LOL. Sorry you are too poor to afford your dog, OP. We have 3 Bernese Mountain Dogs and feed them Orijens. I think the food they eat costs more than our organic groceries!

teal deer pp here: For the record, I'll live under a bridge before I give up my dog(s), but that's just me.

Okay, let's be real: pets are not "family members" the way kids are. Pets are, first and foremost, a luxury item. In times of belt-tightening, it's true- the luxury expenditures can get cut.

That said, $140 isn't really all that much. $35 a week is pretty easy for most households to scrounge up or pinch off from their bills. If you're really bare bones everywhere else and can't find that much, then yes, the basic numbers crunch says you can't afford the dog. If the dog truly does need specialty food, well, there's your answer.

That's the practical/logical/"just the facts" side of it. As for the emotional side, your kids are going to lose the dog eventually anyway. Would it be sad to have to rehome it? Sure. But the point is, the kids will eventually go through the sadness/grief of losing the animal anyway. That's one of the dark gifts of pet ownership: lessons in loss. If you've made the decision to rehome, be direct with your kids, only giving them age-appropriate details (your 4-year old doesn't need to try to process "uncertain economic times" and may think they're next on your budgetary chopping block!). Be sure they know they're not going anywhere, and that the dog will be well cared for by its new family.

For the logistics, if you're going to do this, try to work with a shelter/rescue organization while serving as the dog's foster, rather than just dumping the dog at the shelter. It's MUCH easier to rehome a dog who is operating normally in a home environment. Many dogs deteriorate rapidly in a shelter environment, and poor kennel presence is a death sentence. Do right by your pet and agree to foster for at least one month, giving the shelter/rescue time to find the best placement for the dog. Alternatively, if you bought from a breeder, many breeders will take "their" dogs back, so that may be an option.

Ignore the idiots on this thread telling you you're a bad person for rehoming the dog. Not everyone's life goes as perfectly according-to-plan as theirs must always go. Things change. If the pet is no longer a good fit for your family, it's not fair to the pet to try to force what isn't working. Rehoming correctly is a fine plan.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lmao the dog

Maam, go touch grass.

Eating out, shopping, subscriptions, turning off lights, vacations, kids spending, entertainment, gifting


Out of all the things you gonna get rid of the dog 😂😂😂😂

+1
Have you thought about how it will go over with your kids? “We are suddenly too poor to have a dog now (which they will question), and we should have thought of that before we got it, so we have to get rid of it now. No more family member, guys”

Seriously. Talk about fodder for future therapy. They'll also probably blame themselves, "i would have rather not gone to Disney than give up Fido!"

Kids are more resilient than that. We lost our beloved boxer when I was a kid because my parents decided against surgery because it was too expensive. Broke our hearts but we knew our parents were worried about money.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Obviously times are turbulent and I am looking to cut expenses. One big expense in our house is our dog. She is large breed and I go through a $75 bag of food every 2.5 weeks. Add on vet bills and boarding (which we could cut since we aren't going anywhere) I think we should think about rehoming or returning her to the shelter. Anybody else thinking of doing this?

We have 3 kids who we have to feed and an extra $140 a month would be helpful.

The kids are costing you more, now and in the long run. Feed the kids to the dog.

This is the only logical solution

Yea, this is the answer.

Vet bills? My dog is 7 and hasn't needed anything except vaccines and preventatives. We don't go annually, just for his 3 year rabies shot.

He also eats specialty grain food, which we budgeted for. He's a long haired double coated breed. I groom him myself.

You should keep the dog and pick up a quick side hustle like delivering food for doordash to help you cover the expenses right now.

That's what I'm doing as a single mom of two kids, no dog. Ive cut down on all expenses and have a main job plus two side hustles to get by. Doordash is one of them. Is it uncomfortable? Yes. Do I hate my life sometimes? Yes. Are we able to get by with the main job and two side hustles? Yes, I'm doing what I gotta do.

The shelter isn't going to provide $75 specialty food, Op.

Anonymous wrote:Obviously times are turbulent and I am looking to cut expenses. One big expense in our house is our dog. She is large breed and I go through a $75 bag of food every 2.5 weeks. Add on vet bills and boarding (which we could cut since we aren't going anywhere) I think we should think about rehoming or returning her to the shelter. Anybody else thinking of doing this?

We have 3 kids who we have to feed and an extra $140 a month would be helpful.

You are kidding right? Get a second job if things are that tight. Vet bills are once a year except for health issues and there are low cost clinics for vaccines. Shop at Costco or somewhere cheaper for food or look for food pantry for dog food or for your self. That's cruel. Sounds like you overspend.

There are like 10 of these same threads in the last few weeks.

Anonymous wrote:
Please note that OP did not post in the Pet Forum and did not accurately title her thread.

All troll moves.

Not really. If she was a real troll, she would definitely have aimed for the Pet Forum. There would have been a huge blowback.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you take on a pet, it is a lifetime commitment.

You don't just get rid of a dog for convenience so you can keep spending money in other areas.

STOP being selfish. Get a side hustle and make some more money if you want to keep your current spending habits.

No it isn’t. You can get rid of a pet anytime. There’s no contracts. OP should definitely can the dog.

Hi, OP. Quit sockpupetting your own troll thread.

Swing and a miss on your part. I’m not OP.

OP, you're psychopathic if you're OK abandoning a living being who depends on you.

If you can’t afford 140 a month you should try door dashing to make extra money. Maybe you can make even more than 140 a month and it will help you even more.

So much focus on that damn dog. Geez. Offer other ideas, folks. Like get rid of a car to lower $ you spend on gas and auto insurance. And btw, there was a similar thread not too long ago. Could it be same person starting a thread on similar issue?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you take on a pet, it is a lifetime commitment.

You don't just get rid of a dog for convenience so you can keep spending money in other areas.

STOP being selfish. Get a side hustle and make some more money if you want to keep your current spending habits.

No it isn’t. You can get rid of a pet anytime. There’s no contracts. OP should definitely can the dog.

Hi, OP. Quit sockpupetting your own troll thread.

Swing and a miss on your part. I’m not OP.