From the Zip files

We rescued Zip when he was about 5 months old.  He was abandoned by his family and had been running the streets for several weeks.  He came to us looking like this.

We brought him home, just for the night, to figure out what to do with him.  The local shelter was overcrowded and didn't take him when I called.  He immediately got what we believe was his first bath ever, believe me when I say he really needed it.  He was scarred from fighting, had an obvious skin infection and a belly distended with worms.  He was a mess yet he was the happiest dog I'd ever met.  To this day he gets so excitedly happy his whole back half wags along with his tail. 

Two days later we took him to see the Vet where he was checked for a microchip, treated for the worms and given the first of his shots.  I had now spent money on this sorry little furball.  He was officially ours.  We gave him a name and brought him to his forever home.  Zip had won the owner lottery.

Now, just over a year later, he looks like this:

He's a sweet boy with a lot of energy.  His name really fits him, he Zips across the yard more like a cheetah that a dog. 

From the beginning it has been a challenge to find durable toys for him.  He destroys them.  I now look for deeply discounted toys and clearance items.  Last week we found such a deal.  Two Halloween themed hedgehogs at the local pet store.  At 75% off I was on it, scoring those toys for under $1.50 each.

One red, one black, they started out looking like this:

Cute, huh?  We gave him the first one last Monday.  Exactly one week later the red one looks like this:

Not so cute anymore.  This was the second time I found this toy in a water bowl.  Just three days ago his was floating in the indoor bowl, mostly intact, missing just a foot and its tail.  He was rinsed off, dried out and given back to Zip the next day.  Apparently Zip was on a mission to finish the job and ensure this toy was toast.  He succeeded.

If anyone out there has found an indestructible soft chew toy, please share it with me.  Until then, I'll just have to accept the fact that his toys will have a very, very short life.



 

Pets and Prescriptions

Two furballs live at the Casual Shack.  While they both provide endless love and amusement they also bring a multitude of added expenses.  

Princess

and Zip

Two dogs with a combined weight of 155 pounds eat a lot of food.  Caring for these two fur factories doesn't stop at food, sometimes pets get sick, in our case really sick.  

A few years ago Princess got an infection known as Pyometra, which means her uterus got infected.  While preparing her for a hysterectomy a bladder stone the size of a quarter was found.  The poor thing was a mess.  Because of the bladder stone she will require medication to control her PH balance for the rest of her life.  Fast forward to this year.  During her routine annual check up we learned that our little girl has Lymphoma.  We had two choices.  Choice #1 Surgery to remove her tumor infested spleen followed by Chemotherapy or #2 Put her down.  We opted for #1, take a look at her again, could you end her life?  We couldn't.

Chemotherapy is expensive, not as expensive as people Chemo but it's a huge chunk of change which would challenge anyone's budget.  Here's where the money saving tip comes in.  

Just because your Vet prescribes a medication for your pet does not mean you have to buy it from them.  You have options.  Pets take antibiotics, people take antibiotics, there's no difference in the drugs other than the word Canine on the label which means you can go to any pharmacy with a free antibiotic program to get them.  In our case it's our grocery store.  We do not pay for antibiotics for our dogs when we ask the Vet to call the prescription into our local grocery store.  The vet charged us $1.67 for 1.5 Ciprofloxacin pills, Publix gave me 21 pills for free.  That's a savings of $23.31.

Your second option is purchasing online.  Due to the Chemo we can expect Princess to stop eating due to nausea within 36 hours.  To prevent this we give her Metoclopramide.  Metoclopramide at Walgreen's cost us 11.99 for 24 pills.  That's close to .50 each pill.  By ordering through 1800Petmeds I was able to reduce that cost to .29 per pill.  A simple internet search will yield many other online pet supply stores.

Don't be afraid to tell your Vet that you want to explore less expensive options when it comes to prescriptions for your pet.  Princess' doctor was not aware that the first anti nausea drug she prescribed cost 69.83 for 12 pills, just a 3 day supply. When I asked for a less expensive alternative she suggested the Metoclopramide which works for our dog.  

This advice applies to Heartworm medication, pill pockets, specialty foods and any other item your Veterinarian may be selling in their office.

$23 here, .21 a pill there may not seem like much but in our case it's the small change that adds up to the big reward.  At the Casual Shack the reward is a happy, bouncy, tail wagging dog in remission as she nears her last treatment next month.