MNN - Mother Nature Network

Taking on the responsibility of a pet comes with certain financial obligations. It costs quite a bit of money to ensure the health of your pet and to make sure they live a full, happy life. Not only is keeping your pet healthy good for your pet, it is also good for the earth. Imagine being able to help your family pet while helping the environment on a budget. It can be done and we are here to help.
 
There are certain things that there is no wiggle room for including visits to the veterinarian. However, with just  little bit of due diligence pet owners will find that there are a lot of ways available to keep pet care costs low. So if you are thinking of caring for a pet but think you cannot afford one, or you are trying to scale back on your finances, here are a list of things that you can do in keeping pet care costs low while keeping green at the same time.

Annual Vaccines are integral in the health of your pet. Vets recommend that cats and dogs both get a yearly cocktail of distemper and rabies shots. Animal shelters interested in curtailing the number of bites from rabies infected animals offer clinics and most will perform free rabies shots or an enormous savings compared to your local vet. This not only protects your pet, but all of the people and wildlife in your community are being protected as well.

Spaying/Neutering is important if you do not plan on breeding your pets. Animal Shelters again, interested with keeping the pet populations low, offer this service to residents at a significant savings. Some clinics or shelters will even spay or neuter your pet for free. There are so many unwanted pets out in the world, lets work on giving all of them loving homes.

Medications such as flea and tick, and heartworm are imperative in order to make sure that your pet does not get any diseases such as lyme disease from ticks or worms that can make your pet sick. Since these medications have to be administered regularly you can see huge savings by simply buying in bulk. Always check with your veterinarian to determine which brand you get that has a generic counterpart or if not, which is the least expensive brand that still delivers optimum results.

Grooming can be done at home. Check with your vet to see which shampoos would be best for your pet's particular coat and will not encourage dry skin. If this is a rather laborious task or if you live in small living quarters, you may want to check around to see if there are any charity organizations that offer pet-washings, or if there are self serve pet shampoo stores. You will surprised to discover that many pet owners take their pets to the groomers far too often. Most dogs do not need to be washed so much because it dries the skin.

Worm Treatments can be done by you at home, which can save you hundreds of dollars a year. Contact your vet or the ASPCA for more information.

In terms of check ups, you can call around to see if you have a veterinary school in your area. The students, who are training to be vets, offer clinics that are supervised by licensed vets and these clinics offer quality healthcare for pets at reduced rates or even for free. In addition to schools, some animal shelters and even 4-H clubs may offer specials on pet care. The Humane Society is yet another organization that offers clinics to the public so that pet owners who may not be able to afford to visit a traditional veterinarians office can come and get regular checkups for their pet. The Humane Society is a non-profit organization that largely operates on donations, so you may want to contribute something when you can so that the volunteers can continue the clinics.

Another area that pet owners can see savings is through the diet you administer to your pet. You may think that purchasing cheap or generic food may be saving you money, however, this is one area that you should not take too many shortcuts on. A diet that is not tailored to your pet's unique dietary needs may cause more harm than good. Just make sure that whenever you can, you purchase the pet food in bulk. Buying in bulk is always less expensive than buying as needed.  Even better yet, use coupons whenever you can. Dog food coupons are prevalent and can really help your budget.

If you employ some of these tips, you will find that these savings will add up very quickly. You will still have a happy, healthy, green pet while helping to make our planet a little greener as well!