You only cry once. I would save up and get the best you can afford based on your budget. In thermal cheaper definitely does not mean better. You can get into it cheaper but you'll be sorely disappointed if you ever run one that isn't below $2,000. I wouldn't spend less than $2500 even if you have to wait a year, you'll be far ahead.
x2 I have two PARD's. The 800 and the 800s. Both have laser range finders, one has the ballistic calculator. They are great units and paired with a Sniper Hog Light ir, they can easily be used out past 200 yards. They are fantastic for identifying the target. I primarily use them around the house where I'm sorting barn cats from possums. You can identify the difference out past 160 yards.
The weakness of NV is picking up the canine while scanning. In a lot of ways, it's like running lights where eye glow is often the first thing you'll see. When you start looking at NV, notice that the FOV is normally very small. With the PARD units @ 6.5x base magnification you'll have a FOV of 20' @ 100 yards.
Thermal on the other hand (I have Pulsar) makes animals jump out at night. While scanning with thermal I can cover a field in under ten seconds and tell you what's out there...often including mice. There is no comparison between thermal and NV when it comes to picking out critters. The less you spend on thermal the more likely you are to misidentify your target. Low resolution makes deer look like coyotes and when it comes to smaller critters cats/possums/raccoon, they all look pretty similar. Do not buy anything lower than 384 resolution. If I could go back in time, I wouldn't buy anything but 640.
Killed a raccoon last week that had run one of our cats up a tree. Picked them up in the thermal and switched over to the PARD for the killing.