It's that time of year again. Time to take our old friend, a mutt whom we adopted at the pound twelve years ago, to the vet. He'll be excited until he gets there, but when it's over he'll happily leave with a treat and new vaccination tag. For me, however, the pain of the shots lingers a bit longer.
Last year we invested more than $150 in one single visit to our veterinarian. Add onto that the year's supply of flea and tick medicine, and he's topping $200. This year, with the economy the way it is we decided that everybody was cutting back, everybody.
However, to vaccinate at our vet incurs a hefty office visitation cost as well as a slew of vaccines. Instead, we called our local chain pet store (Petco for our area) and asked about vaccinations that they offered. Luckily, they offer a Saturday clinic that provides all of the required vaccines for dogs and cats for $49. If we opt for the additional heartworm and other parasite check our bill still comes in under $75. The only cost? We have to arrive on a Saturday at 2pm and wait in line. Our trip to the vet takes well over an hour, so we figure we'll bring a book and find our place in line.
However, before buying we talked to a very down to earth veterinarian who offered this test: Lay a handful of dog food on a non-waxed paper plate overnight. In the morning if the food left some greasy marks, it was a valuable dog food. He claimed that the brand name foods are only selling the brand and not the benefit.
However, he cautioned against foods that didn't have the level of moisture that showed on his test. One such food we quickly found was Ol' Roy marketed for Walmart stores as well as our local grocery store's generic Dog Chow. The same veterinarian recommended Purina or Alpo, but warned that the dog would decide which he preferred (Dogs must be like people deciding between Pepsi or Coke; it's either one or the other but not both.) We've been cycling through Purina Puppy Chow (yes, he's a Pepsi type of dog), Purina Dog Chow, and now Purina Senior.
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When my daughter moved into a apartment recently, they wouldn't let her have a pet. So, I am now the owner of a little Yorkie.
I found a great company to order pet supplies from. It's name is Pet Edge. It is located in Woburn, MA. It also has an outlet store there. Things can also be ordered online. Check out their prices, it's amazing!
