letting them have free access to water has never made any of them pee indoors. That is a training issue. Please don’t restrict drinking water from a healthy animal.

By: Patrix

Patrix — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 19:12:56 +0000

@Clueless: Thanks for sharing that. I still think pet insurance might not be worth it due to high deductibles and exemptions for illness that certain breeds are most prone to. Having a nationally-renowned vet school around at College Station also helps. @kusublakki: Glad you found it useful. Let me know when you do adopt a pet.

By: kusublakki

kusublakki — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 06:01:52 +0000

Very nice and informative post! I have been going back and forth about getting a dog, but as you rightly said adopting one from the shelter is anyday better than buying one.
Whenever I do decide to adopt a pet though, this post is surely going to be handy. Thanks for that!

By: Clueless

Clueless — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 01:22:18 +0000

About Pet Insurance, Rummy ate something ( I still don’t know what ) and started throwing up continuously. Dogs get dehydrated pretty fast and it was past 5pm, so we had to rush him to emergency vet care where they took an x-ray to make sure it was not some metal pieces or similar stuff. Then they injected water beneath his skin coat for absorption ( he looked like a camel for a day! ) which was more like a portable IV for him. The total bill came upto $500, and after a $100 yearly deductible, my insurance covered about $300 and $200 was out of our pockets. This was not a very expensive incident, but things can easily get more expensive.

By: Patrix

Patrix — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:36:15 +0000

@Clueless: You're right. Kenneling the dog when you are away on vacation can be quite expensive. We had thought of that although we hadn't checked out the cost yet. The most we'll be away will be a week unless we go to India which is not that frequent. But yup, we've to factor in that cost for long vacations. But I'm not too sure about your thoughts on pet insurance. What kind of accidents have you had in the past one and half year that your pet insurance saved you on?

By: Clueless

Clueless — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:43:53 +0000

We adopted our dog Rummy from a shelter about one and half years ago, and I can truly say that it has been one of the most amazing experiences of our life. Our social life actually went up after getting him (contrary to what people fear, that they will be stuck in the house with a dog) because we would plan hikes and visiting local parks with our dog. I agree with all the things you said in your article. A properly trained and taken-care-of dog is a pleasure for everyone. However, my dog seemed to be really scared of his crate and would attack it when we were away. Now he is perfectly content snoozing on his pet bed in the living room.

Another thing I would like to mention to people looking to adopt would be the cost of pet sitting when you are away on vacation. It does come up to about $150 per week, with discount for longer terms, so make sure you budget for it when you are adopting a dog. Also, pet insurance at a nominal cost of $15 a month has saved us a lot on huge bills when pets have accidents.

By: Patrix

Patrix — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:37:35 +0000

@km: Texas is pretty warm so no real chance of snow although I'm sure people own dogs where it snows heavily. We asked a colleague a similar question about taking Lucy out in the rain and she said that you've to take them out. They'll get wet but then at least you instill the discipline that going inside is not alright. I'm not sure how it is going to work out with Lucy and we may allow her to go in our balcony.

By: km

km — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:27:46 +0000

Did I mention that when I say “one question”, I really mean “two questions”?

By: km

km — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:26:21 +0000

Great post, Patrix.

I got one question for you: how severe are winters where you live and how do you plan to walk Lucy in the snow?

//Oh, and for all “manly dog” lovers out there: real men get hellhounds or wolves, not dogs :D

By: On caring for a dog | DesiPundit

On caring for a dog | DesiPundit — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:33:24 +0000

[...] a dog, but are worried about the costs or the care involved?Â If you are, then you may findÂ Patrix’s experience extremely helpful.Â Â I will second Patrix’s suggestion – please adopt from a shelter, there are some lovely [...]

By: Patrix

Patrix — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:24:17 +0000

@Supremus: That's great. I would be really pleased if you adopt a dog after reading this. Keep me posted and email me if you need any help/advice. @Sampada: I guess Lucy will wait until then but then by that time, she would have claimed that chair as her own. @Amit: Nope I haven't but will check it out now. @Michelle: Hmmm...small vs large is always a dilemma. I always had large dogs until we got Lucy which we did because of the apt complex restrictions. Nic might be surprised if he know that big dogs can be capable of temper tantrums as well and when they do, the havoc is much more than a smaller dog. And how is a Dachshund a 'manly' dog? They are smaller than even Lucy is. Although dogs can act like a petulant child at times, obedience training and being strict and punishing them when they act out helps curb such behavior. But most of the times they just act wacky and playful which is fun. Lucy as a breed (Westie) doesn't shed much but all dogs do shed to some degree unless you get a hairless Chihuahua (very expensive and stupid-looking, IMO). You just have to live with it and keep cleaning. But yup, some more than others so choose wisely if you really are picky.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:58:19 +0000

I couldn’t edit my comment (?) but I had one more question. Do you find LUncy has temper tantrums or acts like a petulant child at times?

As that is one more reason Nic has stated we’re not getting any of the small dogs.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:56:31 +0000

Pratik. An excellent article. Nic & myself were considering a puppy for the longest time but while I would like something cute (like Lucy) Nic would prefer something more manly- like a doberman or daschund (sp?) …ugh. So we’re at an impasse.

One of his objections is that hairy dogs shed all over the place. Have you found that to be true with Lucy?

By: Amit

Amit — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:19:21 +0000

Have you seen the movie “Year of the Dog”? If not, please put it on your list. :)

By: Sampada

Sampada — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 23:50:44 +0000

P, I can’t wait to meet her, or cuddle her, or fight with her over who gets to sit in the papasan chair; but I guess it’ll have to wait till the end of October :-(

By: Supremus

Supremus — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 21:35:59 +0000

Nice writeup!! Has gone in my bookmarks folder to revisit when we finally do get our dog…hopefully in a month or two. I didn’t know abt the adoption option until I started reading abt Lucy here, and I think its an excellent decision. We are going to adopt a dog as well… lets see when this happens though!

By: Patrix

Patrix — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:39:07 +0000

@Sampada: I agree. Why would one buy a dog when you can adopt an equally cute one is beyond me? If you need a short break from your studies, don't hesitate to come down to meet Lucy :)

By: Sampada

Sampada — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:28:42 +0000

I wonder why someone would be so particular about buying a pet. If you get to know the horrors of a puppy mill, you'll never want to buy one. Adopting is a much better option. Nice to read about Lucy's progress :)