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We are all compassionate about homeless dogs kept in shelters and whenever we see an add calling for a dog adoption, most of us seriously consider doing it. Many people actually adopt a dog with best intentions, hoping to give it another chance and a new home.
However, not everyone acknowledges the costs of having a dog, and as a result people return their dogs to shelters or even abandon them in the wild. As a result everything builds an unpleasant experience for the shallow dog lover and another tragedy for the dog.
That is why several dog enthusiasts at Flexpetz.com have created a shelter and rescue dog cost calculator. At their site you can get an idea of the cost of owning a dog if you are regarding dog adoption.
The calculator basically gives you an idea of all initial and hidden costs that adopting a dog has. The purpose of this calculator is to make people think responsibly about shelter dog adoption.
As you go through the steps of the calculator it gives you hints on how much this or that would cost. All commonly imaginable dog expenses are there, like veterinarian costs, annual visits, shots, collars, dog food and toys. However, what makes this calculator great is it brings up things that very often come to new dog owners as surprises and bring about unforeseen expenses. Those uncommon expenses are training, invisible or physical fence, surgery and even in-home destruction.
After you’ve filled out all the fields, you can get your estimate that depends on all the numbers and the number of years your new friend is expected to live. The number you get from this calculator is rough, it can turn out more, it can be less. However, one thing is certain: if you are shocked by the number you should do more thinking on whether or not you are ready to adopt a dog. Remember, you are not doing the animal any good if with you it has worse conditions than it did in the shelter. Same way, bringing the dog back to the shelter is not great either.