5 ways for dog owners to save money while being pet-health friendly
PART 2 OF 5: Take advantage of donated pet supplies, giveaway bins, discount deals
According to a study by the MarketWatch Guides team, the average U.S. dog owner spends approximately $28,800 during the pet’s lifetime. Because I was a child and a college student while my first two dogs were alive, I wasn’t responsible for the financial end. My current dog, Junee, is the first pet that I’m 100% responsible for, and a dog costing the same amount as a car can make some pet lovers nervous. I completely understand when people opt for one of those dog body pillows instead; get the cuddles without the empty wallet.
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I adopted Junee on Juneteenth 2021, and I spent $1,447.30 total that year. In 2022, the price was slightly lower (without adoption fees) at $1,011.65. By year three, in 2023, she was no longer a puppy so I could predict more things about her final size and weight; the total was $924.73. If she ends up being as healthy as my 13-year-old Lab mix or my 9-year-old German Shepherd, my guess is I won’t end up spending $28,800. However, there is no way to predict what can happen in a human being’s life, never mind a dog’s. All I can do is hope for the best.
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What I have learned in year three that I wish I knew in years one and two was how to spend smarter while still giving my Hound mix the same amount of love, fun gifts and health preventatives. Here are five dog money management lessons I’ve learned so far.
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Pet Saving Tip No. 1: Look for donation bins
When I came home during a holiday break (and stopped crying), the basement felt eerily empty. My Lab mix used to spread out on the diagonal step (right in the middle of the stairway) so you were forced to either pet him or hop over him. He was not moving. He would actively run past us to make sure he was blocking that middle step. It felt strange to me to put my feet on that step. Walking back upstairs, I saw a huge bin full of dry kibble that my mother hadn’t done anything with. The pet supply donation rules weren’t as strict at the time. In the ‘90s, I drove to a local kennel to donate the rest of his food.
I’m not sure when rules became stricter, but adoption centers and kennels started rejecting donations like this. So pet owners had no choice but to throw the food away or find donation bins where they could drop it off. I can’t speak to every city nor neighborhood, but on the North Side of Chicago, there are plenty of donation bins for free books, free food, and even an outdoor refrigerator where restaurants and grocery stores drop off food they can no longer sell by the night shift.
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During my journey trying to figure out the best ways to help my dog lose a few pounds, I didn’t want to buy a bunch of bags of dry kibble and cans of food to figure out a healthier option. Coincidentally while walking her, I spotted an entire bag of ACANA Wholesome Grains (although I can’t remember whether it was duck or lamb) kibble and a bunch of cans of Identity Free Range Prairie Pork Dog Food on one of the food shelves of a nearby donation bin. That lasted her a few weeks before I settled on Rachel Ray’s Nutrish Real Chicken & Veggies Recipe. (She did lose the 5 pounds and loved all three brands.)
Pet Saving Tip No. 2: Check Freecycle and Craigslist for leftover dog supplies
For the same reasons that you can find dog food in donation bins, pet owners often will post their leftover pet toys and pet supplies on these sites. It is very rare that they charge for it on Craigslist, and everything is free on Freecycle.
Pet Savings Tip No. 3: Pay it forward when harness fittings come around.
Although I kept staring at the adoption pic of Junee, I was worried about her paws. People always say you can tell how big a dog will be by looking at the pup’s paws, and I didn’t want a dog that was so big that it made my condo unit seem like a tiny home. I may have been overreacting to this because I dogsat two dogs that were 40 to 60 pounds, and I was just fine.
Because the donation center (Felines & Canines) doesn’t identify dogs by their breeds, I wasn’t totally sure what Junee’s (formerly known as “Ducky” by them) final size would be. Dog breed apps were fairly consistent with saying she had some Hound in her, but a few labeled her as a Doberman Pinscher or a Dachshund. All three dogs are completely different sizes.
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I bought every single Voyager harness size. She outgrew the small, the medium, the large and finally settled into an X-Large. And when she outgrew each harness, I gave them away to appreciative new pet owners. Small dog owners were especially relieved because when a dog is at that size, it’s way too easy to buy something that looks like it’ll fit online but swallows your dog up in person.
The same way donation bins came in handy for me, I made sure to also participate when I could, even if it was just an abandoned toy my dog wasn’t into or something my dog could no longer fit nor use.