The Rising Cost of Doggie Day Care

I read this morning that Michael Vick has agreed to put $928,000 in an escrow account for the care of his 48 dogs. My first reaction was holy crap! Where are they staying, the Ritz Carlton? I immediately started doing some math. Let’s see, 928,000 divided by 48 is 19,333 per dog for the rest of their lifespan. Again, seems pretty steep right? Well, maybe not. The average joe that adopts Fluffy can probably expect to shell out about 8,000 bucks for their dog over the pet's lifetime, if they’re lucky. This estimate assumes that the Fluffster doesn’t need expensive surgery, prolonged boarding, health insurance, or extensive training to break their nasty habit of eating anything within six feet of their personal space. From what I understand, the latter item is pretty pricey. I would venture to guess that all 48 of the Vick pups will need the super-sized sensitivity training course. Remember, Mikey killed all of the nice ones in the bunch.

There are many that would scoff at the idea of keeping these dogs alive, arguing the potential danger these animals impose; however, I’m not among that school of thought. Mike Vick is responsible for making these 48 dogs the aggressive, unpredictable killing machines they are (he’s the financier anyway) so he, in turn, should be responsible for their rehabilitation and care. If that entails, weekly visits to the day spa, weekend getaways to the French Riviera, or one on one with Dr. Phil, so be it. These innocent creatures just may be salvageable; however, I not so sure about old Bad Newz Mike.