How much is a dog's life worth?

For a few months before I bought my first dog, Vike a male Bouvier des Flanders, I asked a lot of dog owners how much it cost per day to feed their dog. After I had him for a while, a funny thing happened. Someone asked me how much it cost to feed my dog. I thought and answered, "I have no idea".

It's because once the dog becomes part of the family then their value is not measured in money. Yes, many people will disagree because everyone has a different opinion ranging from 'a dog is just a dog' to 'a dog is my best friend'. Some people have little value for animal life and would not go much out of their way to save an animal. Even the Catholic church says that an animal does not have a soul.

It is like anything else in life, the more effort, time and emotion you give to something, the more valuablable it becomes.

I gave up a lot to be with and take care of Kuma. For the last three years I gave up all income and racked up $30,000 in debt to stay steady on my commitment to her. I gave up most of my socilal life and my friends to be with Kuma 100% of the time. I understand that people including my friends and family think this is nuts. But I kept saying that this is only temporary, Kuma will not live forever (she actually lived about 3 years longer than I expected and could have lived longer still) and there is nothing that I would rather do. The closer the thought approached of losing her the more valuable my time spent with her became. the more I took care of her the closer our relationship became and the more valuable she became to me.

So, how much was Kuma worth? Well, for starters she was worth giving up three years of salary, social life and going into debt. Did I spend too much money on her food and vet bills?

I talked to Bill, a friend of mine and he said it clearly. He spent $8,000 trying to save his dog. The vet said to him that it was too much and he said "that as long as the animal was doing everything to try to survive then it was up to us humans to help it."

Kuma's last hosptial stay cost around $1,200 CAN or $900 US plus the euthanazia and cremation charges came out to a total of $1,900 CAN or $1400 US. Putting her down a day early saved about $300 CAN or $225 US. Her mother paid for all the hospital bills even though she has not seen her for four years.

I would have spent all I had to give Kuma a chance to live. Because without Kuma none of the money I have is worth anything. Put in perspective, if keeping her alive would have cost a few hundred dollars or even a thousand dollars more, where else could I use that money that would give me more pleasure than giving it to Kuma's chance of survival.