Talking about 'numbers': how much does it 'cost' to own a pet?

When deciding to adopt or include a new member in the family, considering the pet in the family economy is important. But why? Because pets are living, sentient beings with needs to satisfy. We must understand that pets depend 100% on their guardians.

It is not common to talk about this topic with guardians during one or more vet appointments, but we could turn it into a healthy habit, which will allow them to have orders and a monetary fund for the care of their pets, and to foresee situations that may require a greater demand, such as an emergency, hospitalization, complementary studies, or treatment.

Bills to consider:

1. Food can be homemade, commercial, maintenance, functional, or therapeutic. Treats such as snacks or candies should also be under this category.
2. Health, which may contain insurance, includes 'planned' expenses such as check-ups, maintenance of the complete health plan, unforeseen events, basic or complex complementary studies, hospitalizations, and surgeries.
3. Cleaning or leisure can include ethologists, trainers, walkers, baths, spas, toys, scratching posts, and gyms. These items, although they might seem like it, are no less important. Being able to provide pets with all their needs is fundamental for their health, especially if we think about the impact of stress, and the large number of diseases that originate in its presence, especially as cats are very predisposed to suffer from it.

These expenses make up the list of must-haves to guarantee pet well-being. Prices will depend on the quality of the items or the particular needs of the dog or cat.

Beyond the expenses, the unconditional love that our pets and patients provide is invaluable, so giving them the love, time, and care they need to prevent diseases, preserve their health, and improve their life quality is priceless and fundamental.

In recent years, there has been enormous interest and awareness generation about our impact on the planet, which is why sustainability and circular economy are also considered in the veterinary field.

Sustainability represents a way of living in balance with our environment and preventing a shortage of resources that could put life at risk.

The circular economy is a production and consumption model that involves sharing, renting, reusing, repairing, renewing, and recycling existing materials and products as much as possible, thereby generating added value. It proposes a new look at our way of producing, consuming, and disposing of to optimize the planet's resources and produce less and less waste. It is an alternative model to the linear economy. It proposes a concept of the seven R's of redesigning, reducing, reusing, repairing, renewing, recovering, and recycling.

To collaborate, some alternatives and actions can be carried out regarding our pets. For example: pet food containers, insect protein-based foods, etc., are some of the main sources. In the last aspect, there is still a lot of research on its amino-acid composition and the medium-term impact on pets' health.

More than eight million tons of plastic end up in the oceans every year, according to the environmental organization WWF. That's the reason why the Clean Footprint project was born: to close the recycling cycle of these packages. This circularity initiative develops and implements solutions that act on the main challenges of each stage of the chain: from 100% recyclable or reusable packaging development to promoting the correct disposal of packaging by consumers and the incorporation of post-consumer plastic in new products.

The important thing is that a social conscience has been generated that leads us to take greater environmental care and the impact of living in it, and pets do not escape this!

Did you know about these topics? Do you have any ideas about it?

Source: All Pet Food Magazine