Taking care of a pet has evolved far beyond chew toys and catnip. Owning a cat, a dog, a reptile or a rodent isn’t as casual as it once was. In addition to the battery of shots, check-ups and basic training rituals, a conscientious pet owner has to tackle a whole range of practical questions and quandaries.
Apart from all of the luxury items on the market for pet owners, there are some complex and expensive procedures that would have seemed like the stuff of science fiction 10 years ago. Some of them can feel downright silly.
Take Neuticles, for example. The product created by Gregg Miller in the 1990s is an answer for pets shamed by a fairly ordinary procedure. The prosthetic testicular implants for dogs, cats, horses, bulls and other animals are designed to deal with the feelings of inadequacy that can come with being neutered. Starting at costs of around $250, pet owners can equip their animals with replacements. The testicular implants, which come in four models of differing firmness, are designed to avoid “leaving a male pet looking unwhole after the traditional form of neutering,” according to the official Neuticles party line.
Plastic naughty bits aren’t the only expensive replacement part you can buy for your pet. OrthoPets is a prosthetic company based in Denver that specializes in making braces and complex orthopedic solutions for Fido’s bum knee. For a cost that ranges from $600 to $1,200, pet owners can find orthopedic fits to treat an animal’s stiff knee or unstable paw.
But such procedures are still in the realm of luxury. Most casual dog lovers and cat owners still face basic questions about care, from feeding schedules to leashes. Apart from basic rises in cost associated with materials and simple inflation, a lot of the costs tied to that basic care have remained predictable.
“I would say that the basic, routine sort of care – wellness care – has pretty much stayed the same,” said Jeffrey Mullen, president of Seven Hill Veterinary Hospital in Aurora. Mullen, who started practicing veterinary medicine in 1983, is part of a staff of 9 doctors and 40 support personnel at the hospital. “That would be the yearly visits and determining what the life care is going to be, the things healthy animals need to keep them healthy.”
But there’s a whole different part of the science that’s transformed beyond recognition. From a routine spaying or neutering procedure to the treatment of sore knees in older dogs, technology has brought much more expensive procedures.
For example, the Seven Hills Veterinary Hospital has digital radiography, laparoscopy, endoscopy, advanced orthopedic surgery with plating and laser surgery.
“The cost rises along with that. You can’t have a $100,000 X-ray machine and charge $20 for an X-ray,” Mullen said. “The consumers have driven this, as they do with every business with their desire for the improved care.”
That means that pet owners are willing to pay the higher cost associated with that technology.
“Years ago, people would have wondered why you would go to that expense. But that reduction in pain and less invasion is something that’s really appealing to people,” Mullen said. “People want that sort of therapy. They understand that it comes at an additional cost, but these are their kids.”