谢振礼 托福范文: 花钱养狗
TOEFL Independent Writing
ielts360toefl@hotmail.com
Topic:
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? People are spending too much money on their pets, even though there can be other good ways to spend money.
Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
Essay:
Intentionally or otherwise, many people tend to drastically underestimate the costs of keeping pets. It is true that there can be other good ways to spend money; however, most pet owners “feel good” in having to spend so much money on their furry friends at home. Owning a dog, for example, can be a rewarding experience of value despite the fact that it can also be surprisingly costly in terms of price.
In terms of price, how much does it cost to own a dog as a member of the family? According to a recent report, the expenses fall in a range of $27,000 to $42,000 over a dog’s lifetime of likely over 10 years, depending on the breed. That accounts for everything from the costs of acquiring the dog to spaying or neutering and vaccinations, as well as ongoing costs of food, toys and grooming. However, even when some owners may struggle with footing the bills, they still express an overwhelming sense of satisfaction that the money spent is worth it. This goes to suggest that people do spend a lot of money on their dogs or other kinds of pets—sometimes more than on themselves. As a result, it seems that living a pet dog’s life is as ‘luxurious’ as living a rich human’s life. Literally, those dogs living in wealthy families that love pets are likely to be luckier than many people in poor families that also love pets but, for the lack of money, they may spend little or nothing on their pets, love being the same.
In terms of value, there are four main points regarding why people are willing to spend way too much money on dogs in particular? Firstly, owning a dog makes people happy. Thus, spending money on dogs may imply that money can buy happiness and that anyone who thinks money cannot buy happiness probably has never owned a dog. Secondly, dogs are like infants that never grow up and appear to be forever children, and people really love them for that, very much the way parents love their own children. Thirdly, if people do not own a dog, there is not necessarily anything wrong with them, but there might be something wrong with their life because something valuable is missing. No wonder, once people have had a dog, then a life without one is a diminished one. Fourthly, dogs, commonly known as humans’ best friends, can rightfully be treated like family members at home. A house is not a home until it has a dog, so to speak.
To sum up, it costs plenty of dollars to own pets in general, but many people think that the money spent that way is well spent. Owning a dog in particular has an expensive price to pay whereas owners can get a great value in return. There can be other good ways to spend money, of course; nevertheless, true pet owners are certainly not those people who know only the price of everything and the value of nothing.
