Dog vs. Benjamin

When I was around 10 years old, I begged my parents for a dog. All I could think of was how fun it would be to have a little creature running around the house. I couldn't think of why anyone that loved dogs who would be hesitant to get one. They're just too fluffy.

How can you not love pugs? Photo: vetstreet.com

Of course, this is how I thought before I evolved into a more intelligent being, capable of weighing economic benefit. As you should now know, economics basically refers to how we will distribute and use scarce resources. Money is scarce because none of us really have an infinite supply of it. And yes, pets cost money. Lots of money.

Let me assure you all that I absolutely love animals. I specifically like pugs so much that I've been known to tear up at pictures of them. Still, I didn't let my love of pugs and dogs in general get in the way of my research. After some looking, I found that dogs, on average, cost their owners anywhere from $2600 to $3200 in the first year of ownership alone. Even more surprising is that it's estimated the average lifetime cost of a dog is over $20,000!

You can't put a value on something this cute. Photo: buzzfeed.com

There may also be negative externalities associated with dog ownership. A negative externality is a term used for a negative effects suffered by a third party, as a result of an economic transaction. One such externality could be your dog eating your friend's scone. Your friend doesn't own the dog, but he is negative impacted by your decision to buy the pup. If you add up these hidden costs and negative externalities, you find the true cost of owning a pet.

But here's what I say: who cares?! A dog's worth (especially a pug's) can't be totally quantified. As I previously mentioned, consumers will purchase goods whose benefits outweigh the costs. A dog, at least for me, gives plenty of utility (pleasure). I can still remember the last time I pet a pug and how  it looked up at me and snorted.

French Bulldog. Photo

I think I speak for most of us, when I say that we all appreciate the love, friendship, and fluffiness that canines offer. Even at Penn State you can witness people smiling at the service dogs in training, desperately trying to hold themselves back from petting the little creature. In fact, science proves how beneficial pets are to our health. According to psychologytoday.com, "the likelihood that the non-pet owners would end up being diagnosed as clinically depressed was four times higher that that found in the pet owning people of the same age." They also found that pet ownership helped to decrease high blood pressure for people who experience chronic stress.These extra benefits that dogs have, like when you get happy after seeing a service dog on campus, are examples of positive externalities, or a benefit that a third party receives from an economic decision. And they still don't let us have dogs in the dorms? What a shame. 

Overall, I feel my research shows that the benefits of dog ownership far outweigh the costs. Nothing compares to unconditional love and extreme fluffiness of a dog.