I was a few years out of college when I adopted my first dog, Enzo. I’d recently parted ways with my roommates Nick & Elena and their two dogs, Champ – a cattle dog mix – and Beans, a chihuahua (both around 5-years-old). Most of my friends did not yet have pets, but Nick & Elena’s ability to balance dog responsibilities with the somewhat sporadic lifestyle of our early 20’s made me feel like being a pet parent was attainable for me too.
I admittedly didn’t put very much thought into budgeting when I was considering adopting a dog. I had a full-time job that allowed me some disposable income, but I didn’t plan for how many expenses would be recurring or pop up unexpectedly over time.
It was an interesting exercise to dig through my receipts since bringing Enzo home to understand which areas I’ve spent most and how our budget has changed. Despite there being some unanticipated gear and health-related expenses, the breakdown was largely how I expected: food as the largest expense, followed by pet insurance & vet care.
About Me
- Age: Early 30s
- Location: Seattle, WA (Formerly Denver, CO)
- Living situation: I live with my partner and we share some costs (majority are represented in this article).
- Pets: A 7-year-old cattle dog/border collie mix. We adopted him when he was about 1.5 years old.
- What are we reviewing: I’ll be reviewing expenses since adopting Enzo in May 2017. I’m particularly interested in how costs changed from year to year, especially after moving from Colorado to Washington, and how Enzo’s health impacted my overall budget.
Spending by Category
- Food & treats: $3,845
- Pet insurance: $2,843
- Vet care: $2,605
- Gear & equipment: $2,147
- Boarding & walking: $1,628
- Toys: $257
- Adoption fee: $200
- Training: $125
- Grooming: $112
Note: I am not a perfect record keeper, so there are likely some transactions I’ve missed over the past 6 years. However, most of my purchases come from Chewy and Amazon, so it was easy to sift through those records.
Breakdown of Expenses by Year
2017: $1,907
My partner and I adopted Enzo from a Colorado cattle dog rescue in May 2017. I often joke that he’s our “bargain bin” dog because his adoption fee was $200, but he’s the best dog in the world and is actually priceless.
Since we adopted him from a local rescue, they covered many of his initial expenses: transportation from Texas to Colorado, spaying, some of his vaccinations (e.g. rabies), and some supplies (leash, collar, bowls). Many of our purchases in 2017 were associated with supplies to prepare our home for a dog. Here are a few of the items we bought immediately after adopting Enzo (it happened quickly, so we didn’t do much advance shopping):
- MidWest Dog Crate: $39
- Car Seat Cover: $23
- Ruffwear Dog Harness: $49
- Bitter Apple Spray: $8
- Bulk Poop Bags: $34 (turns out I’ve spent over $250 on poop bags in Enzo’s lifetime!)
- Pillow Dog Bed: $35 (they don’t sell his anymore, but it was similar to this)
- Chuck-It Ball Launcher: $10
While some items ended up getting eventually donated (like the Chuck-It I bought optimistically thinking Enzo would play fetch), others we still use regularly. Enzo’s crate, the car seat cover, and his Ruffwear harness have all held up surprisingly well and are still in rotation.
We also had costs associated with some initial vet visits, taking out a pet insurance policy, and trying various kinds of dog food.
2018: $1,357
This was a pretty quiet year for Enzo, with most costs coming from his ASPCA pet insurance policy ($393 in premiums for the year) and Taste of the Wild dog food ($316 for the year). Both of these expenses have increased with inflation and Enzo’s age.
Enzo did get inexplicably sick at one point this year, but we avoided an emergency vet visit by using the free vet chat services through our pet insurance. We could describe his symptoms, get clear guidance on how to monitor him, and when to consider taking him to the vet. This has been a valuable resource throughout Enzo’s life. We haven’t needed to go to the vet at least half of the times I’ve been unsure.
Our most amusing purchase of the year was Enzo’s first Halloween costume as a UPS Delivery Driver—$13 well spent. I’m still convinced this fueled his ire for delivery people, as he has expressed only disdain for them since.
One more miscellaneous purchase was Enzo’s “collossal” monkey toy ($25, worth every penny). After developing an obsession with my coworker’s dog’s toy, a friend surprised him with his own version of the monster monkey. It remains his best friend to this day.
2019: $1,843
This year saw the beginning of a new expense for pet care: Rover boarding & walking services. In 2019, I moved out-of-state to Washington where I knew almost no one. This meant 1.) I could no longer rely on my live-in partner (and Enzo’s co-parent) for care if I stayed long at work, as he was still living in Colorado at the time; and 2.) I didn’t have friends or family to ask for Enzo care while I was traveling or needed someone to take him on a walk.
Thankfully, Enzo does fairly well when left alone, but the cost of sitters for trips back home and relief for long work days did add up (to ~$700 total — though some of this was subsidized through the benefits of being a Rover employee—thanks Rover!).
2020: $1,531
Unexpected expense of the year: Vet care. At the end of 2019, Enzo had a seizure for the first time. This led to a number of visits to the vet to determine the cause & care options. Around the same time, he started inexplicably wetting the bed while sleeping.
