The Cost of things: August 2014

Tags

budgeting, creston valley meats, dog treats, elanco, pet finances, poop bags, vet

Incredibly busy lately. I have about two posts in me for September, and this is one, already way later than usual.

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 August 2014:

• Food: $211 [previous month, $30]
• Treats: $49 [previous, $31]
• Grooming: $16 [previous, $5]
• Vet & Medical: -$35 [previous, $411]
• Accessories and misc: $50 [previous, $0]
• TOTAL: $291 [running average for 2014: ~$200/month]

Crazy high food total included a 15 lb. bag of Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream, one more 4 lb box of Honest Kitchen Embark, and an unanticipated, large order from Creston Valley Meats. I decided to buy another two large boxes of ground turkey, as well as an order of lamb bones. It may be a while before my schedule frees up so I can make their delivery times, so I decided to restock while I could. I did not anticipate over 20 pounds of lamb bones in my order, which I’ve been trying to disperse generously amongst my dog friends. Apparently, I need to know more raw feeders, because an extra freezer is really not in my budget. Yet it was hard to pass up lamb bones at 55 cents a pound!

I loaded up on buy 3 get 1 treats at the local Pet Food Express, and dehydrated a whole bunch more chicken hearts, in order to appease the Bows when I left them with a housesitter back in August. I went overboard, so plenty of treats remain.

In grooming, I finally got my act together to order a bulk box of poop bags from Amazon. 700 poop bags for $16, with Prime shipping? Can’t really argue with that deal.

Bowdu’s major veterinary appointment was postponed for this month, September. It already happened, and I’ll have more to say about that later. What I did receive last month was my $35 Elanco rebate, slightly more than what is normally offered as a “loyalty rewards” customer. I honestly was not expecting to receive the check so efficiently. I was even notified by e-mail when the check was on its way — overall resulting in my most positive experience yet with the company that manufactures Comfortis/Trifexis.

Finally, I tacked on a somewhat arbitrary $50 fee to Miscellaneous, which includes a rare expense category for the House of Two Bows: boarding and pet care by an outside helper. The only reason I could go to Denmark was because I roped a dog-savvy friend into watching the house and the Bows, all in exchange for a free place to stay and unlimited access to all food and drink in the house. I did lug back some Danish beer as payment, so that and some miscellaneous extras are included in the $50.

Under normal circumstances, in-home pet sitting would cost way, way more — like $50 for each night, let alone seven. All the more reason that friendships with dog-friends must be carefully cultivated, with the expectation that we’re always paying it forward, and that the winning personalities of your canine charges will help balance out the karmic scales.

The Cost of things: July 2014

Tags

budgeting, comfortis, elanco, glucosamine, joint supplements, pet finances, vet

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 July 2014:

• Food: $30 [previous month, $21]
• Treats: $31 [previous, $6]
• Grooming: $5 [previous, $0]
• Vet & Medical: $411 [previous, $0]
• Accessories and misc: $0 [previous, $0]
• TOTAL: $477 [running average for 2014: ~$187/month]

Most of this month’s food total goes towards Bowdu’s liquid glucosamine, which is not a cheap supplement. It really seems to be effective though, so I’m incorporating it into the regular budget. Otherwise, the food costs this month only include some whole pike mackerel and chicken drumsticks. The freezer is starting to look a bit bare though, and I’ll need to do a kibble run for August.

Treats included commercial treats on a buy-3-get-1-free deal, and a couple packs of raw pig’s ears, seven pieces total, which were chopped and dehydrated. Still have a gallon bag stashed in the freezer, which will get us through next month.

Grooming supplies were a 3-pack of store brand baby wipes from Target. I use these for Bowdu’s feet after walks, especially in the summer. He has been licking his feet black, which has been a seasonal thing the last few years. As long as he’s not breaking skin, I’m satisfied that his summer allergies are being kept under control.

Obviously, the big blow this month was veterinary costs. You can see my previous post about Bowdu’s vet visit for the breakdown on that. Twelve doses of Comfortis are also included in this figure. This time, they sent me a special “loyalty” promotional code for a $35 rebate on a pack of twelve. I’m never very optimistic that the rebate will go smoothly, so I’m not accounting for the discount until I actually receive it.

Anticipating another high total next month. And it’s going to be a busy one… Meanwhile, after three weeks, I can say that Bowdu is doing better, probably due to a combination of the supplements and time. He’s not at 100% though, and now he’s blowing his coat again so he’s back to looking rough and scraggly.

