Pets and your Budget

I get a bit angry when I hear people say they can't afford a pet. You mean you can't afford to share your love? Or to give a pet a nice home? There have been so many studies done on the benefits of a pet. I know our pets have made being "frugal" a bit easier. We have 2 cats, a dog, and a turtle. All of our animals were rescued in some way.

Our turtle is fun to watch. She has a huge tank. She will come to where we are if we are next to the tank and seems to like being spoken to. She eats mostly feeder fish and although her hunting is brutal it's kind of neat to watch. The kids have learned a lot from her. When we first got her she lived in a Rubber Maid tub. We priced aquariums but they were really expensive. Then a friend told us he had an aquarium that would be perfect for her and he wanted it out of his garage. It was free and it was huge and came with all of the parts we would need to run it.

Our kitties are our pride and joy. They are so naughty but funny. They play with one another, although sometimes it leads to a fight. They have a love hate relationship going. Griffin *sigh* loves the turtle. But Darthette isn't really fond of him. The kitties cost us food and cat litter. But they are worth it. Since we go no where they are our entertainment.
Our dog Thomas now is another story. He's a basset/beagle mix. He has been the best dog anyone could ask for but he is now blind. He went awhile before we even knew he was blind. We rearranged the furniture in the house and he was running into everything. I knew he needed to go to the vet and the vets in my area are expensive. I called a neighboring vet who treats farm animals and he was willing to look at him for $25. When I got there I wasn't impressed and was thinking of just walking back out. I soon learned I was wrong. He may not have had a fancy office but he was very knowledgeable. In fact he was friends with a U of M doctor that specialized in eye problems of animals. I soon found there was nothing that could be done but that as long as we were willing to take care of a blind dog there was no problem. I happily forked over the $25. He is now the vet for our animals shots as well and I am getting a bargain.

If you have a pet and can't take care of it financially call your local Humane Society. Ours has financial paperwork you can fill out and you can get help for your pet at a very discounted rate or free. We didn't qualify, but I know a lot of people who have and were very happy with the service their pets received.

Thanks For The INfo , We Also have a financial system for our pets here but have to get them from the humane society