It's for Life not COVID .....

The beach in front of Table 40 is a popular venue of dog owners, At low tide it presents a five mile stretch of pebble free sand that reaches out to sea over a quarter of a mile on which to exercise four legged friends,

I am one of the owners and I have seen as COVID and its restrictions have ebbed and flowed into and out of lock down, social distancing, Furlough, work from home / as you choose, that we have been joined by a new class of owner - one i will call the "COVID converts" a group usually seen on dry, preferably warm and sunny, days.

According to a survey by the Pet Food Manufacturers Association (PFMA) over 3.2 million new pets were acquired by British households during the COVID lockdowns with some 75% of homes now containing a pet. The survey estimates that some 12 million of these pets are dogs and it’s a fact that the prices demanded for these new canine friends have reached astronomical levels as COVID demand outstripped supply. In witness of this I exhibit my own dog, a full size F1 Labradoodle, I paid £600 for him in 2013 but a quick google search today shows prices have trebled with current advertised prices ranging from £1,400 to well above £2,000.

But, it seems that all is not well in this newfound desire to have a canine companion. As lock down ends and COVID phobia recedes many of the new converts are revaluating their commitment to their new friend of life.

The Dogs Trust has reported a big spike in pet owners considering parting with their “new bestie” following the end of COVID measures with postings on the "giving up your dog" pages of their website showing a huge increase in traffic. With over half of the COVID dog owner boom in the 16 to 34 age group should this be a surprise to anyone? The cute little puppy quickly becomes a large animal that needs walking, feeding, stimulating, insuring, vaccinating, etc, etc. Worse, It can’t simply be put in a cupboard when its owner wants to go out and its kennelling costs can double the cost of the holiday its owner longs for.

In short this is a ” friend” that represents a big commitment, one that imposes real limits on its owners daily life once they have to re-join the reality of the post COVID world and working life.

So a question:

When buying their new pet how many of these new adopters stopped to consider that their new pet will live for a decade or more and have an annual running cost that is in many cases higher than their car?

Yep, that cute dog costs much the same to own a small car, say a Fiat 500. You can buy a decent example of this popular city car for same price you paid for “Bella” (apparently the most popular name for a female dog in 2021). You can insure the car cheaper than you can insurer Bella, Bella’s annual injections cost more than the car’s road tax, Bella’s dog walker / kennelling costs more than the car’s servicing and her food and vet bill excess before the insurance kicks in more than you will spend on petrol – in fact the projected average annual cost of owning “Bella” stands in the region of £1,875 : If you ignore depreciation (You only paid £2,000 for the car) and drive around 5,000 miles a year the annual running costs of the car are much the same at around £2,000

So, for many of the new COVID pet owners the end of COVID brings a reality check and time to make a choice between owning Bella the dog, or Bella the car.

The car will enable you to get out and about, not rely on the bus to get to work, keep you dry and warm when it rains or turns cold, its air conditioning will keep you cool when the sun shines and it will not limit your ability to go out or on holiday or pester you for walks when it’s raining or cold, chew your furniture, annoy your neighbours by barking at stupid O’clock or stop you going for that impulse weekend away – in short its useful.

Post COVID does your new dog actually have a place in the life you want to live? If your answer is "No" then maybe you should have considered this before you bought him or her.