Got a call from Nala's vet today with her biopsy results. Looks like they got all of the mast cell tumour and characterized it with a low likelihood of recurrence. I'll still need to watch out for any other bumps that might form, but she's looking in pretty good shape. Now all we need to do is wait for her to heal up and get the staples removed, unless she manages to do that herself (she's already managed to get rid of two staples).
With Nala's mast cell tumour and resultant vet bills, it got me thinking about the costs involved in pet ownership, something that most people usually don't think much about when they first get a pet. Most people tend not to think much past the initial cost of the dog, whether it's from a (hopefully reputable) breeder, rescue group or shelter.
Once the dog is home though, there's a whole list of recurring expenses: food, vet care, toys, supplies, training and kennel costs to name a few.
Since I use Quicken to track and categorize everything I spend, figuring out what the TCO to date for the dogs is relatively easy. From 01-Jan-05 through 15-Jul-08, this pie chart breaks down what I've spent on the dogs.
Note how large the food and vet slabs of the pie are. Food is a large chunk because I feed the dogs a fairly high quality kibble (California Natural Lamb & Rice). No cheap grocery store crap for them. Medication includes any prescribed medications, along with heartworm preventative (Sentinel). Pet Supplies includes thinks like collars, leashes, crates (probably some toys) and flea/tick repellent (K-9 Advantix), supplements and anything else that I might consider a pet supply. The Other Pet category is kind of a catch-all category, but includes the cost of the dogs ($1700).
Boarding (Kennel) is a fairly significant cost for me as well. Have to put the dogs somewhere when I go away on conferences or vacations that I can't take the dogs along on.
Fortunately Labs are wash and wear type dogs, so I don't spend much on grooming.
Here's how the expenses break down monthly.
Monthly expenses average about $390/month but can frequently exceed that.
The total over the past 3.5 years is just under $16.4k or about $4600/year. This is for two well bred Labs without very many health issues. For dogs with health problems, this can be much, much higher. Your own analysis may yield different numbers, but I suspect the overall distribution of expenses will probably be fairly similar.
But you know what, I wouldn't have it any other way. I consider it all money very well spent. My Labs are my kids.
Had a lot of fun at today's WHLR Pet Spa Day. A bunch of dogs came by for bathing, grooming and other spoiling. Square Onion provided some very tasty people food and a great time was had by all.
The pet spa stations
This little guy found a comfy spot in the store
Yummy people food provided by Square Onion
Bath time!
Bichon post-bath
See the rest of the pictures over here.
Hey, dog owners!
Wild Heir Lab Rescue and Worthy Creatures (formerly Kreature Comforts) are holding a Pet Spa Day this weekend, July 12 from 12-4PM.
Bring your pet by to be pampered with doggy baths, nail trimmings, doggy massage and even microchipping. Purchase individual treatments, or select from a variety of spa packages. Special event discounts on all grooming supply purchases is also available.
Worthy Creatures is located in the Shoppes at Seaside Farms, 1960 Riviera Drive, Mt Pleasant, SC.
Heard from Nala's vet today that her blood work results came back fine. No increase in circulating mast cells, which is good. However there was an incidental finding of slightly decreased thyroid hormone levels which would certainly explain why Nala's such a mellow, relaxed dog and why she likes to sleep all the time.
The lump has shrunk considerably since starting her on Benadryl. Tuesday is surgery day where the lump will be removed and hopefully that will be the end of Nala's MCT problems. I'll have to make sure to give her a good going over every now and then to make sure no others pop up though.
Thanks to everyone for their well wishes for Nala.
Got a call from Nala's vet today who told me that the lump on the back of Nala's neck is a mast cell tumour (MCT).
Supposed to start her on Benadryl and she's got an appointment on Tuesday for bloodwork and a chest x-ray to look for any other MCT sites. The following Tuesday she has another appointment for surgery to remove the one on her neck.
Hopefully this one hasn't spread around anywhere else and that removing this one will be the end of it.
Wild Heir Lab Rescue is in need of a few foster homes for 8 labs that are coming out of boarding in the next couple of days. If you're willing and able to provide a temporary home for these dogs, fill out an application form. The dogs will love you for it.
If you haven't got the room to foster, then come on out with your dog to WHLR's next event, Worthy Creatures (formerly Kreature Comforts) Pet Spa Day on July 12 from 12 to 4 PM. Get your pet pampered with a doggie bath, nail trimming and doggie massage. Worthy Creatures is located in the Shoppes at Seaside Farms, 1690 Riviera Drive, Mt Pleasant, SC.
Spoil your pet and help out a great rescue group while you're doing it!
Show us a reason to get off the computer and go outside.
Submitted by Elisheva Chana.
Why, to go to the dog park of course!
Recent Comments
-
Imabug said:
I thought the Benadryl might do the same thing, but it doesn't seem to have knocked her down much at... read more
on Mostly normal -
havybeaks said:
Glad to hear about Nala! If she likes to sleep so much already, the Benadryl is going to make her... read more
on Mostly normal -
That's great to hear! read more
on Clean bill of health