The Struggle Between Having Pets And Saving Money

I remember the determined conniving that would follow every time I saw a “free kittens” sign as a child.  I would beg, draft pet-care contracts for my parents, and try to earn extra money to pay for food and supplies.  I always expected that as an adult, my home would be filled with furry friends . . .  maybe even some ones with scales as well.  We’ve been making great strides on cutting expenses and making more money to pay off our debt.  The house is certainly active and full with our family of five, but I’ve found myself scheming again.  Can we get another pet?

In college we adopted one cat.  Then, I found a stray, so we had two cats.  The stray passed away, so I rationalized another adoption was necessary due to the perceived lonliness of our first cat.  She had been very nurturing with the little stray.  I used my powers of persuasion to convince Mr. Smith (then-boyfriend) to adopt one more cat.  But, surprise, they offered an adopt one, get one free deal to us.  We ended up with a brother and sister kitten.  And then there were three.

We bought our first home the summer after undergraduate school.  Now that we had a house, we felt it appropriate to adopt a dog as well.  I took a 5-hour roadtrip to adopt our puppy, after falling in love with her picture on Petfinder.  She is mostly German Shepherd, with a little bit of Norwegian Elkhound.  Most people think that she is a Husky.  I believe the adoption fee was only $65.  She is a wonderful dog and currently eleven years old.

A few years after we adopted our puppy, someone asked us to temporarily care for two additional cats for a “friend.”  The owner of these two “stowaways” disappeared.  For quite some time, we had a total of five cats and one large dog in a two bedroom house (before kids). Our cats have passed away over the years since then, so that we only have one left.  Our family currently consists of two adults, three small children, one German Shepherd, and one cat.  This should be enough.  But remember that little girl who wanted a house brimming with family members, human and furry ones?  Well, she is unsatisfied.

I want a second dog right now for several reasons. First, I know that our dog, loved by all of the family, has no more than a couple of years left with us.  I hypothesize that the children (and us) would deal better with her death if we have already incorporated another dog into our family.  I worry about going from one dog to none, and then bringing home someone new.  Will it feel like we are replacing her?  What about the time in between, with no dogs at all?  Also, our shepherd is very well trained.  I believe that she could be a big help in training the new puppy.  Finally, it might be nice for her to have a canine friend for play and cuddling.

On the other hand, we have been making significant progress on our debt.  We keep our pet care expenses minimal, by using free clinics for rabies shots and purchasing collars that provide 8 months of flea control.  However, every pet comes with more expenses.  Our dog needed one emergency surgery when she was about five years old, which contributed towards our credit card debt.  I recently posted about how much I wanted to purchase a video game system for Mr. Smith, but decided that it would be a bad financial decision right now.  With our changed attitudes about spending money, it hasn’t been too much of a struggle to give up some things.  I honestly don’t care about new clothes anymore, because I’d rather use money to buy freedom.  However, there are a few expenditures that are a little harder to forgo, despite frequent reminders of the underlying purpose for all of our sacrifices.

I am having trouble letting go of the desire to bring home another pet.  But there is one person who always keeps me in check: Mr. Smith.  He has been known to fold to my wants, but is always the practical one.  He is invested in the dream to achieve financial semi-independence and knows how much it means to me.  He reminds me that we need to pay off our debt before taking on new expenses.  Although, it’s not all about money.  He worries about whether our first baby, our shepherd, would feel like she’s being replaced and/or not get enough attention.  At least, that’s what he points out, instead of just focusing on the financial side of things.

My stubborn determination on this issue keeps me browsing through listings for adoptable dogs.  But I simply cannot afford to indulge that little girl anymore.  We still have more than $100,000 in debt between the credit cards, student loans, and mortgages.  We are losing hundreds of dollars in interest payments every month, if not thousands.  As Mr. Money Mustache would say, this is a “hair-on-fire emergency.”  There is no room for wants.  Even though we keep costs minimal, we I have to be satisfied by what we have and stop wanting more . . . at least for the time being.