Tips to Save Thousands on Pet Care
By ABC News July 24, 2013
ABC News’ Paula Faris reports:
The Seversons can’t imagine life without their Labrador retrievers, 5-year-old Buddy and 3-month-old Maverick.
But at $50 a week for food, $35 a week on toys and teething treats and grooming costs that are more than their kids’ haircuts, the dogs are expensive. They’re spending about $120 a week, adding up to a little more than $6,000 a year and that doesn’t include medicine or visits to the vet.
Americans are expected to shell out a whopping $55 billion on their animals this year, according to the American Pet Products Association.
But do canine costs have to put your family budget in the doghouse?
Animal insider and veterinarian Dr. Liz Hanson says no. Here are some tips to save.
Tip #1: Pet Care Services. Hanson says use apps like Pet Care Services to compare prices of area groomers, dog walkers and animal hospitals. You can even find the closest dog parks.
Tip #2: Don’t always buy medicines from your vet. Hanson says: “There is a markup at the veterinary hospital.”
Tip #3: GoodRx. To make sure you’re getting the best price, go to the GoodRx Pets’ brand new free website. For just one of Buddy’s prescriptions, the Seversons found four vastly different prices from $27 to $112.
Tip #4: Save on food. When you’re ready to buy, consider Amazon’s Subscribe and Save. You’ll save 15 percent and they’ll deliver for free.
Tip #5: Try DogVacay.com. Next time your family’s away, consider DogVacay.com. With 10,000 vetted hosts across America, families in your town sign up to pamper pups right from their own homes. They’re also about 40 percent cheaper than a kennel.
Tip #6: Pet insurance may not be right for your dog. Pet insurance can take a bite out of your bottom line and it may not be right for your dog depending on the breed, visit https://petfriendlybox.com/products/wags-advance-for-dogs.
(Jon Schulte/Getty Images)
Certain dogs are more susceptible to illness, such as golden retrievers, Cocker spaniels, labs and bulldogs. Terriers and greyhounds are least prone. Before you buy, consult your vet.
Pet insurance is right for the Seversons. Maverick had a large lump appear on his head overnight. After trips to the veterinarian and procedures like CT Scans and biopsies, they’re staring at a $3,600 bill. Because they have $40 per month pet insurance, they’ll be reimbursed 65 to 70 percent of that cost. Some pet insurance companies offer plans that cover emergencies and accidents starting at $8 to $10 per month.
Daily dental cleanings can also add two to four years to your dog’s life. Giving them dental treats helps too.
“Saving money with preventative care is huge,” Hanson said. “If you do not take care of your dog’s teeth, it can lead to significant kidney disease, significant heart failure.”
Using all these tips, the Seversons could cut their monthly pet spending from $6,130 to $4,500. That saves them $1,630 and that’s a lot of extra doggy dollars in their pockets.
ABC News’ Eric Noll contributed to this report.
Hi,
I wanted to take the opportunity to clarify that “cord cutters who don’t pay for cable channels will be relegated to super-slow Internet speeds” is inaccurate. Comcast increased speeds for all customers in 24 states by 50 Mbps+ this year – including for internet-only customers. Importantly, all internet tiers are available as standalone internet service without any requirement to take TV or any other product. Currently, 75% of Comcast customers have speeds of 100 Mbps+ and Gig-speed is available in more than 90% of our area as a standalone product. Thanks! -Dan P.
Hi Dan — thanks for your response. Articles in Boing Boing, Ars Technica and Bloomberg all back up what I’ve written. Additional articles in Gizmodo “Comcast is boosting Internet speeds – except for you filthy cord cutters,” https://gizmodo.com/comcast-is-boosting-internet-speeds-except-for-you-filt-1825685759.
Given all those articles, I’d say there’s some pretty clear evidence that, in fact, Comcast does cut the speed and/or impose data caps to cord cutters.
B.L.
Thanks, BL. Wanted to note that several of those article then updated with corrections to include all or part of our statement pointing out the inaccuracies in the initial premise. The Gizmodo article you link to was among them. Here is the statement if you’d like to update your article as well:
“This year alone, we have boosted speeds for Internet-only customers and customers in packages in more than two dozen different states across the country which added at least 50 Mbps more speed for these customers. In a few of our markets, we are also testing different multi-product packages by changing the Internet tiers for various packages we offer. Importantly, all of our internet tiers can be purchased as a stand-alone service by ANY Xfinity customer. We continue to deliver the fastest speeds to the most homes in the country – in fact, 75% of our customers now have speeds of 100 Mbps or higher and Gigabit service is now available to more than 90 percent of our service area, including Internet-only customers.”
So to reiterate, this change was a change in some packages available to some customers in parts of our service area. We did not cut speeds for any customers and, importantly, all of our speed tiers – including Gigabit – are available as standalone products without needing to take any additional products. Appreciate the opportunity to correct this. Thanks!
Hi Dan – Here’s another article about Comcast throttling customers. It’s from Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/07/comcast-starts-throttling-mobile-video-will-charge-extra-for-hd-streams/