Amy Tokic
Updated Aug 21, 2025
According to a recent Paction study, two-thirds (66.7%) of Canadian dog owners failed to calculate the ongoing expenses associated with pet ownership before adopting their canine companions.
How lack of financial preparedness impacts Canadians at large
Paction's 2025 study involving 521 Canadian participants reveals a critical lack of preparedness among pet owners. This concerning trend coincides with reports from humane societies throughout Canada indicating that owners are facing significant challenges maintaining care for their dogs:
- According to the Calgary Humane Society, 70% of recent animal surrenders stem from financial difficulties
- British Columbia's SPCA has already matched their entire 2024 surrender total in just a portion of 2025
- The Montreal SPCA reports a troubling 32% surge in animal surrenders during 2025
- The Toronto Humane Society has distributed more pet food assistance in the early months of 2025 than throughout all of 2024
All highlight how monetary constraints currently dominate surrender decisions.
To address this need, Paction has introduced the Ultimate Dog Cost Calculator. Developed with up-to-date 2025 pricing information, this tool provides prospective dog owners with an accurate understanding of the true financial commitment of dog ownership. Beyond just numbers, the interactive calculator serves as a practical exercise in considering all aspects of the lifelong responsibility that comes with welcoming a dog into your home.
“Paction is a specialized platform to help Canadians get a dog, where the ultimate mission is consumer education and to promote responsible breeding practices,” says Brooke Acton, Co-founder of Paction. “We’ve built fun, easy tools like the Breed Matchmaker, Pup Time Estimator, and now the Ultimate Dog Cost Calculator to make sure households are truly ready for pup parenthood.”
Before you decide whether or not you’re ready to bring a dog into your family, be sure you know what you’re getting into. Set out a budget and get a better idea of what your first year of pet ownership will look like (this is likely to be the most expensive year).
Sources
1. Paction: Dog cost calculator
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Amy Tokic
Associate Content Editor (SEO)
Amy Tokic is an SEO content editor for Money.ca. She holds a B.A. in Communications from the University of Windsor. Amy is an award-winning author and has been writing professionally for 15 years, publishing articles in the lifestyle and health sectors. In her free time, Amy loves perusing used book and record stores, and chasing squirrels with wild abandon (a habit attributed to spending too much time with her pooches).
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