We’ve been enjoying some gorgeous sunsets all last month, most of which I fail to capture in photo. Some things are better experienced off screen, anyway.

The Cost of things: June 2014

Tags

budgeting, pet finances, raw turkey

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 June 2014:

• Food: $21 [previous month, $194]
• Treats: $6 [previous, $41]
• Grooming: $0 [previous, $0]
• Vet & Medical: $0 [previous, $0]
• Accessories and misc: $0 [previous, $0]
• TOTAL: $27 [running average for 2014: ~$139/month]

Last month’s food total was horrendously high, so I made a conscientious effort to pace things out this month. I didn’t meet my single-digit spending goal, but I’m satisfied with the numbers anyway. That amount included a couple pounds of sardines, turkey tails and necks, chicken livers, and a whole roasting chicken. When roasters are on sale, they’re extremely economical, hacked up and apportioned as dog food for the week. I even saved a breast for myself, which lasted several meals given the way I portion my own meat intake.

Treats also consisted of raw fare, chicken hearts chopped up and thrown into the dehydrator.

I’m not expecting such a low total next month, as Bowdu is due for another vet appointment — his periodic thyroid check.

The Cost of things: May 2014

Tags

acana, budgeting, creston valley meats, dehydrators, dog treats, honest kitchen, kibble, pet finances, pig ears, raw turkey, zignature

Don’t look now… it’s that time of month again.

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 May 2014:

• Food: $194 [previous month, $15]
• Treats: $41 [previous, $12]
• Grooming: $0 [previous, $0]
• Vet & Medical: $0 [previous, $0]
• Accessories and misc: $0 [previous, $0]
• TOTAL: $235 [running average for 2014: ~$161/month]

Another high total bumping up the monthly average, unfortunately. This month I splurged on a couple sales and bulk orders.

Placed another food order with Creston Valley Meats, a practice which I only seem to manage about once a year. This round included a 12-pound box of ground turkey meat and bone, which I mix with Honest Kitchen Preference at about a 2:1 ratio (heavy on the meat), and about 7 pounds of chicken’s feet at $1.50 a pound, sold as “all natural, home grown, most fed on organic feed.” This is slightly cheaper than the local Asian groceries, and apparently better quality (from what little I can tell by visual inspection). Given the way I stagger meals, this supply should last through the rest of the year.

Also on the pricey side, I threw down for more Honest Kitchen products since the local Pet Food Express chain was running a promotion: buy one, get one half off. I snagged a 10 lb. box of The Honest Kitchen Force for an additional $20 off because the packaging was damaged (though the contents were unaffected), so I matched that with a 7 lb. box of Preference at discount. That amount of Preference has lasted about a year before, perhaps a bit less.

10 lb. box of THK Force (old packaging) vs. 2 lb. trial size box (new packaging)

Not sure if the sale was because the store wanted to clear the shelves to make way for THK in its new packaging (shown on the 2 lb trial size box that Bowpi is licking). Review preview: You will hear more about The Honest Kitchen Force and their new packaging in the next post…

For kibble, the Bows got a 15 pound bag of Acana Pacifica, probably the most expensive kibble in their rotation (and thus only appearing about once a year), because I managed to comp a small bag of Acana Grasslands with a special order.

Finally, there was one last 4 lb. bag of Zignature Wild Trout recipe at half off. We’ve tried a couple Zignature formulas before. Since then, the retail price on the small bag at my local pet store was adjusted to $12.98 a bag, which makes it comparable to Taste of the Wild. I’m not convinced that it’s a better kibble, though at less than $7 a bag, it’s totally worth another chance.

So that was a lot of food that should allow us to aim for a single-digit food total next month…

For treats, restocked on The Honest Kitchen Beams at buy 3, get 1 free (went for the small size this time). Also eight raw pig’s ears, hacked up and thrown into the dehydrator. Lots of crunchy bits to get us through the month…

The Cost of things: April 2014

Tags

budgeting, dehydrators, dog treats, mary's pet food, pet finances, pig ears, pitman family farms, raw turkey

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 April 2014:

• Food: $15 [previous month, $83]
• Treats: $12 [previous, $31]
• Grooming: $0 [previous, $13]
• Vet & Medical: $0 [previous, $80]
• Accessories and misc: $0 [previous, $15]
• TOTAL: $27 [running average for 2014: ~$142.50/month]

Well check that out. We rocked this month! This is the whole point of stocking up in previous months though, yeah?

