I was spending $32 a month on Greenies for my 75-pound golden retriever. Not because I love spending money on dog treats, but because the vet said his gums were starting to look inflamed and I panicked. Dental cleaning at the vet runs $700 to $1,500. Thirty-two dollars a month felt like a bargain by … Read more
My cat used to sit by her empty bowl and yell at me while I was on Zoom calls. I’d fill it in the morning, but by noon she’d finished everything and started acting like she hadn’t eaten in days. Cats don’t self-regulate the way people think they do — or at least mine doesn’t. … Read more
This is the most unglamorous topic in pet care, but it’s one I spend money on every single month, so I figured it deserved a proper analysis. Dog poop bags. You use 2 to 3 per walk, 2 to 3 walks per day, 365 days a year. That’s 1,500 to 3,000 bags per year for … Read more
Six months ago, my Golden Retriever stopped jumping on the couch. She’d stand at the edge, look up, and then walk away to lie on the floor. At first I thought she was just being lazy. Then I noticed she was also hesitating at the stairs and taking longer to get up from a lying … Read more
Last July, a thunderstorm spooked my Golden Retriever while I was at work. She jumped our four-foot fence — something I didn’t know she could do — and was gone. My neighbor called me at 2 PM. I drove home in a panic, searched the neighborhood for an hour, and eventually found her two blocks … Read more
I work from home most days, which means my dog’s feeding schedule revolves around my meetings. He eats at 7 AM and 6 PM — unless I’m on a call, in which case he eats whenever I remember. Which is sometimes 9 PM. Not great for a dog with a sensitive stomach. I finally broke … Read more
My dog used to drink from a regular bowl. I’d refill it twice a day, and half the time he’d knock it over or leave a film of drool floating on top. When the vet told me my golden was “borderline dehydrated” at a checkup last summer, I felt like a bad pet parent. The … Read more
For two years, I kept my dog’s food in the original bag, folded shut, in the pantry. I thought I was being practical. The bag is designed to hold food, right? Why buy a container when the bag already does the job? Then I noticed my dog’s food was going stale about three weeks into … Read more
The first time I trimmed my dog’s nails, I cut the quick on three out of eighteen nails. Blood on the floor, blood on my pants, my dog looking at me like I had betrayed her trust. I felt terrible. I paid 25 dollars a month at the groomer for the next year because I … Read more
Every August, like clockwork, my Golden Retriever starts itching. Not normal scratching — the kind where she wakes me up at 3 AM because she’s chewing her paws bloody. The kind where she rubs her face against the carpet until the fur is gone and the skin underneath is red and raw. I’ve spent three … Read more
