Almost a year ago my girlfriend and I decided to buy a puppy. We were on the fence for a long time about whether or not it would be a good idea. There were just so many things to consider: Did we have enough time for a puppy? Did we have the money to support a puppy? Do we really want to give up sleep to take care of a puppy? In the end, we decided just to run out and get one. I think it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Sure it can be rough at times, but once you get used to the lack of sleep, and spending all your free time at the dog park, it’s actually really fun. The thing that worried me the most about the whole situation was paying for its medical supplies. What happens if he gets sick and we can’t afford the vet bill? Luckily for us we’ve only had to take him to the vet a few times, but there has to be a way to save money when your pet gets sick. When we got his shots we went through a clinic (which was way cheaper). They only do it once a month, but if you can time it right it works out perfectly.
I still haven’t been able to find a way to get cheap vet visits. Maybe someone out there has an answer for me. The first time we took him to the vet it was just a checkup. He ended up prescribing us some heart worm tablets to give our puppy. They were $60 for 6 months worth. I didn’t think that was too expensive, but all the costs of a puppy definitely add up. Once we ran out of the pills I wasn’t sure about how to get them again. Sure I could have gone back to the vet, but I was worried they would charge a $50 checkup fee. I didn’t want to pay a fee when my puppy was perfectly healthy so I decided to look them up online (and I’m glad I did). I went to 1800petmeds.com and found the same pills for half the price! I was skeptical at first. Wouldn’t it be hard to buy prescribed medications online? As it turns out it’s really easy. I just needed to enter hits veterinary’s information, and they call them to get the new prescription. The tablets were delivered to me a few days later (I did pay a $3 shipping fee).
I just find it interesting how much money we can save if we just put a little time and effort into researching something before we buy it. I’ve always liked to just run out and buy something as soon as I needed/wanted it. I’m starting to think that’s not the way purchases should be made. I had no idea I could save money on pet medication, but I did. It makes me wonder how many other things I’ve bought without knowing I could get a better deal. I think we can all save a lot of money with just a little bit of research. I know I don’t want to be the person that pays full price for everything, do you?
Chris Neighbors 
Canadianbudgetbinder
March 29, 2012 at 12:54 PM
We have a pet but after he is gone we no longer will own any more. They are lovely but the costs are high and it’s difficult to go anywhere. Our dog didn’t do so well in a kennel and they are costly. We don’t like to ask anyone to watch our pooch.
The vet bills well as you mentioned are astronomical at times. I think people really need to take the time and sit down, reasearch and write out the pros and cons of owning pets and if it truly is something they can handle for a long time. A pet becomes like family and you will cry or be distraught if you have to give them up, or cannot pay for life saving surgery.. so much to think of.
Great Post.
Chris Neighbors
March 29, 2012 at 12:56 PM
I completely agree with you. Anytime we want to go out of town (even just for the weekend) it becomes a hassle because of our dog. The thought of kenneling him makes me feel guilty. They need more pet friendly hotels and events!
Michael Shelton
March 30, 2012 at 12:45 PM
Great blog Chris! What’s the return on investment for a pet? A lifetime (theirs or maybe yours) of affection, loyalty, laughs, companionship and joy…and some pooper scooping. The costs are high for pet ownership but as Warren Buffett has his unjustifiable indulgence (his jet) a pet is more than measured in dollars and cents. Shop around for a good vet. I’ve learned that there can be a negative correlation between the level of finishes in the vet’s office and the level of objective service. A great vet might have a so-so location in an old strip mall but really care about your animal and won’t take every opportunity to push $500 teeth cleanings or expensive testing.
Chris Neighbors
March 30, 2012 at 1:53 PM
Thanks for the advice Michael. You’re definately right that I can’t measure the benefits that my dog offers in dollars and cents.
marcusampe
April 2, 2012 at 11:38 PM
The costs for the obligated yearly visit and injections for the pet, about 65€ for the vet per visit are normally the only one visit people do have to have in Belgium (to get the pet passport in order) except when they cross the boarders or want to have the dog going on hiking in the big woods, because than they have to have a recent rabies injection as well (every three years). When nothing happens to the dog people could do with one visit a year, so that is not bad. But when the dog has to go to the dog clinic (one visit mat least 250€ ) that becomes really expensive.
Buying medical drugs on the internet has been proven very dangerous, so I would be very careful with it. (Tests in our country even proved that many of the delivered drugs were not what they said to be or did not have the required content of working drugs.)
Though homoeopathic drugs are not cheap, on the long run, a lot of expenses and poisoning of the animal (and human person as well) can be avoided by providing such a healthy way to get the animal through the ages. For cancer there is no solution yet, the life of the dog can be extended perhaps a little bit, but for all other things it works marvellously. Therefore may I advise you to look into this way of healing and keeping your pet healthy on a natural basis.
I am convinced that most of the veterinarians, who also do take care of livestock and horses, are people with their heart and soul close to the animal world, sometimes loving animals more than people { -)}, so they would not charge extra money just to easily earn more. So I would advice you to look for such a good vet, and checking for his attitude and way of thinking by going into some talk about animal life. It is not bad to have your own little questionnaire, you could use, the same as when you would look for a doctor for yourself. At the end there is no difference in looking for a good doctor for a human and in looking for a doctor for an animal.So best not to save on it and bringing the health of the pet in danger. If you really love your pet, you shall find it shall not be worth saving the money on the wrong persons and firms, making it even more difficult for the ones who want to do a good job and to deliver the right drugs, to be able to survive or to charge people not to high fees.
Chris Neighbors
April 3, 2012 at 11:47 AM
I know that online cancer drugs were having major issues, but I didn’t realized there were problems with pet medication also. I’ll have to look into that.