Love and Money

An article in The Scotsman reports that an insurance company survey says that the cost of dog ownership over the course of the animal's life can range from 18,000 pounds to 33,000 pounds (that's $31,224 to $57,250 for us here in the States). I believe it. A veterinarian I know said recently that he spent more than $12,000 last year on his dogs and cats.

It's expensive enough when you're just buying high-quality food and taking them to the veterinarian once or twice a year, but when an injury occurs or illness strikes, vet bills can really get scary. A lot of people complain about the high cost of veterinary care, but it's certainly a better bargain than uninsured medical care. Veterinarians on the East and West coasts, where veterinary costs tend to be the highest, are paying a premium for land and staff salaries. And veterinary medicine is right up there with human medicine as far as what's available: kidney transplants for cats, hip replacements for dogs, chemotherapy for animals with cancer, physical therapy for dogs with ACL tears--you name it, it's probably available for animals or will be soon.

Even small hospitals, like the one I take my dogs to, can provide very sophisticated care. "We can do ultrasounds, we can do endoscopy, we can do laser surgery," says John Hamil, DVM. "If you go to the specialists, you can get care that rivals the care you can get in a human hospital, at a tiny fraction of the cost."

But even Dr. Hamil worries about rising costs for his clients. "With people stretched as tightly as they are...we have people that are priced out of the market," he says. "Certainly young people can be priced out very quickly."

Willingness to pay isn't necessarily related to income, though, he says. "Oftentimes people who have a modest amount are willing to spend the money, and sometimes people who have a lot of money say 'no way.' I see people as or more willing to provide care now at the new cost than they did 35 years ago at the lower cost, and I think that's because there is a different ethic in regards to care for animals. There's a different awareness of what's available and a different desire for the level of care to be provided."

This is a subject I contemplate every 10 years or so--about the length of time between each catastrophic pet health problem. Veterinary medicine has done some wonderful things for my animals, and I've never regretted a cent of the cost. I just wish it could do more. I would fly my Darcy to Timbuktu if they could fix her heart there. I have a neighbor who complained some time ago about the $600 his dog racked up for a back problem. "It's just not worth it," he said. He's so wrong.

House Hunting With Dogs

The Wall Street Journal's real estate section has a good piece on what dog owners should look for in a home. I especially liked the advice on electronic fences, which seem like a good idea to many people but have some definite cons: to name just two, they don't keep other people out of your yard and they don't prevent other dogs from coming into your yard and attacking your dog.

If you're a dog lover deciding where to settle, consider some of these dog-friendly cities. Dog Fancy has also ranked places friendly to dogs. Of all of these, my dog-tested favorites are Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, Long Beach, and San Diego. Just remember that water dogs do best in Vancouver. Luckily, my greyhound and Cavaliers have never minded the rain. Maybe that's because they're all of British origin and some ancestral memory tells them that rain is a normal state of affairs.

Cool Pet News

If only I'd had a dog to tutor me in school. I might have gotten beyond basic arithmetic. A couple of recent experiments show that dogs appear to use calculus-like, well, calculations to figure out the optimal path to fetch a ball or stick. And, of course, we all know they can count. My dogs all keep careful track of the number of treats each has received to make sure they're not shorted.

Those of you in tick country may be interested to learn that scientists have deciphered the genomes of certain bacteria that cause ehrlichiosis, a tick-borne disease that can affect dogs and people. The study reports new genes that allow the bacteria to evade a host's immune system and adapt to new niches and will help scientists better study the bacteria and how they operate.

Fellow pet writer Beth Adelman recommends a new book for people with allergies who have or would like to have pets. Here's what she says:

"I just got a copy of a great new book by Shirlee Kalstone, called "Allergic to Pets? The Breakthrough Guide to LIving With the Animals You Love." Shirlee worked with a DVM and an MD on this book, and it is really straightforward, practical, factual, and covers dogs, cats, birds, horses, ferrets and rodents!.

"She has dogs and cats, and is very allergic; she and her husband have a company that develops products that lessen the impact of allergies. But the book is not a commercial for her stuff. It's a rundown of pretty much everything we know so far about pet allergies and what you can do about them so you can keep your pet with you. The book is short and inexpensive, too ($7.99). Definitely, it will help keep some animals in their homes.

(And no, I did not work on the book with her at all, so this is an unbiased endorsement.) "

How 'Bout That Bull Terrier?

Ch. Rocky Top's Sundance Kid, Rufus to his friends, last night became the first colored bull terrier to win best in show at Westminster. My neighbor e-mailed me to ask what I thought about the winning dog, ending her message with a pictograph of an unhappy face. Her feelings probably mirrored those of a lot of people, but although I'm not a fan of terriers in general--too rowdy for my tastes--I've always liked bull terriers, with their sculptural heads and big smiles.

The bull terrier is an extrovert, a happy, outgoing dog. The first bull terriers, created sometime around 1835 by crossing bulldogs with the now-extinct white English terriers, were all white, but of course the genetic lottery ensured that some would have colored coats. By 1936, these colored bull terriers--which must be any color other than white or any color with white as long as white doesn't predominate--were recognized as a separate variety. Later, the miniature bull terrier was developed. Whatever its variety, the bull terrier likes to have fun in the ring, and Rufus did that all the way to a win.

Brush Those Fangs!

February is Pet Dental Health Month. Yes, you're bad enough about flossing your own teeth, let alone brushing Bailey's, but really--how much longer can you stand his bad breath? That bad breath is a sign of periodontal disease, caused by the buildup of bacteria-laden plaque on the teeth. Plaque hardens into tartar, the ugly brown or yellow spots you see on Spot's teeth.

Regular brushing is the best way to keep your pet's mouth healthy and breath sweet. It's easy to learn to brush your pet's teeth, and once it becomes a habit, it takes less than a minute each day. Back up brushing by giving rope toys and knobbly hard rubber toys to help "floss" the teeth.

Cats Undercover

No, not under the bedcovers, although they're often found there. Cats have a long history with and as spies and detectives, both in literature and film. Now a real-life cat, Fred, putting his very man-, er, malehood on the chopping block, so to speak, has helped bring to justice a man masquerading as a veterinarian. What's next? Drug-sniffing dogs? Oh, wait...

Itchy and Scratchy

Does your dog or cat suffer from allergies? If your pet seems to be scratching a never-ending itch, he may be allergic to some of the same things you are: grasses, pollen, molds, the chemicals on certain fabrics or carpets, or even other pets. It's not unusual, for instance, for dogs to be allergic to cats. Theoretically, cats can be allergic to dogs, although it's not something that's commonly tested for, says veterinary dermatologist Kim Boyanowski of Peninsula Animal Dermatology in Redwood City, California. These types of allergies are known as atopic or inhalant, meaning they're absorbed through the skin or inhaled through the respiratory tract.

Pets can also have food allergies, but they're less common than inhalant allergies, Dr. Boyanowski says. For instance, only about 10 percent of allergic dogs exhibit true food allergies.

Unlike people, it's rare for cats and dogs to manifest allergies by sniffling, sneezing or coughing. A coughing cat, however, may have allergy-related asthma.

Allergies can be genetic, but whether a pet develops allergies depends on the convergence of three events: genetic predisposition, exposure to an allergen, and a reaction to that allergen. "If they are not genetically predisposed or they don't have an exposure or haven't triggered a reaction, they could theoretically on a blood test or skin test react as an allergic patient but not be displaying symptoms," Dr. Boyanowski says.