Poultry organs are always cheap. The most expensive food item was this one pound chub of Mary’s Pet Food, purchased on a whim when I saw it at my local grocery store. There’s not a lot of online information about this particular product, which does claim to be a “complete” meal suitable for both dogs and cats (hmm…). I was even confused as to whether it was actually cooked, semi-cooked, or raw, as the label doesn’t even say; the meat was not pink, yet it was bloody and drippy after thawing. The website printed on the package doesn’t actually say anything about pet food, but it does tell about Pitman Family Farms, the parent company. Apparently they specialize in “less stressful” slaughtering techniques for poultry, using a process called Controlled Atmosphere Stunning. Interesting.

That sounds like a lot of technology to support for $7.99 + tax, which made me think it was a fair price. I bought it, but I’m not sold on the product. The overall feeding experience itself wasn’t anything special and actually pretty messy for what it was. There’s a reason that other raw food manufacturers freeze their portions in nuggets or patties; chubs are leaky and inconvenient to handle if you don’t use the entire thing at once. And since it was sold frozen, thawing it out rendered the convenience of a grab-and-go meal rather moot, for my purposes.

The dogs, of course, loved it, and digested it just fine. But honestly, I think I could prep them a better, fresher meal just as easily.

Anyway, the real fun this month was in treats. Aside from the usual chicken hearts, I introduced a new ingredient to the home dehydrator: pig ears!

A pack of three very large ears at $3.39 a pound cost less than $4 at Ranch 99. The best part about doing it yourself is that I can easily trim each piece into less gluttonous, treat-sized strips before popping them into the dehydrator. I did leave them in for nearly 16 hours, which may have been overkill. They looked great on the other side though! Given that one whole ear can cost $3 at the pet store these days, this was definitely worth the time and effort. We’ll be doing this again for sure.

The Cost of things: March 2014

Tags

budgeting, dog clothing, dog harnesses, dog treats, hurtta, pet finances

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 March 2014:

• Food: $83 [previous month, $10]
• Treats: $31 [previous, $12]
• Grooming: $13 [previous, $8]
• Vet & Medical: $80 [previous, $121]
• Accessories and misc: $15* [previous, $44]
• TOTAL: $222 [running average for 2014: ~$181/month]

How did I spend so much on food?? Well, there was a 15 pound bag of Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream, and I stocked up on four canisters of The Honest Kitchen Sparkle while they were offering free shipping, and while they still have this discontinued item in stock.

Bowdu has been stripped of nearly all his underfur, as you can tell above. My strategy in the past couple years has been to kick up the skin and coat supplements as he’s growing his coat back, easing into the spring allergy season. The remaining fur still doesn’t feel great after his February flea disaster, but the dandruff’s basically gone since there’s no more fluff to hide in.

simultaneous self-grooming, side-by-side

The rest of the food expenses were rounded out by about $10 of raw chicken on sale.

Treat expenditures were relatively high this month, despite spending it almost exclusively on chicken gizzards and hearts for the dehydrator. That’s because about half of the 10+ pounds was gifted to my next door neighbor in exchange for some house maintenance assistance.

Last time I mentioned them, they were fostering a pit bull named Ashley. Well, they’ve since adopted her (saw that one coming!), and renamed her Addy. I’m lucky not only to have dog-friendly neighbors — they’re also handy and they’re willing to help for dog treats! Okay, okay, I also threw in a huge bag of fancy dark chocolate as well, but that comes out of the human budget, whereas I’m making the Bows absorb the cost of the treats even though it wasn’t all for them. It makes sense to me, since dog-life and human-life are interrelated, so the budgets may as well reflect that.

In grooming needs, I bought poop bags from the pet store. I have a bad habit of waiting until the last minute to restock, necessitating an in-person purchase instead of just ordering online, where I can get 5x the amount of bags at the same cost. Though I generally prefer to support my local businesses, that’s a situation where I’d much rather buy online for significant savings.

For vet fees, refer to Bowpi’s most recent visit.

In accessories, the Bows got updated ID tags from American Pet Classics. I paid and filled out their forms at my local pet store, and they mailed it off on my behalf. Turnaround was fairly quick — about a week. However, the tags are not particularly aesthetically pleasing. The fonts are all wonky and the spacing is uneven. They also misspelled Bowpi’s tag, so I had to return it for correction, taking another week of time. Anyway, these are just cheap temporary tags while contact information is in transition at the House of Two Bows, so it’s more important that they’re legible and functional rather than pretty.

