Hannah was 2 years old during 2020. She's an active young dog who does have some health woes. We do a lot of things people don't necessarily HAVE to do, like take her to classes and daycare, but this is how we take care of our dog friend. Let's examine what it cost to have her as our favorite canine companion for an entire year.
January 2: $427.10 - Vet trip when she stopped eating and began vomiting and having diarrhea. Turned out she had hookworms (we can't have her on Heartguard Plus/Interceptor which would deal with the issue of worms because she's allergic to an ingredient - don't get at me - we're doing our best). They also took some x-rays in case she had eaten something. She got a physical exam, fecal exam, two x-rays, injected fluids and anti-nausea drugs, and we got to take home deworming and anti-diarrhea medications. All for the low, low price of $427.10. We're off to a good start for the year.
January 6: $95 for a 7-week continuing obedience class at our local kennel club.
January 9: $25.32 for grooming. In this appointment, she gets bathed with her fancy shampoo, anal glands expressed, ears cleaned, and her nails trimmed. A nail trim ALONE at our vet's office is $17 and expressing anal glands is another charge. We take her regularly to the groomer because her skin is such a mess.
January 9: $24.98 for a dose of Revolution. We use a combo of the Seresto collar and Revolution for flea, tick, and heartworm protection for Hannah. What this doesn't cover is worms (see the Jan. 2 expense), but the meds that do treat worms are all beef-based and Hannah can't have beef. We're going to try to introduce beef into her diet soon and hopefully we'll be able to get her on Interceptor or Heartguard. That's why I only got ONE dose.
January 9: $53.36 for two GoughNuts toys. There are so many chew toys Hannah can't have because of her food allergies. Bones and antlers can splinter and hurt teeth. She LOVES those rope toys, but she destroys them and we worry about her swallowing the strands. She is a chewer and so I purchased these GoughNuts because they're what's recommended on Reddit for tough chewers. I ordered two toys and they're crazy expensive, but they also have a warranty, so if she does destroy them, we can get new ones. My biggest fear is that she won't use them. I'll update when I see how she does with them. (UPDATE in June: She does not play with them.)
January 15: $0.89 for a can of pumpkin to use to mix with her deworming medication so she'll eat it instead of spitting it out all over us.
January 18: $117.52 for a trip to the vet after Hannah whined and cried for twelve hours straight, making us think she had a leg injury. Once she was at the vet's office, she was perfectly okay, thankyouverymuchhereisyouronehundreddollarbill.
January 21: $20 for daycare. We decided to send her back since she'd been treated for the hookworm at this point.
January 23: $15.81 for disposable waste bags.
January 24: $12.99 for some Mushers Secret, a wax that we're going to use to try and prevent Hannah's paws from being damaged by the cold and salt.
January 28: $20 for daycare.
January 29: $19.50 for probiotics. (Zelda also uses these pills, so I split the cost between Hannah and Zelda)
January 31: $25.32 for grooming.
January 31: $14.76 for a 5-pound bag of Fromm's dog food because I messed up ordering her special dog food. Note: this was because I messed up. She IS not tolerating this well.
January 31: $19.51 for 150-count generic version of Zyrtec (Up & Up brand). Technically, I got a 300-count, but I take one a day and she takes one a day, so I split the cost.
January 31: $89.95 for a 19.8-pound of her special prescription dog food.
February 4: $20 for daycare.
February 6: $10 for the dog bath at our local car wash.
February 11: $20 for daycare.
February 11: $10 for the dog bath at our local car wash.
February 11: $1.79 for three sweet potatoes to make her some treats. I used to buy these expensive sweet potato treats for her when I realized I could make them really easily.
February 16: $80 for Hannah to stay at the boarder's for two nights and three days while we took a weekend trip for family.
February 18: $32.20 for three months of Interceptor Plus, which will help protect her against worms.
February 19: $30.38 for grooming. I don't know why this was so expensive and I'll have to ask why next time.
February 24: $55.90 for a 30-pound bag of dog food I purchased at a local store. We've been slowly introducing non-prescription food into her diet and she's at about half and half now.
February 25: $20 for daycare.
February 25: $43.16 for a plastic Rubbermaid container for the 30-pound bag of dog food because we didn't have one large enough.
February 25: $0.68 for two sweet potatoes to make her some treats.
February 29: $10 for the dog bath at our local car wash.
March 1: $89.95 for a 19.8-pound of her special prescription dog food. I cancelled autoship on this food and I'm hoping we'll be able to wean her onto a dog food we can buy at a local store.
March 2: $20 for daycare.
March 5: $95 for a 7-week Intermediate Skill class at our local kennel club.
March 7: $37.90 for an anti-diarrheal medication after a very rough couple of days for the poor thing.
March 10: $20 for daycare.
March 11: $30.38 for grooming.
