the cost of a pet dog

There was an article in The Age newspaper this week about the cost of having a pet dog. Daniella Miletic reported

Research by BankWest has revealed that after an initial average purchase of $647, the cost of caring for a dog over an average 10-year lifespan - including food, veterinary bills, trainers and grooming - comes to about $24,000.

If the newspaper article is still online it's worth a read, as it looks at the details of what we typically spend.

The point that interests me is that there has been a letter to the Editor in response to that article, a letter that I completely agree with. I think the letter sums up what living with a dog is about.

I'm going to hope I don't get into trouble for quoting the letter, but I think it should be okay as it's a public letter. Here's what it said:

Cheap at that price

SO IT costs $24,000 to have a dog for 10 years (''Four-legged friends prove priceless'', The Age, 5/5)? This is cheap, when you consider the alternative.

Try hiring the following, for 10 years: 1) a personal trainer to get you out walking even if it's cold and/or wet; 2) a therapist, to listen to all your troubles without judgment or criticism; 3) a security guard, to protect your home; 4) a physician, to lower your blood pressure and reduce your likelihood of suffering depression; 5) a spiritual guide, to help you find joy in simple pleasures like tossing a ball; and 6) a best friend, who is always there for you, giving you love and affection.

The letter's by Mervyn Robbins of Coburg.

Here's a link to the BankWest report.

injuries from our dogs

An article in The Sunday Age, by John Elder and Maris Beck, recently reported the not-so-surprising fact that many people are injured as they interact with their pets. Apparently, more than 2000 people in Victoria alone end up in evergency departments each year because of injuries caused by animal companions. Given that the population is about five and a half million, that doesn't actually seem a huge number to me.

A paper called The Perils of Pet Ownership, published in 2005, looked at 16 cases where elderly owners received fractured bones while interacting with their pets.

Now, I do realise that breaking a bone is a serious matter and absolutely no laughing matter. But some of the scenarios set the imagination racing: Fell forwards while trying to prevent young puppy from diving into fish tank; fell sideways in garden while trying to stop cat catching a blue tongue lizard; and, most mind-boggling of all - fall while attempting to move quickly out back door as cat carried live snake in through side door.

To a certain extent, these anecdotes, and the others in the report, make me wonder whether it's not safer to have a big pet, so you can see it underfoot, but there's another one: Walking two greyhounds on leashes along street. Dogs pulled and patient slipped and fell against fence.

So it seems like size isn't the only factor.

For many years I taught kindergarten-aged children, and they are also an accident waiting to happen. I can remember stumbling over two little boys reading a book on the mat, throwing myself to one side to avoid landing on them and ending up flat on the floor. I think some of the reported accidents might come about because we know we are so heavy and we just can't afford to land on our beloved - small! - companions.