Meanwhile, Bowpi’s Freedom No Pull harness finally arrived, and I’m very happy with it. A more full update later.

For all the doodads, the accessories and misc. total this month appears low because I decided to return the Hurtta jacket after all. I underestimated the size that Bowpi needed, and got her a 15″ jacket (length along spine) when I probably should’ve gotten the 18L (the next size up in stock where I got it). The material is nice, and overall well constructed.

However, the design just won’t work with Bowpi, because she’s too squirmy to wrangle into these overalls. Basically, you have to stuff all four feet into the rather narrow sleeves before you can zip up the jacket along the spine. It’ll only work if your dog is accustomed to standing still in one place, which Bowpi is not. By the time I managed to get two feet into the jacket, the other two had already fallen out. I quickly gave up, and decided to return the item at a loss of shipping.

I’m glad these dogs don’t have many sartorial needs, because tailor-made wearables have worked out best. Dogs come in a funkier range of shapes and sizes than humans, after all.

she looks so funny when she’s putting on her collar

The Cost of things: February 2014

Tags

budgeting, canine dental, comfortis, dog clothing, dog treats, flea allergies, flea preventatives, hurtta, pet finances, petmeds, soloxine, virbac

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.

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!

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.

The Cost of things: January 2014

Tags

budgeting, japanese fabric, pet finances

Resetting and resuming personal finances. The numbers fell into disarray in my absence. I’m starting afresh in 2014.

This will be 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 January 2014:

• Food: $67
• Treats: $50
• Grooming: $0
• Accessories and misc: $23
• Vet & Medical: $0
• TOTAL: $140

So I came back from Taiwan to find a depleted stock of kibble, a near-empty freezer (all the raw supplies had been consumed, minus a few portions of tripe), and about twelve pounds of remaining Honest Kitchen dehydrated food, still sealed in three four-pound bags. We’re sitting pretty on the expensive stuff for a while… Meanwhile, I’m reestablishing equilibrium with the Food reserves. This month’s purchases: a 12 pound bag of kibble (Fromm’s Salmon Tunalini), a bunch of raw organs, and several cans of canned pumpkin while it’s still available and on sale.

RJ and the subletter did, however, go through all the treats. I splurged via buy 3 get 1 deals at Pet Food Express. We are fully stocked on Honest Kitchen Beams now.

Finally, I picked up some supplies that are being sent off for a couple custom-made accessories, heavily discounted thanks to a generous gift from the Bows’ Aunt Maggie. I’ll display the results later…

The cost of things: August 2013

Tags

budgeting, honest kitchen, pet finances

This is my third year of tracking our pet finances here 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.

Last month was quite the wallet wallop.

The Cost of (Pet) Things for August 2013:

• Food: $262 [previous month, $76]
• Treats: $47 [previous, $5]
• Grooming: $7 [previous, $0]
• Accessories and misc: $5 [previous, $0]
• Vet & Medical: $0 [previous, $289]
• TOTAL: $311 (running average for 2013 ~$189/month)

… yet, it was less than the total for July, since there were no August veterinary expenses to account for. At any rate, this is what it looks like when I attempt to stockpile enough food and treats to last the Bows four months, since I don’t expect RJ to do much shopping for them while I’m gone.

For food, I’m leaving them with 19 pounds of kibble (in addition to whatever was left in the tub when I left), 16 pounds of The Honest Kitchen dehydrated formulas (four boxes purchased on the buy-three-get-one-free deal at Pet Food Express: Embark, Force, Thrive, and Zeal), and the dozens of pounds of frozen chicken, organs, tripe, fish, etc. that was accumulated mostly last month. They get one more canister of The Honest Kitchen Sparkle to round out the summer. Besides all that, the only things I expect RJ to be picking up for the dogs is their morning yogurt and occasional eggs.

They still have a decent stockpile of treats, since this is the department that RJ knows how to handle by dehydrating chicken hearts. Meanwhile, I made sure to have a bunch of other edibles on hand that will hopefully help the Bows get acclimated to the new housemate occupying my absence.

Grooming expenses = a bulk of poop bags.

And finally, in miscellaneous expenses, a large water dish to help with the rearrangement of items in the house due to above-mentioned new housemate.

