Article: Nine Lives, With the Bills to Match; As medicine enables pets to live longer, costs add up.

Susan Davis has three cats, two dogs, guinea pigs and a bearded dragon. She estimates that in the past five years, she has spent $10,000 on visits to the veterinarian and on medications. If you throw in vitamins, organic pet food and other items intended to promote a healthy lifestyle for her pets, she has probably spent twice that.

"I try not to look at my credit card bills very often," said the Takoma Park resident. "My strategy is denial. There's vacations I might have taken, but I thought, 'Wow, there's not so much money these days. I wonder where it's going.' "

Here's where some of it went: It cost more than $1,000 to have one dog's stomach pumped after it discovered, and quickly ...

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles:

Newsweek Harper's Magazine The Washington Post Chicago Tribune Crain's Chicago Business PRNewswire Pediatric News The Nation Advertising Age The Economist (US) A FREE trial gives you access to over 80 million articles! Access over 6,500 publications with a FREE trial!