March 17: $20 for daycare.
March 20: $237.35 vet bill. Hannah was limping for days. We also stocked up on some Apoquel and Interceptor Plus. Just the start of social distancing and most of this appointment was done by shouting at the vet across the length of our car in a frozen parking lot.
March 23: -$95 from the local kennel club. Because of the COVID-19 crisis, the class we'd been signed up for was canceled.
March 23: $11.91 for a book called 101 Dog Tricks: Step by Step Activities to Engage, Challenge, and Bond with Your Dog. Since we can't go to obedience class, I'm going to use this to help train Hannah.
March 23: $15.29 for a target training stick.
March 26: $37.04 for probiotics.
March 31: $20 for daycare. In this time of physical distancing, we can drop Hannah off, pay, and pick her up without touching anything on site. Hannah needs the physical outlet and I desperately want her kennel to stay in business.
April 5: $61.17 for a Seresto flea and tick prevention collar. These are good for eight months, so I won't have to buy one again for quite some time.
April 6: $99.30 for vet trip (stool sample and anti-diarrheal medicine - sick dog again).
April 8: $259 for vet trip (blood tests to figure out why she has diarrhea all the time, lots of vaccinations, anal glands expressed, which we would normally do at the groomer, but the groomer isn't open because it's non-essential)
April 8: -$100 from vet because we filled up our "loyalty card" and got $100 off.
April 14: $20 for daycare
April 19: $216.89 for an order from the online pharmacy for Interceptor (flea/tick/heartworm preventative), a 30-count of Apoquel (her allergy medicine), and another 19.8 pound bag of Ultamino dog food
April 20: $269.15 for blood tests and a 17.8 pound bag of I/D prescription food
April 21: $20 for daycare
April 28: $102.20 for a vet trip to get her Lyme vaccine booster and a 10-day supply of Apoquel because, despite the fact that I ordered it nine days ago, it still hasn't come in the mail
April 28: $20 for daycare
April 30: $30 for grooming (the groomer was allowed to reopen if we do the handoff in the parking lot, both wearing masks - the dog reallllly needed a good bath)
May 5: $20 for daycare
May 6: $2.18 for sweet potatoes for treats
May 12: $20 for daycare
May 12: $10 for the dog bath at our local car wash (daycare aftermath)
May 14: $0.98 for sweet potatoes for treats
May 19: $10 for dog bath at our local car wash (daycare aftermath - we didn't pay for daycare today because she had a free day)
May 25: $2.33 for sweet potatoes for treats
May 26: $20 for daycare
May 26: $10 for dog bath at our local car wash (daycare aftermath)
May 26: $157.56 for an order at the online pharmacy (dog food, a 40 day supply of Apoquel, and some of her fancy prescription shampoo)
June 2: $20 for daycare
June 2: $10 for the dog bath at our local car wash (daycare aftermath)
June 9: $20 for daycare
June 11: $26.38 for a grooming appointment
June 11: $26.38 for a grooming appointment
June 12: $10 for the dog bath at our local car wash after poor Hannah was quite sick overnight
June 16: $3.89 for cotton balls to use to clean her ears
June 18: $22.99 for poop bags and a bottle of ear rinse
June 21: $32.69 for 60 capsules of gabapentin, a pain medication, because Hannah has been whimpering whenever she gets up or down
June 22: $44 for a vet tech appointment and a vaccination booster (leptospirosis)
June 24: $19.51 for her OTC Zyrtec
June 25: $261.05 for a trip to the vet because the gabapentin from June 21 was not doing the job and Hannah was in a lot of pain. An exam, a couple of xrays, some tramadol, and a sad, sad dog.
June 27: $9.88 for a dozen eggs and some chicken breast because we need to give Hannah tramadol three times a day and it's bitter and she kept spitting it out. We know she can eat eggs and chicken safely, so that's what we're hiding the pills in. It's been working so far.
July 2&3: $165.35 for two more trips to the vet where Hannah was given injections of rimadyl and a blood panel. We were also given two more injections for us to giver her over the holiday weekend. The good news is that the rimadyl does seem to be improving her pain level, so that's more than the gabapentin and tramadol were doing.
July 15: $63.25 for a folding ramp to allow Hannah to get in and out of the car. Since her injury, she is unable to jump.
July 16: 105.48 for two 8.8-pound bags of her food. We were running out and the big bags were out of stock, so I considered myself lucky to be able to get it.
July 16: $2.11 for sweet potatoes to make some treats
July 23: $42 for a trip to the vet to assess Hannah's pain. We got a referral to the vet school for Hannah because she's a mysterious patient.
July 28: $1.63 for sweet potatoes to make some treats
August 4: $207 for a consult with a veterinary specialist in orthopedics and some more rimadyl for pain. This consult was terrifying, to be perfectly honest. If she has another bout of this pain, we'll need to do an MRI that would cost thousands of dollars and probably a surgery for more $$$. In the meantime, the dog is on low-activity and painkillers.
