Life – a user's manual Part II - Boksidan

The purpose of pets
From a human perspective, the animals could be divided into those that are not in our buildings (wild
animals) and those who occasionally are (vermins and domestic animals). Among the vermin are animals
that are quite nice as barn swallows and unpleasant ditto as cockroaches and wasps. Domestic animals
include both pure farm animals like cows, bees and pigs, pure pet ones like hamsters and animals that can be
both beneficial and companion animals such as cats, dogs and horses. Why farmes have cows or some other
livestock is easy to understand, since they probably are an important part of their business. And holding
them generates money for what is needed to live. But the pure pets and most of the cats and dogs that are in
Sweden entails costs (tables 1a - 1d) and no income to their owne’s. In addition, the animals must be handled
(se table 2 in the Swedish original text) and the owner must ensure that it has got company, otherwise he
may be subject to legal actions. Yet many buys a pet, why
Table 1a. Samples sale prices for different animals, according to the first ten ads on the Internet (Stockholm area)
where the goods was only the animal without peripherals.
Average
Ad
number
price 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
(SEK/pcs.)
Dog 6 400 10 000 3 500 2 500 10 500 5 000 8 500 2 500 2 000 11 000 8 500
Cat 3 273 100 100 800 1 000 330 12 000 8 000 10 000 350 50
Guinea pigs 272 150 300 150 500 600 150 400 150 50
Budgerigar 286 500 150 150 250 350 400 200
Snake 275 275
Rabbit 200 300 0 200 300 200 0 350 100 299 250
Rat 70 100 40
Hamster 147 50 200 200 50 200 150 75 250
Aquarium fish 17 20 15 15 25 15 15 25 15 10 10
Table 1b. Veterinary expenses (SEK), according to a veterinary clinics website.
Groundfee
Vaccination
Passport Castration Idmarking
Nail
cutting
Killing
Dog 540 470-500 550 Male
2 900,
female
6 100
Cat 540 420 550 Male 690,
female
1 150
640 170 900,
cremation
520
170 600,
cremation
260
Table 1c. Insurance cost at Agria for veterinary care for 3 year old animals.
Male Female Average Total insurance Comments
(SEK/year) (SEK/year) life
length
(years)
cost (SEK/life)
Dog 2223 2097 12 26 676 If it is a girl that lives for 12
years
Cat 870 814 12-18 13 050 If it is a female that lives for 15
years
Rabbit 320 320 5-15 3 200 If it lives for 10 years
Rat 515 515 2-3 1 545 If it lives in three years
Hamster 320 320 3 960 If it lives in three years
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