I recently went up to Flagstaff, about 45 minutes north and 2000 feet above Sedona. I discovered this incredible pet shop called Animal Kingdom. They have puppy Weimaraners and Schnauzers and Boxers and Huskies and a probably a dozen other pure breds. Beautiful dogs, all.

I fell in love with this Akita. I've always had a special place for Akitas, but I had never seen a puppy before. This little guy was black and white, with coal black eyes and the cute pointy ears. The manager got him out the cage and let me play around with the pup for as long as I wanted. He was so friendly and so soft. Immediately, I started thinking about how the kittens would deal with a new friend, but this thought was summarily ended during a quick discussion I had with the manager after play time was over.

We were talking a little about Akitas. He said he owned two and they were fantastic pets, which I firmly believed. Then I asked him about the price tag. All it says on each on the cages on a yellow sticker that indicates the breed, is a monthly price you can pay for each dog. As in, you can have this doberman for as little as 45 dollars a month. It doesn't say how many months you'll be paying. (Probably the rest of your life, as it turns out).

The price tag on the Akita was a mere 1500 bucks. Ouch. I guess Mak and Fil were not going to get a new plaything until I get a job or win the lottery. To the credit of Animal Kingdom, that sum includes vet visits for 4 years and something akin to doggie insurance that says that if anything (genetic) happens to the dog, you can get a replacement, free of charge. I wonder if they can treat co-dependency?