If you watch your dog, you’ll have more money. No, you don’t get paid for watching your dog, but you will save on vet bills if you closely observe your dog on a daily basis.
When you go to the vet for any reason, even for annual vaccinations, what your dog does daily matters. When the vet examines your dog as part of a routine exam included with a vaccination, you might be asked questions about your dog. How long has he been limping? When did you first notice this red spot? Has she been shaking her head or tilting it to one side? If the answers to these questions are “I don’t know,” the vet might have to spend more money just to rule out some causes for the problem.
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The money you save comes from having answers to questions like these, which will allow the vet to proceed with a better diagnostic plan, saving you money. If you can answer all the questions asked by the vet, you might avoid an expensive x-ray or unnecessary blood tests.
Knowing what has been going on around your house also helps. Was your yard recently sprayed with pesticides? Did someone recently put out rat poison that the dog might have gotten into? Has the diet changed? Did he get in the garbage, and what might have been in there?
When did her appetite start to wane? How long has she been losing weight? Does the vomiting occur right after eating, or much later? Is there blood in the diarrhea? Some of these observations are not always pleasant, but if you have answers to the questions you will save money.
This works for cats, too, and birds and ferrets and fish and any animal you keep (even large animals, but that is another topic). One condition in male cats involves a blockage of their urinary output, causing a backup of urine that becomes toxic. Your observation of when this began is important information for the vet.
Cats like to drink antifreeze because of its sweetness, and this too causes damage to their kidneys that becomes serious in a hurry. A spilled tablespoon on the garage floor might not seem dangerous, but it takes very little to affect a cat. Knowing how long the cat has been sick, when the antifreeze was used, and if the cat had access to the area of the antifreeze usage are all important pieces of information vital to the care of the cat, and which can save you money on treatment.
You love your dog or cat, and many of us treat and love them like children. So, observe them as closely as you do your children. Close observation is even more important for pets because many of us don’t have pet insurance, and the money for their care comes right out of our pockets.
If you want more money in your pocket, watch your pets.
