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Post by Jennifer C on Sept 8, 2014 3:04:39 GMT
We live in a pier home built in the '30's. The front porch has runs the front of the house and has 6 stairs from the ground to the porch.
Our dog can no longer climb steps so we had a cement ramp put on the side of our house that leads to the side door and the end of the front porch.
The contractor who built the ramp thought we were nuts, but dh says this is our forever home and we may need the ramp one day. It cost about $10k.
Jennifer
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Post by Lexica on Sept 8, 2014 3:38:18 GMT
I am finding the hospital bills to be just as interesting so I crossed that out. I don't know why I didn't include it in the first place. I never totaled my bills from when my son's dog got cancer in his eye, but I know it was quite a hefty bill. And after they removed his eye, they placed a little rubber ball in the socket for aesthetic purposes, I was told. Of course, my dog is allergic to it and I have to pay for another surgery to have it removed.
Like with the gerbil story, the dog was my son's dog. My son was undergoing cancer treatment himself and then of all the strange things, his Weimaraner gets cancer. He was afraid the dog caught it from him and no matter how much I explained that was impossible, he didn't quite believe me. There was no way I could put that dog down while my son was fighting the same disease. What kind of message would that send him? So I sold everything I could and saved the dog. That was during a pretty horrible point in my life financially due to my ex stopping our son's child support when he was diagnosed with his cancer. Paying for the dog was something I absolutely could not afford, but had to make a judgment call on the effect it would have on my son to lose his dog at that point in his own treatment. Looking back at how many things went wrong within that few years, its no wonder I enjoy peace and quiet so much now. I'm never bored, even if I stay home all day by myself. No drama is bliss for me. There is no longer any such thing as boredom.
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Post by Lexica on Sept 8, 2014 3:42:45 GMT
We live in a pier home built in the '30's. The front porch has runs the front of the house and has 6 stairs from the ground to the porch. Our dog can no longer climb steps so we had a cement ramp put on the side of our house that leads to the side door and the end of the front porch. The contractor who built the ramp thought we were nuts, but dh says this is our forever home and we may need the ramp one day. It cost about $10k. Jennifer I don't know what a pier home is, but the idea of a ramp isn't nuts at all. As you say, you may need it yourself some day. And I'm sure furniture delivery is a lot easier up a ramp than up a set of stairs. And doesn't that make your home more attractive to a buyer? Assuming there was plenty of room for the ramp. And at that price, I'm sure its attractive.
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QueenoftheSloths
Drama Llama
Member Since January 2004, 2,698 forum posts PeaNut Number: 122614 PeaBoard Title: StuckOnPeas
Posts: 5,955
Jun 26, 2014 0:29:24 GMT
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Post by QueenoftheSloths on Sept 8, 2014 3:56:07 GMT
I spent $300 on a floor to ceiling cat tree. The cats I bought it for could take it or leave it, but the new set of cats LOVE it and spend hours on it every day. We also have the ultimate scratching post a couple peas have mentioned. We have it on the landing of the stairs. The cats take one leap up half the stairs, then a second leap to the top of the scratching post and look out the window. We got the optional seat to go on top. The cushion isn't very padded, but the extra space is nice because I have jumbo sized cats.
The cat in my avatar had a variety of medical problems. Diabetes, kidney failure, hyperthyroid, megacolon. She racked up vet bills so fast I knew I didn't want to keep track, but our vet said she was in the top 5 for most frequent visits she had ever had from a patient. Her 2 biggest single expenses were a trip to the ER vet for her megacolon, and a 2 week stay at a vet an hour away for radioactive treatment for her thyroid. She was a precious little cat to us, and I miss her dearly.
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Post by Lexica on Sept 8, 2014 4:56:26 GMT
I just looked at a site recommended for custom pet carriers from that site I was looking at this morning that prompted this post. Wow, if they don't have it, you don't need it. They make a backpack carrier for your bird! They have a full line of bird and ferret carriers. Who knew there was a market to backpack your bird? If you have a pet of any type, they have a carrier for it. There are some standard carriers of various prices and a section to come up with a custom one that suits you and your pet the best. I have a generic useful carrier, but if I ever need to replace it, I'm looking here. You can even turn your carrier into a car seat and a stroller. Wasn't there mention of a stroller up thread? I thought this was an interesting request: There are photos of her carrying her dog on her back. I wouldn't have thought of it, but it really is a good idea in the event the dog is injured or sick and you need to carry him to the vet. Here is the site: www.celltei.com
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 25, 2024 10:26:19 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2014 6:30:21 GMT
$1500 for ultrasound to diagnose the black poodle's cancer. It had to be read by a radiologist in NYC. Then his meds after that. Ongoing.
