By Eric Stock

BLOOMINGTON – Americans tend to consider their pets to be a part of the family, but a new survey suggests we don’t always consider them when we do our financial planning.

According to Joe Buhrmann, Director of Financial Security Support for Country Financial which did the survey, Fido and Fluffy will cost you a lot more than the purchase price.

“The smallest check you often are ever are going to write for an animal is the purchase price,” Buhrmann said. “It’s important to plan ahead and budget for those unexpected costs,” Buhrmann said.

The survey showed nearly a third of owners spent more than $1,000 on their pet over the last year and 10 percent have spent $2,000 or more.

When it comes to a pet’s veterinarian bills, about one in three owners would pay them with a credit card, while nearly one in four say they would turn down necessary health-related expenses.

Buhrmann recommends developing a budget for the predicable costs of food, shelter and annual checkups and plan for unexpected costs like accidents and health issues, especially if your family might be split about how to pay the vet or even whether so get the treatments they need.

“Bringing a new member into the family in, you want to be certain to give it the best chance at life as you can,” Buhrmann said.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].