Financing a.......dog???

[bjl584]

So, I was out of town this past weekend at my Dad's camp helping him do some work around the place. The neighbors came over with their brand new St. Bernard puppy. Beautiful dog. She is 8 weeks old. Anyway, we get to talking and they proceed to tell me that they financed her with a 3 year loan through the pet store. Wow.....really/ I didn't ask what they paid for her. I was sort of speechless actually. I had no idea that you could even finance a dog. Just wow.......

[disneysteve]

That's pretty sad. There are thousands of dogs waiting to be adopted in shelters across the country. I'm not a pet person so I don't know the details but I'm quite sure that the cost involved in adopting one of them doesn't rise to anywhere near a level at which you would need a 3-year loan to cover it.

Considering one of the standard financial rules of thumb that we often talk about is that a car loan shouldn't exceed 3 years, does that suggest that they paid as much for this dog as they would for a car?

[97guns]

It's plausible, people pretty much finance their kids and entire household, might as well go the whole 9 yards and throw in the pet too

[Singuy]

Getting pet from the pet store is a complete ripoff. You can find all sorts of puppies over craigslist for 1/5 of the price.

[Jluke]

So what do people think the going rate is for a St. Bernard at the pet store?

I'll guess $3500.

I know OP said he didn't ask about price

[AJ444]

Does the pet store also try to upsell overpriced grooming for a year and extended warranty?

[TexasHusker]

I say finance any asset that gets bigger over time. A St. Bernard puppy is going to get bigger. Good investment choice.

[Fishindude77]

Would like to go out to eat with you guys this weekend but we have a dog payment

[commoncentsmike]

So, I was out of town this past weekend at my Dad's camp helping him do some work around the place. The neighbors came over with their brand new St. Bernard puppy. Beautiful dog. She is 8 weeks old. Anyway, we get to talking and they proceed to tell me that they financed her with a 3 year loan through the pet store. Wow.....really/ I didn't ask what they paid for her. I was sort of speechless actually. I had no idea that you could even finance a dog. Just wow.......

That's crazy! First people finance TV's & sofas, now dogs?!? One of my best dogs ever cost me $0 at the shelter and was fully spayed & vaccinated. Sadly the ex has her.

[msomnipotent]

A sister of an acquaintance did the same thing, also with a St Bernard. She financed $3,800 from one of those puppy stores in the mall. This was her 3rd, but I'm not sure if she financed the other two as well. Probably did.

Our adoption fee for our current dog was $550, which I almost went into shock over. This was 6 years ago.

[Fishindude77]

Your real savvy money managers will get their dog loan about 2/3 paid off, then take out a dog equity loan to invest in the market.

[bjl584]

Your real savvy money managers will get their dog loan about 2/3 paid off, then take out a dog equity loan to invest in the market.

I did ask the question, "What happens if the dog dies before the loan is paid?"

Apparently, there is some sort of insurance on the dog during the first year so long as the owner meets certain preset criteria. Most of them are making sure the dog gets to the vet and gets certain shots within a certain amount of time. After one year, however, you are stuck with the loan no matter if the dog is around or not.

[disneysteve]

I did ask the question, "What happens if the dog dies before the loan is paid?"

I wonder if you can buy life insurance on a pet. I wouldn't be surprised.

[TexasHusker]

I wonder if you can buy life insurance on a pet. I wouldn't be surprised.

Of course. You can also buy medical and disability insurance for them.

[TexasHusker]

Your real savvy money managers will get their dog loan about 2/3 paid off, then take out a dog equity loan to invest in the market.

If you don't do that, you're screwing the pooch.