It’s tempting to call it a wrap at this point and just use these numbers to calculate the monthly average for the rest of the year. But honestly, I don’t know what the next few months hold by way of finances, pet or otherwise. At any rate, The House of Two Bows finances project is on pause for now. There may be occasion to check in later, but don’t expect anymore numbers until the the end of the year.

The cost of things: July 2013

Tags

acepromazine, blood tests, budgeting, pet finances, vet

Another month, another barrage of expenses…

This is my third year of tracking our pet finances here 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 July 2013:

• Food: $76 [previous month, $14]
• Treats: $5 [previous, $28]
• Grooming: $0 [previous, $0]
• Accessories and misc: $0 [previous, $0]
• Vet & Medical: $289 [previous, $0]
• TOTAL: $370 (running average for 2013 ~$172/month)

WARNING (a reminder to myself, to cushion the blow): For July and into August, I am in stockpile mode. Expenses for the Bows are expected to plummet after that, because I am not going to be here to buy them things, and I am the primary purchaser of supplies at the House of Two Bows. I’ll explain shortly; details are hard to divulge at the moment.

Food expenses weren’t nearly as bad as anticipated, given all that I purchased: approximately 20 pounds of raw chicken portions, several pounds of organs, and ten pounds of whole sardines. I’ve portioned things out and really can’t stuff anymore into the freezer unless I eject all the human food. This should be enough raw meat to last several months (since they’re not on a fully raw diet), supplemented by occasional purchases of turkey parts when they roll back into season, and other freshly butchered meats.

Rounding out the food expenses for the month were the usual tubs of plain yogurt, a small stack of Weruva canned food that will serve as emergency rations, and joint supplements purchased from Prime Pet Supply.

Treat expenses were simply 2 pounds of chicken hearts, which are sitting in the dehydrator as I type. We also got a boost from the folks at Chewy.com in exchange for another review coming up shortly…

Veterinary and medical expenses were the biggies this month. Bowdu’s last veterinary checkup was October 2012, and Bowpi’s was just this last March 2013. Knowing what a pain he can be to examine, the vet seems to be doing us a favor by letting us prolong Bowdu’s blood draws (to check thyroid function) to once every 8 to 10 months, instead of every 6 months as is typically required. However, they still want us to come in for physical exams before signing off on his Soloxine prescription.

So Bowdu got dosed up with Acepromazine (he takes just one 25mg pill beforehand, but we keep a couple extra on hand for future occasions), and I brought them both in for an exam. Might as well, since I’m going to be away for a while, right? I’m a little miffed though, because I had scheduled an appointment with a new receptionist and asked explicitly if bringing both Bows together would count as one visitation fee — and she said yes. I should have known better, as the final bill accounted for each of them separately.

VET BILL
• Acepromazine (25 mg @ 3 tablets), $16.09
• Office call: annual exam, 2 @ $56 $50.40 = $100.80
• Total body function (includes thyroid), $169 $152.10
• Canine rabies, 3 year booster, $21.75 $19.58
• TOTAL BILL: $288.57 (after 10% student discount)

I expressed that it wasn’t what I was expecting, but I didn’t argue. Each Bow did occupy a separate appointment slot, after all. But I knew there was nothing wrong with Bowpi, and really didn’t need to shell out $50 for the vet to tell me that she needs to lose about a pound, because I know, I know… I blame summer communication issues between meals, as RJ has been handling breakfast and I’ve been doing their dinners, and it’s hard to balance portions day by day when each side isn’t monitoring what the other’s doing. Grr…

Anyway, Bowdu’s bloodwork and three-year rabies booster comprised most of the hefty bill. On the upshot, he didn’t utter a single shriek this time, and we were told that he does seem to be getting better with each visit. That doesn’t mean he’s learning to enjoy the vet. He’s just resigning himself to the experience — sedative, Thundershirt, basket muzzle and all…

For those of you with multiple dogs, I’m curious about your vet experiences. I understand the logic behind individual consultation fees, but I am wondering — does your vet offer multi-pet discounts?

I’m griping out of surprise because this is the first time since getting Bowpi that we have been charged for two separate consultations. We’ve had first-time intake appointments accounting for both dogs with two different vets (including this one), and were only charged a single visitation fee each time. Perhaps intake appointments are automatically blocked across two time slots, so the single fee was an introductory courtesy. At any rate, I now know that this is my vet’s policy so I won’t be surprised next time. I preferred bringing them in one at a time, anyway.