You Can’t Fix What You Can’t Measure

Jet is my foster mom. She’s a businesswoman. She said most of the best business lessons she ever learned are the lessons that dropkicked her company into overdrive. Jet also said these lessons (which she calls the School of Screw Ups) are usually painful.

One of the most valuable lessons she ever learned was that you can’t fix what you can’t measure. Jet said that once this light bulb concept went off in her head that she practically walked around every part of her business with a measuring tape. She thought this was funny. – Not sure I got the joke.

In any case, Jet shared this life-changing concept with me and I was perplexed as to what the correlation (word of the day) was between measuring what you want to fix and my attempt to rescue animals through my dog blog.

I got the warmest smile from her and then she said that we will never get people to adopt more pets and abandon fewer of them if we (which means me) don’t help humans understand how to measure the impact of ignoring the problem.

Sorry about the cartoon. I couldn’t resist.

Now, back to the blog and the point.
I dug up some facts and statistics that all humans need to know. (Source: www.animalworldnetwork.com:

• An estimated 52 million dogs and 57 million cats live with U.S. families
• .For every human born, 7 puppies and kittens are born
• One female cat and her offspring can produce 420,000 cats in 7 years
• One female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 puppies in 6 years
• More than 12 million dogs and cats are euphonized in shelters each year
• Millions more are abandoned in rural and urban areas
• Approximately 61% of all dogs entering shelters are killed
• Approximately 75% of all cats entering shelters are killed

So, here’s my lesson of the day… WE ARE MEASURING THE PROBLEM but we need you – humans – to fix it.

Okay, here’s the question of the day from Gorgon who asked: My dad and mom and I were kicking back at a family picnic the other day. I overhead one of their friends say they would never own a dog because they are too expensive. I don’t feel expensive, just lucky to have a good home. Am I expensive?

Hey Gorgon:

Interesting name. You are lucky. So many animals (especially dogs and… even icky cats) do not have a nice home. Sometimes it’s because humans don’t think about the lifetime cost (yes humans, if you’re honorable, we are yours forever) of taking care of us. Have your mom and dad share the document below with their friends who are considering adopting/rescuing a pet.

You can also download as Pet Care Costs (pdf) or Pet Care Costs (doc) version.

Costs	Notes	Small Dog	Medium Dog	Large Dog	Cat	Rabbit	Guinea Pig	Small Mammal	Small Bird	Fish
Annual Costs
Food	1	$55	$120	$235	$115	$190	$105	$50	$75	$20
Recurring Medical	2	$210	$235	$260	$160	$70	$70		$85
Litter	3				$165	$415	$415	$210
Toys/Treats		$40	$55	$75	$25	$40	$30	$25	$25
License		$15	$15	$15
Health Insurance	4	$225	$225	$225	$175
Misc.		$35	$45	$65	$30	$15	$15	$15	$15	$15
Annual Total		$580	$695	$875	$670	$730	$635	$300	$200	$35
Capital Costs
Spay/Neuter		$190	$200	$220	$145	$160
Other initial medical	5	$70	$70	$70	$130
Collar/Leash		$25	$30	$35	$10
Litter Box					$25	$25
Scratching Post					$15
Cage						$100	$70	$40	$70
Carrier Bag		$40	$60		$40	$40
Crate		$35	$95	$125
Aquarium Eqpt.	6									$200
Training Class		$110	$110	$110
Capital Total		$470	$565	$560	$365	$325	$70	$40	$70	$200
Special Costs
Long Hair Groom		$264	$320	$408
First Year Total		$1,314	$1,580	$1,843	$1,035	$1,055	$705	$340	$270	$235

1. Premium brand dry kibble
2. Exam, vaccinations, heartworm preventative & topical flea/tick preventative
3. Scoopable litter for cats, scooped daily; hardwood shavings or recycled paper products for rabbits, guinea pigs and small mammals, changed at least weekly
4. Insurance coverage varies: some policies cover spay/neuter, vaccinations and heartworm medication. The annual deductible will also vary depending on the policy.
5. Deworming, basic blood tests & microchip
6. Basic twenty gallon set up with light/hood, outside filter, undergravel filters, air pump and gravel. Does not include fish.

Okay, I’ve shared the cost for caring for a pet. However, it is also important for every human to know that there is no chart big enough with numbers high enough (even higher than the national debt) to properly measure the love, devotion and joy a human will get from owning a pet. Smart humans know the value always exceeds the expense. Bet you humans can’t say that about half of the junk you buy or stuff you invest in at work.


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