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Post by BeckyTech on Sept 8, 2014 6:48:40 GMT
About $140 for a Kuranda bed for Lacey. I went with the better materials, figuring this to be a lifetime purchase. An ordinary pillow dog bed for a dog her size is about $40. I figured you have to replace those a few times over a lifetime, so I would just go with a really good one to start with. She certainly seems to like it. (whew! I was really worried about spending that kind of money and her not using it.)
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Post by Lexica on Sept 8, 2014 6:57:01 GMT
About $140 for a Kuranda bed for Lacey. I went with the better materials, figuring this to be a lifetime purchase. An ordinary pillow dog bed for a dog her size is about $40. I figured you have to replace those a few times over a lifetime, so I would just go with a really good one to start with. She certainly seems to like it. (whew! I was really worried about spending that kind of money and her not using it.) Is the Kuranda the bed that looks like a mini trampoline? I looked at various beds for my dog, but realized he doesn't need one. He sleeps in my bed with me, and during the day he is either curled up in my leather recliner or on my lap if I'm in the recliner. I don't think he'd stay in a bed by himself. I tried to get my sister to buy one of those for her elderly dog that had some tumors on her side. She was too old for surgery on them and the vet said they were harmless, just unsightly. I thought it would make her more comfortable in her final weeks. My sister ended up just getting a bunch of blankets from the house and making her a soft pile to lay in. I liked the bed idea better.
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desiree
Junior Member
Posts: 56
Aug 10, 2014 9:14:45 GMT
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Post by desiree on Sept 8, 2014 7:00:48 GMT
this scratching post for $700. They are handmade & you select your own colors (mine has a dark aubergine middle and cream pads) they are quite tall, it comes up to my chin and they are really heavy and solid. I've had mine for 5 years and both cats LOVE it and even after all this time there's not a single spot of wear on it. Millie used to launch herself at it from across the room and hang off the side by her claws and there's no risk of it ever tipping over. Even though I only have one cat now - in the past both of them scratched on it every day - never had any other piece of furniture touched. The cats sleep on the top (or on the shelf inside) they sit on it to look out the window, they'd chase each other around on it etc. Best thing I ever bought them & definitely worth the money. I wish we could have seen Millie do that. I bet that was a sight to see. Sounds so funny! Animals are the best. For me it was $10k for back surgery. She was a Dachshund. They're prone to these types of injuries. Her wheelchair was $500. We were able to resell it for $750 on eBay. She was too cute with her little w/c. My little Gwyneth. Still miss her. Now I've got two little pugs. Couldn't bring myself to get another wiener dog. The thought of going through that again was too hard to think about. Thank you for the site. I buy my girls clothes from Petsmart, but pugs are hard fits due to their body shape. It'll be interesting to see if they sell clothes for their body frame.
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Post by BeckyTech on Sept 8, 2014 7:14:31 GMT
About $140 for a Kuranda bed for Lacey. I went with the better materials, figuring this to be a lifetime purchase. An ordinary pillow dog bed for a dog her size is about $40. I figured you have to replace those a few times over a lifetime, so I would just go with a really good one to start with. She certainly seems to like it. (whew! I was really worried about spending that kind of money and her not using it.) Is the Kuranda the bed that looks like a mini trampoline? I looked at various beds for my dog, but realized he doesn't need one. He sleeps in my bed with me, and during the day he is either curled up in my leather recliner or on my lap if I'm in the recliner. I don't think he'd stay in a bed by himself. I tried to get my sister to buy one of those for her elderly dog that had some tumors on her side. She was too old for surgery on them and the vet said they were harmless, just unsightly. I thought it would make her more comfortable in her final weeks. My sister ended up just getting a bunch of blankets from the house and making her a soft pile to lay in. I liked the bed idea better. Yes, that is exactly what they look like: Kuranda Bed website. I had never heard of them until I started following those darling Great Dane puppies on the Service Dog Project site. Oh, how I wish I had known about these when I had Kirby, my large lab mix. She started having trouble getting up from the floor when she was about 7 or 8 and one of these elevated beds would have made life so much easier for her. She was about 80 lbs. or so. Lacey is young, but like I said, this is a lifetime purchase, so if she gets arthritic in her old age, I'm all set. (Although she is only 40 lbs.) The nice thing about these beds is that you can replace just the mat part if/when it wears out and the frame is good for life. I bought the aluminum frame so it can't be chewed. They have all kinds of configurations so you basically custom build your bed. I also like the fact that they donate to shelters quite a bit.
