Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

20140201 Ears

This is my fourth year of tracking pet finances at the House of Two Bows. This is an ongoing effort to get a practical sense of what it costs to keep two 20 ~ 30 pound adult dogs in an area of the US with relatively high costs of living. Previous posts in this series can be found under the category of finances.

The Cost of (Pet) Things for February 2014:

  • Food: $10 [previous month, $67]
  • Treats: $12 [previous, $50]
  • Grooming: $8 [previous, $0]
  • Vet & Medical: $121 [previous, $0]
  • Accessories and misc: $44 [previous, $23]
  • TOTAL: $195 [running average for 2014: ~$167.50/month]

Yeah for an awesomely low FOOD total! Well, that’s about as low as it ever gets, anyway. Rocking the power of 50% discounted chicken, cheap organs, and working through the food we already stockpiled.

For treats, the Bows got a bag of C.E.T. HEXtra Chews in the “petite/small” size, which I have found to work pretty well even though they’re marked for dogs under 11 pounds. The other sizes are made from chlorhexidine coated rawhide, while the petite size is about a five-inch long stick of what I can only describe as a “hide-like compound.” Well, I mean, they are made of actual beefhide, and other ingredients, but it doesn’t look like it. They seem less of a choking hazard and less apt to cause intestinal blockage for the Bows, anyway.

CET HEXtra chews, petite

These days, I’m hard pressed to find anything I need to bump up my PetMeds orders to reach their minimum threshold for free shipping. I tacked on one grooming/hygiene item, another tube of dog toothpaste, because an order was necessary in the next category.

For Vet and Medical needs, Bowdu got another 250 days of Soloxine refills at 8 cents a pill for 0.4 mg (or 0.2 mg per dose, twice a day) from PetMeds. That’s a good deal.

What was not a good deal and kind of pissed me off was that Comfortis prices have yet again been jacked up, at $100.53 for a box of 6 ordered directly from my vet. No free dose this time. This is up about $10 from last year, purchased at $92.12. Yet, it’s still cheaper to get it directly from the vet, since this is the only way you qualify for the ongoing Elanco rebate (minus $10 on a pack of 6, or $25 on a pack of 12). PetMeds charges $98.99 for the same amount, and the rebate does not qualify.

Not that the rebate is much to praise. My WTF, Elanco? post, in which I ranted about the company’s repeated difficulties with processing my simple rebate, has become one of this blog’s most visited and commented posts, even a year after I wrote it.

I swear, I only stick to Comfortis because we have no better alternative, specifically for Bowdu and his flea allergy dermatitis that is made worse with his thyroid condition (more on that in another post). Anyway, if I’m ever at the vet at the same time that the Elanco rep is dropping in, boy do I have a lot I want to say…

[Edit 7 March 2014: Elanco now has an online electronic rebate submission form. Interesting. Let’s see if that streamlines the process at all…]

Finally, in accessories, I picked up a Hurtta outdoor jacket for Bowpi, because rain! (we need it badly, here in California). And I got it on sale at an excellent price! And her three-year-old Outward Hound jacket (pictured below) is getting ratty and in need of replacement!

Outdoor Hound jacket, three years later

And… and… Dammit, I really don’t have any good excuse to have spent $40+ (with shipping) on a freaking dog jacket. Sigh. I admit, I did it in a moment of weakness. The item hasn’t arrived yet, and I’m skeptical about feeling like my purchase was justified once I receive it. At least, given the good things I’ve heard about Hurtta, it better not suck.