Just Say No To Unaffordable Spending
I wish I had a change of heart, but I still can’t support it.
Back in 2009, long before I got my beloved 11-month-old puppy, Thurber, I was critical of a proposed federal bill that sought tax deductions for pet owners.
According to the Washington Times, Robert Davi, a tough-guy Hollywood actor, and then Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, R-Mich., attempted something back then that tough guys and conservative Republicans don’t often do.
They collaborated to get a bill — the Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years (HAPPY) Act — to the floor of the U.S. House that sought a $3,500 annual tax deduction for pet expenses.
To be sure, pet care has gotten expensive.
People magazine reports that the average pet owner spends $4,500 per year just to meet their pet’s basic needs.
That doesn’t cover many unexpected costs, such as the two pairs of prescription glasses, two pairs of leather shoes and two very nice wool rugs Thurber chewed up (he exploded the blue ink in a pen on one rug and just ate a hole in the other).
He’s gotten much better behaved as the months have gone by, but I am in constant risk of the “Labrosecond,” challenge, the time it takes for whatever I accidentally drop to end up in his jaws.
I’m in the process of purchasing health insurance for Thurber — yes, you read that right. Pet owners like me are getting it for good reason.
Labs have been known to eat entire socks, which require surgical removal, which costs upwards of $5,000.
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Copyright 2021 Tom Purcell, All Rights Reserved. Credit: Cagle.com