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Post by Lexica on Sept 8, 2014 7:34:27 GMT
BeckyTech, I just found a knockoff brand, metal frame, hose wash cover on my craigslist for $25! They say they bought it for their two Dachshunds, but the dogs refuse to jump up on it. I could even see something like that for my kitties. If I placed it on my bed during the day, that would keep them on that bed and off mine, leaving me less kitty hair to deal with on my bedding. You wouldn't believe the number of those tape lint gadgets I go through in a year due to using them on my bed coverings. My dog doesn't shed at all, but the cats, well, I could combine all the kitty hair from the three of them and create a new cat every year. And they are shorthair breeds! I also toss a plastic tablecloth over the bedspread after I make my bed to make the cat hair more managable. This bed might work for them. Thoughts? I realize it isn't the awesome Kuranda brand, but it is metal framing. Depending on the size, maybe I can purchase a Kuranda cover for it. And for that price, if they hate it, I could just resell it myself.
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Post by miominmio on Sept 8, 2014 7:50:18 GMT
I haven't bought clothes or any kind of accessories for my cats, dogs or rabbits. The gods gave them fur, and that's what they wear, even in an arctic climate. My horse, on the other hand, needs to be clipped, otherwise he will get extremely sweaty and take forever to cool off, so he needs rugs in winter. he has a rather impressive wardrobe, but that's because it's necessary, not because he looks cute in them.
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Post by Patter on Sept 8, 2014 9:57:49 GMT
Unfortunately medications. He is on 6 different medications a day (or 16 pills a day) for epilepsy that we are having trouble controlling. I won't even get into all of the vet costs since August 2013 when he was diagnosed at age 2.
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Post by pjaye on Sept 8, 2014 10:19:27 GMT
Yes, she was a funny little girl - everyday she would make me laugh. She has some of the strangest habits...she also used to lick the scratching post at the same time she was scratching at it! On paw on either side and her face in the middle and licking while she scratched. She at the end of march from cancer and I miss her every day.
I knew I shouldn't come back to this thread...it's dangerous territory! I am seriously considering getting on of those backpack carriers. I live right in the middle of town and therefore don't need a car and the vet is walking distance - only two blocks but Angelique is a PITA in a normal carrier, she sits at one end or the other and is very difficult to carry. Dad has always been around to drive me if I needed it, but he's terminally ill now so I won't have that option in the future. I've often thought a backpack would be a perfect solution and wondered how I could fasten straps to the current carrier. Now I know where to get one, it's very very tempting.
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Post by monklady123 on Sept 8, 2014 10:47:56 GMT
Vet bills. And if we want to discount regular vet bills (regular checkups, monthly heartworm meds, etc.) then the most expensive was the time she had to spend all day at the vet getting a series of xrays every hour or so to watch for problems from the corn cob she ate. Who knew that corn cobs were so dangerous? ugh. They aren't digestible so if the dog just gulps it down it can get stuck. Thankfully my dog is a good chewer.
Non-vet stuff? I guess it would be her bed. Not an expensive one -- probably $30 or so. We don't buy her anything else extravagant. She gets ordinary toys (with stuffing, since unstuffing them is her favorite thing to do), and ordinary treats, and NO clothes because she hates them. lol. We've bought her a few Halloween costumes from the after-Halloween sales at Petsmart (we save them for the next year). She won't walk in them, just stands stiff-legged giving us *that* look.
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scrapaddie
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,090
Jul 8, 2014 20:17:31 GMT
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Post by scrapaddie on Sept 8, 2014 11:56:09 GMT
Enclosing the front deck and the garden for the cats. Probably cost us about $700 all up. DH was lucky and scored the metal framework and the back fence from the offcut bin at work. Definately the best thing we ever did though...they spend every fine day out there, snoozing under the ferns. I spend most weekends out there with them, lol. I looked on line once, Pinterest maybe, there are some really awesome cat gardens people have built!!!
