Choosing Your Perfect Pet

"I loooove dogs, but I dont really have the time right now, so i
settled for a turtle. :)"

Out of curiosity, I did some quick research on turtles. Now
obviously different types of turtles have different needs, but
they all seem pretty complicated to care for properly. (Although
it may be true that once they're set up properly the everyday
maintenence does not take too much time - I don't know.)

Box Turtles: http://boxturtlesite.org/bxbook.html

Aquatic Turtles:
http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/aquatic.html

I have a soft spot for "little furries", as my vet calls them.
(guinea pigs, rabbits, rats, hamsters, etc.) I'd love to have
chinchillas someday...Anyway, little furries (and cats/dogs) are
about as much trouble as I can handle, I think.

DogBait, I knew you'd be coming along with a long response, too.
:) And I definitely agree wih you that the cost estimates for
food, vet care, etc. were too low!

Great article. I think that promoting responsible pet ownership
is always a good idea :)

I just wanted to add a few things.

First off, spay or neuter every cat and dog unless it has a
medical condition that would make the surgery too risky! Talk to
your vet about this. There is no need to breed! Also, consider
spaying and neutering for other animals like rabbits.

Secondly, some of the numbers in the article were way off. I
don't know of any shelter, rescue, pound, or whatever that gives
animals away for free. Most shelters consider the adoption fee to
be a donation that goes towards feed and vet bills. Usually you
are paying anywhere from $30 to $200. You'll pay less if the
animal hasn't been altered, and more if it has to cover the cost
of the vet bills.

Also, I think that the numbers on feed for a year were rather low.
The cheapest 18 kg. bag of dog food available is $12 Canadian.
The most expensive is probably around $50. So unless you're
feeding the cheapest food possible (which I don't recommend),
you're probably going to spend more than the average that was
listed.

Also, if you're new to the pet thing, do your research on food and
consider feeding more natural foods or cooking your own. It does
get time consuming, especially if you have several animals, but
it's well worth it for your pet's sake.

Also add a lot of $$$ to the vet bill category! I expect to spend
AT LEAST $100 per vet visit. It's $50 to walk in the door for any
type of exam, and when you take into consideration the vaccines,
bloodwork, heartworm, dewormer, flea meds, and so on, you could be
looking at much more. Not all of these things are necessary for
every dog, nor would they be needed annually, but you just never
know.

I'm generally very critical of articles that have to do with
pets/animals, but you brought up some good points in yours. I
really like the fact that you urged people to do their research
before getting a pet, and to consider adopting from a shelter. :)
And that you suggested a vet fund - it's so important to remember
that the expense of a pet isn't simply food and supplies.
Veterinary care can be quite expensive, and any pet can develop
health problems.

One thing that I would like to add is that virtually all animals
commonly kept as pets are overpopulated and, therefore, available
for adoption at shelters or rescues. I have even heard of fish
rescues! Most people automatically go to a pet
store (or sometimes a breeder) to get small animals, reptiles,
etc. - but if you adopt from a rescue you are not contributing to
overpopulation, or to the other
problems associated with pet stores: animals being treated as
merchandise, and the resulting problems of poor care, impulse
buying, etc.

Second thing I want to add: Small animals like rodents, guinea
pigs and sometimes even rabbits are considered by many people to
be easy to care for. That is far fom the truth! To PROPERLY care
for these animals is actually quite a bit of trouble. For example,
I've had both cats and guinea pigs. The guinea pigs were far more
trouble than any cat I've ever had and a lot more expensive in
terms of food/supplies, too. (Not to mention vet bills - they both
had chronic healh problems. But of course that can happen to any
animal.) Pet stores usually supply innaccurate advice, and some of
the supplies and toys sold there are not even safe (or they
unsuitable for the animals they're intended for). So I would not
recommend to "ask plenty of questions to make sure you're getting
the adequate toys for the rodents of your choice" at a pet store.
It's actually pretty hard to find good, detailed info on caring
for small animals. Most of the books out there are not great and
bad info abounds online. (I didn't read the info for all the
animals on the site recommended in the article, but the guinea pig
section contained several serious errors, especilly the feeding
section.) For guinea pigs, a great site is www.guinealynx.com. For
rabbits, www.rabbit.org.

Finally on to #3. Some of those smaller pets can live a long time,
too. Guinea pigs can live up to 9 years (avg. 5-8) My remaining
one is over 6 1/2 now. Chichillas can live up to 20 years! As for
turtles...they can live a long time, although I don't know the
exact life expectancy. My parents friends' kids got turtles not
realizing this, and by the time they went to university the
turtles were still alive, they wouldn't or couldn't take them, so
they left them with their parents, who had them put to Sleep. :(

I'm assuming you were referring to cats, dogs, ferrets, rabbits
etc. with the spaying or neutering comment. Spaying or neutering
is not considered routine in *all* animals. In some its only
recommnded if there' a medical problem or something.

Anyway...just a few more things to think about for anyone who
might be considering getting one of these animals.

Congatulations anyone who made it this far into my response...yes
I am finished now...lol.