On Sat, 03 Apr 2010 23:54:37 -0400, Char
wrote:

Many inaccurate and misleading things, including:
The biggest expense is vet bills

Only if you feed a commercial crap in a bag.

Please provide cites that only dogs fed commercial dog food incur vet
expenses.

- not so much the yearly well dog
visits, vaccinations, heartworm check and preventative, but unforeseen
illnesses.

Which happen much less frequently when feeding a species appropriate diet.

Cites, please.

The only thing you can do for that is to have a little
savings account or purchase insurance. I have no idea what vet bills
run in California, but you might want to contact a local vet or two
and ask what the cost would be for the annual exam, vaccinations,

Which cause illnesses too.
http://www.dogsadversereactions.com/...ineDamage.html

So does not vaccinating at all.

heartworm test and preventative,

A preventative is not needed for a raw fed dog.

Please provide cites - that is, evidence, or proof (not anecdotes or
made-up stuff) that feeding a raw diet makes dogs immune to heartworm.

And raw fed dogs tend to have less or no fleas anyway.

Cites, please.

Ask
about spay/neuter cost too, as you'll want to have that done.

It has it's risks like any surgery and some choose not to have it done
at all.
http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongT...uterInDogs.pdf
http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm.../detail/646838

Yes, it has its risks. For the average pet owner, however, it's still
the best choice.

New pet owners, beware of people like Char who make sweeping,
unsubstantiated statements like those in this post as though they are
fact.