August 16: $100.49 for a 19.8-pound bag of her prescription food. The big bags are back in stock and I'm relieved!
August 24: $31.65 for a grooming appointing
September 5: $47.19 for a new bed for her kennel. She still won't go in her kennel.
September 5: $65.95 for a 30 count of Apoquel (40 day supply)
September 11; $1.68 for sweet potatoes
September 12: $10 for a trip to the dog wash because Hannah was stinky.
September 15: $32.10 for more rimadyl after Hannah tweaked her leg
September 30: $6.05 for disposable waste bags
October 6: $28.38 for some toothpaste and a Kong wobbler (she didn't really need the wobbler, but I added it to the cart to get free shipping)
October 6: $69.95 for a 30 count of Apoquel (40 day supply)
October 8: $65.80 for metronidazole, an anti-diarrhea drug because it's been a rough two days
October 11: $94.99 for a 19.8 pound bag of her prescription food
October 13: $163 for a trip to the vet for a heartworm test, anal glands expressed, a general progress exam because of her diarrhea and pain, and we bought some prescription shampoo that is sold out everywhere - 2020 has been absolutely brutal
October 14: $10 for the dog bath at the local car wash
October 21: $36.65 for a much needed grooming appointment
October 23: $1.93 for sweet potatoes
November 6: $1.10 for sweet potatoes. The last batch was gross - the potatoes got all these black spots on them when they were baking, so we didn't use most of them.
November 6: $30.99 for a 300 count of biodegradable waste bags
November 8: $10 for a dog bath at the local car wash
November 20: $10 for a dog bath at the local car wash
November 20; $69.95 for a 30 count of Apoquel (40 day supply) - I'm hoping this is the last supply we'll need this year and we can take her off of it for winter, but we just haven't had consistently hard freezes yet
November 20: $94.99 for a 19.8 pound bag of her prescription food
November 26: $19.50 for probiotics
November 29: $10 for a dog bath at the local car wash
December 4: $18.50 for a six-month supply of OTC Zyrtec
December 7: $61.17 for a Seresto collar for flea and tick prevention. They are good for eight months, so it's a regular expense, but not a frequent regular expense. My girl runs in weeds and I like for her to have this protection.
December 8: $31.65 for a grooming appointment
Total: $5243.51
Vet/meds: $3355.89
Food, including treats: $673.01
Gear, including a ramp, new mattress, toys, etc.: $300.09
Grooming: $357.61
Obedience classes/daycare/other play-related expenses: $556.91
Zelda the Cat
Zelda was 8.5 - 9.5 years old during 2020. She's an older adult cat, not quite senior. She had bladder stones and a rough recovery from surgery at the end of 2019, but going into 2020, she was back to her full vim and vigor.
January 15: $52.11 for 24 5.5 ounces of her expensive, bladder stone preventative food. She eats one can a day.
January 24: $135.50 for Zelda's follow-up vet appointment in which they did a urinalysis to check to make sure her food is preventing stones and they also just checked her incision again. Fingers crossed that Zelda doesn't need any more vet appointments until her annual check-up in October when her urine will be reexamined again.
January 29: $19.50 for probiotics
January 30: $27.41 for 2 40-pound bags of litter
February 19: $52.11 for her food
March 11: $52.11 for her food
April 4: $52.11 for her food
May 12: $52.11 for her food
June 2: $52.25 for her food (don't think I didn't notice that 14 cent increase)
June 8: $25.30 for 2 40-pound bags of litter
June 23: $52.25 for her food
July 15: $52.25 for her food
September 1: $52.25 for her food
September 30: $20.95 for a cat bed. Not a necessary purchase, but she kept laying on our hard wooden hall tree and I knew she would appreciate it for her old bones.
October 6: $34.38 for a 4-pound bag of her dry food (she only gets it as a treat and we've had the same 16-pound bag for almost 10 months, so we went to a smaller size) and some toothpaste
October 15: $172 for a trip to the vet where she got her yearly exam (she's looking good! we've had her on a diet and it's worked because she's down a pound) and a urinalysis that involved subcutaneous fluids and an ultrasound to make sure she doesn't have any bladder stones.
October 27: $52.25 for her food
November 6: $27.30 for 2 40-pound bags of litter and a two pack of charcoal filters for her litter box
November 23: $49.39 for her food (the price dropped again - I don't understand the vagaries of pricing at Chewy)
November 26: $19.50 for probiotics
December 23: $49.39 for her food
Total: $1102.42
Food: $654.96
Litter: $80.01
Vet/meds: $346.50
Gear $20.95
Cats are so much more reasonable about health care costs, aren't they?
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