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anniebeth24
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,540
Jun 26, 2014 14:12:17 GMT
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Post by anniebeth24 on Sept 8, 2014 11:56:07 GMT
Our house. We were living in an apartment that didn't allow dogs when we found our 6 week old pup on the side of the road. So, we his him for about two months while we house hunted. So, $215k and we had to buy out the remainder of our lease..so add another 2k on that. We also ended up buying a house because of our dog. After a military transfer, we were told NOT to buy a house in our new community because it would be hard to re-sell. Looked and looked, but couldn't find a decent rental that would allow us to have the dog with us, so we ended up purchasing a house. In the end, we sold it rather easily and even made a bit of a profit. Guess that means the dog actually made money for us?
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scrapaddie
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,090
Jul 8, 2014 20:17:31 GMT
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Post by scrapaddie on Sept 8, 2014 12:08:10 GMT
My puppy does not wear clothes. But since he is a large dog, I have a toddler bed with a memory foam mattress for him. He sleeps on it or he sleeps on my bed. He moves throughout the night. Vet bills through his life Have been extraordinary starting with ACL repair when he was only six months old. Even neutering was more expensive because a testicle was retained. And he has grain allergy, so his food and treats are more expensive as I look for grain free food. Fortunately they are becoming much more available. Being a boxer, he has had surgery for cancer- the most recent was mast cell cancer. He also has cardiomyopathy so sees a cardiologist twice a year. That's up to $800 twice a year just for that. His most expensive veterinary incident was when he od'd on NSAIDS this past summer. That entire incident was close to $6000. But, I now have a dog who is nearly 11 years old, and is worth every penny that I have spent on him. The sad thing is that I could lose him at any time because of his heart condition. My goal is to make sure that he lives a good life as long as he can. I have to admit that I close my eyes when he runs in the yard! He could collapse at any time from exertion or overexcitement.
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Post by farmdpea on Sept 8, 2014 12:08:29 GMT
Nobody tell my Great Dane that those up thread have their own twin beds!!! She has pretty much laid claim to my couch even though she has her own $300 orthopedic bed. I also upgraded my own bed from a full to a king to accommodate her. That probably cost a few thousand. As far as vet bills, of course she was spayed but we used the low cost clinic, because they didn't keep her overnight. Last May she had to have 7" of her tail amputated. She literally went out to potty, I heard a yelp/bark, a few minutes later she came in with a broken tail. We still don't know how she managed to do that! A few weeks after that, she ran in front of my Polaris Ranger (side by side ATV) which my mom was driving. That resulted in a seriously bruised shoulder which took a month to heal and a few rounds of pain meds. We were so glad to see the summer of 2013 come to an end. Maybe that baby deserves a twin bed... ETA: I forgot about her $$$ grain free food. Several brands have caused her to break out in hives. So I am scared to take her off of the Blue Buffalo.
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Post by compwalla on Sept 8, 2014 12:10:47 GMT
One dog had a 3k vet bill after he ingested gum with a lot of xylitol in it. That was three days at the emergency vet on 24 hour IV support. The other dog has been less expensive so far but he's not yet two and there is plenty of time. He is tall and very skinny so his kennel and his ultra deluxe memory foam dog bed in size ginormous have been his two biggest expenses so far.
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Post by picotjo on Sept 8, 2014 12:57:53 GMT
Not counting vet bills, the most I've spent is $40 on a hand knitted sweater for my 5 lb yorkie poo.
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Post by gorgeouskid on Sept 8, 2014 13:35:49 GMT
DH bought a five foot cat condo. I hate it. The cats love it. They win. It wasn't cheap.
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Post by BeckyTech on Sept 8, 2014 14:01:26 GMT
BeckyTech, I just found a knockoff brand, metal frame, hose wash cover on my craigslist for $25! They say they bought it for their two Dachshunds, but the dogs refuse to jump up on it. I could even see something like that for my kitties. If I placed it on my bed during the day, that would keep them on that bed and off mine, leaving me less kitty hair to deal with on my bedding. You wouldn't believe the number of those tape lint gadgets I go through in a year due to using them on my bed coverings. My dog doesn't shed at all, but the cats, well, I could combine all the kitty hair from the three of them and create a new cat every year. And they are shorthair breeds! I also toss a plastic tablecloth over the bedspread after I make my bed to make the cat hair more managable. This bed might work for them. Thoughts? I realize it isn't the awesome Kuranda brand, but it is metal framing. Depending on the size, maybe I can purchase a Kuranda cover for it. And for that price, if they hate it, I could just resell it myself. Since cats like to be high, I bet they would migrate to the elevated bed. It doesn't have to be durable or chew proof for cats, so for $25, it's probably worth a try!