After some diagnostic work, detailed below, the vet ruled out enough conditions to determine he was epileptic. They offered to do a full brain scan, but said it likely wasn’t necessary since we’d ruled out the other main causes. He had a slightly elevated liver enzyme, which led to some additional testing (but turned out to be fine).
The vet didn’t find a clear reason for his incontinence after ordering an ultrasound, so they recommended we purchase some diapers and/or put him on medication. We opted for diapers, since it was only happening overnight. In the stress of the seizures and multiple vet visits, Enzo licked his paw raw, so we got some dog wipes thrown in as well.
Treatment/Diagnostic | Cost |
Ultrasound | $430 |
Urinalysis + cultures | $96 |
Blood work | $183 |
Other exam fees & misc charges | $341 |
Reusable diapers | $40 |
It’s worth noting that after hitting my deductible, ASPCA pet insurance covered many of these fees (fortunately). Over the course of diagnosing the various health issues, I paid over $1K out of pocket—honestly less than I expected—and I was eventually reimbursed $688 through insurance (usually within 1-2 months).
We didn’t end up putting Enzo on Keppra (seizure medication) long term, but the vet sent a prescription for me to have on hand in case his seizures got more severe. The human pharmacist actually recommended using a coupon from Pet Drug Card, which saved me about $50 on the medication.
Though I’ve paid more in premiums than I’ve received in reimbursements over Enzo’s lifetime (about $1800 more), having the policy has been fully worth it for the ability to pursue care for Enzo without needing to consider the cost of treatment.
2021: $2,435
Following Enzo’s epilepsy diagnosis, our vet shared that some dogs benefit from using CBD regularly. He wasn’t having seizures frequently enough to warrant going on seizure medication, but we did want to try CBD in the hopes it’d lessen the frequency and/or severity of his seizures.
We began purchasing Honest Paws CBD and giving it to Enzo daily. We saw a slight improvement in the frequency of his seizures, enough to decide to keep giving him the CBD. We spent around $350 on CBD this year total (and a similar amount in 2022). Obviously, if you’re curious about CBD, talk to your vet before trying any supplements.
A more fun expense this year was investing in a nicer dog bed. Though Enzo is a relatively active dog, he spends a lot of time as a couch potato. We wanted a more supportive bed to support his joints, so we opted for the splurge-y PetFusion memory foam bed ($130). Because I’m an indulgent pet parent, I also sprung for a calming bed ($45).
2022: $3,141
Our increased budget for this year was largely due to gradually increased costs across our routine expenses: food, pet insurance, vet care, etc. We paid more for our sitters from Rover this year, due to increased rates and more travel opportunities.
I also spent more on incidental purchases—at least in part because I started working more in the pet shopping space and was inundated by pet products all day (in the best way). Many of our fun purchases this year revolved around spending more time outdoors with Enzo — and we tested some products for the Rover blog at no cost:
- Ruffwear Dog Sleeping Bag – (full review of the sleeping bag)
- Noxgear Light Up Harness
- Outward Hound Life Jacket – (full review of the life jacket)
- Hands-Free Running Leash (our old one was worn out)
- Pupsicle Frozen Treat Toy
- GoodPup — (review of private, virtual training)
A Recap of Expenses
Total spend: $13,466
Did you notice any inflation? Yes. A great example of this is Enzo’s food and treats. We’ve kept the same food and treats throughout his life; one bag of his food has increased from $48 to $58, and a bag of his treats has increased from $10 up to $17. Though these are small nominal amounts, they’re definitely felt over time.
Do you wish you changed how you budgeted? I wouldn’t change much about how I’ve budgeted for Enzo, but if I were to adopt another dog I would definitely prepare more for the unexpected. I consider us incredibly fortunate (so far) to haven’t had many large expenses, but a lot of that has been because of luck – not because of my planning abilities.
With Enzo, there are definitely some areas where I wish I’d spent less—like our trial-and-error with types of beds, for example—but in general I’ve spent the most amount of money on things that are necessary and/or improve his well-being.
What do you wish you knew? There are areas that I wish I’d invested in more upfront, particularly dog training. I’ve actually spent more time training Enzo through GoodPup recently, and I realized that I’m learning so much more about his behavior and how to communicate with him. This would’ve been a larger expense earlier in his life, but definitely worthwhile.
I also wish I knew to plan for expenses that get less attention. I’ve read plenty about planning for large vet bills, but there are a number of recurring costs, like poop bags, that add up over time.
Moving states also impacted my budget in ways I didn’t anticipate. I would’ve probably benefited from doing some research on the cost of living for pets specifically before relocating. For example, the same fecal test that cost $31 in Denver was $65 at our first clinic in Seattle.
Would I spend the same amount again? More or less? As much as I’d like to say I’d spend less, I think the reality is that I’ve become a more indulgent pet parent over time. Some of this has been a product of working in the pet space and being constantly exposed to incredible pet products, and some of it has developed through the joy I get in seeing my dog (and other dogs) experience new toys or treats.
This story chronicles the cost of being a dog parent from 2017-2022. A more recent look into the costs of dog parenthood shows that the annual expenses for a dog in 2023 ranges anywhere from $610-$3,555, depending on factors such as location to your dog’s health condition.