What a dog really costs per month in Thailand (my real numbers)

Penny is a 4-year-old Shih Tzu and I have been keeping a spreadsheet since we moved to Patong. People online give numbers that are way too low, so here is what we actually pay each month, roughly. Food is about 1,400 baht. We buy the dry kind in big bags from a supermarket because the small bags are overpriced. Penny also likes some boiled chicken from the market, so add maybe 200 baht. Grooming is the big one. She needs a trim every five or six weeks and the groomer near our condo charges 700 baht for a full groom including nails. So that is about 500 baht a month on average. Vet and medicines: heartworm and flea/tick prevention is about 400 baht a month if you buy it in packs. Then there is the yearly check and the vaccine, I put that at 250 a month averaged. Some months nothing, some months a big bill, like when she ate a sock and we needed an x-ray. Insurance we don't have. I know many expats get it now, I just never found one that covers the stuff in Thailand properly. Total around 2,800 to 3,200 baht a month, depending on the year. If you add toys, the bed, and the pad for the apartment floor, the first year is more. Plan for emergencies, that is the real cost.