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Post by BeckyTech on Sept 8, 2014 14:14:14 GMT
Oh! Discounting vet bills, I guess the most I really spent was for the Invisible Fence when Emily learned how to fly. That was something like 10 or 11 years ago. I'm thinking it was on the order of $1,300, but a ton cheaper than a real fence would have been.
I had to pay $265 for a 3-visit "redo" (they had to come out and redo the flags and train Lacey) when she discovered a 10" gap between my fence and my neighbors fence that I had never even noticed because of some overgrowth. She wasn't trying to escape, my measly 3.5' chain-link fence wouldn't hold her if she really was, but she saw that big gap as an easy way to explore the yard of the neighbor 2 houses down that she'd stared at for so long. Luckily I was standing outside with a leash in my hand when I saw her zip through and managed to get her before she could explore herself into the street down the block, but I wasn't taking any chances after that.
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Post by gardengoddess on Sept 8, 2014 15:04:38 GMT
A teeth cleaning.
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Post by ladybuginohio on Sept 8, 2014 15:28:52 GMT
A cooling gel doggie bed.
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Post by NanaKate on Sept 8, 2014 15:39:29 GMT
$20 Christmas sweater...guess our Molly is low maintenance! Thinking of getting a doggie stroller though, so she can go on my morning walks with me
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Post by giatocj on Sept 8, 2014 16:04:33 GMT
This...and it suckedDestructosaurus my hiney!! Tucker had that thing gutted and strewn over the living room floor in under 5 minutes. It was a massacre of epic proportions. We got it for him because he was destroying every toy we got him. We thought for sure we'd found a challenge for him but it turned out to be yet another miserable fail. We cremated our Golden with the very same toy we brought him home with as a puppy so we just were VERY ill-prepared for Captain Destructo!! Now that he's 8 he has FINALLY outgrown his habit of shredding his toys, and has accumulated a very cute collection of stuffies.
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Post by monklady123 on Sept 8, 2014 16:15:23 GMT
This...and it suckedDestructosaurus my hiney!! Tucker had that thing gutted and strewn over the living room floor in under 5 minutes. It was a massacre of epic proportions. We got it for him because he was destroying every toy we got him. We thought for sure we'd found a challenge for him but it turned out to be yet another miserable fail. We cremated our Golden with the very same toy we brought him home with as a puppy so we just were VERY ill-prepared for Captain Destructo!! Now that he's 8 he has FINALLY outgrown his habit of shredding his toys, and has accumulated a very cute collection of stuffies. Lol. We've just given up on this since my dog's very favorite thing in the whole world (besides eating chicken) is unstuffing her toys. One year at Christmas my sister proudly announced that she'd found a dog toy with no stuffing. I didn't have the heart to tell her that Simba probably wouldn't play with it for more than a few minutes. lol. So we just buy the cheapo toys from the Petsmart sale section and let her unstuff them. She never eats the stuffing so we don't have to worry about that. I'm always amazed to see that she can still get stuffing out of a toy that I thought was completely gutted.
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Post by workingclassdog on Sept 8, 2014 16:20:00 GMT
Hell no I am not paying that kind of money for a flipping dog. We love our dogs to death, honestly, but I find it pretty dumb to spend $100s of dollars for clothing and accessories for a DOG. I will pick up something cute at Target on clearance if I find it funny, like for Halloween but that is really pushing it. I think the last time I did that was a Hot Dog costume for about 3.00 about five years ago.
The most expensive thing would probably be her haircuts.. $50 something a pop and that alone kills me.
Edited to add: After reading the posts... I would say vet bills would be the most expensive.. but we haven't had any that are $1,000s of dollars thank goodness!! I did fly my cats when I moved to Colorado, but that was free because I still had flying privileges.. so me, my two cats and 40 boxes of my belongings were moved via airlines for nothing! Can you imagine that now?? HAHA...
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