Love dogs? Here's how much it costs to care for a furry friend in Indiana
Dogs bring joy to their owners and everyone in their lives. Most consider their dogs family members, and take care of them that way.
But what's the cost of caring for our furry friends? And does it vary depending on where you live?
According to a recent study from Pettable, an online service that helps connect pet owners with therapists to provide emotional support animal letters, it costs, on average, $1,522.63 to own a dog in the state of Indiana.
Delaware had the most expensive average dog ownership costs, at $2,864.49. In contrast, owning a dog in Idaho had the lowest price tag, at $1,231.81.
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The average new dog owner will pay around $1,750 in ownership expenses, Pettable said.
The study took into account several different factors, including costs of vet visits, vaccines, spaying and neutering, food and pet insurance.
To get the total cost of vaccines, analysts combined the individual costs of the Bordetella, DAPP, bivalent influenza, leptospirosis, Lyme disease and rabies shots.
Here's how the average costs break down in Indiana:
Food, yearly: $445.92
Pet insurance, yearly: $441.24
Vet office visit, yearly: $54.95
Vaccines and spaying or neutering: $580.52
To see more on how Indiana compares to other states, visit Pettable's website: pettable.com/blog/cost-of-owning-a-dog.
Contact IndyStar trending reporter Claire Rafford at crafford@gannett.com or on Twitter @clairerafford.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Dogs in Indiana: Here's how much it costs to own one
