Friday, April 24, 2015

How to Save Money on Pet Supplies

Everyone wants to save money and pet owners are no different.

If you are a pet owner here are some tips to help you be more frugal, but first I will tell you some things not to cheat on.

Pet Food


Do not buy the cheapest pet food you find.  Typically this pet food is cheap because it contains cheap filler ingredients.  When you feed these pet foods to your pet your pet has to eat more food to get the nutrition it needs.  As such you end up buying more food in the long run than if your pet was on a good quality pet food.  Additionally eating all that junk can cause health problems in your pet, such as diabetes.  Cheap filler ingredients include corn, wheat, and by-products (beaks, feet, feathers).

Dog owners can save some money on dog food by feeding the dog human left overs (not table scraps), such as unfinished vegetables (not avocado or onions) and so forth.  Some people will even go so far as to actually cook for their dog.  This can save money too if done correctly.

Buy Used Pet Supplies


Some pet supplies can be purchased used, at garage sales and such.  These should be washed well.  Never buy plastic bowls used, in fact plastic bowls should not be used in general, but if you can find stainless steel bowls or ceramic bowls, those are ideal.  To be fair stainless steel bowls are not expensive new either.

Cat litter boxes can be purchased used, wash them with a bleach water solution and allow them to air dry.

Dog houses can be purchased used, however wooden dog houses cannot be sterilized so parvo may be a concern.

Carriers and crates can be purchased used, check them for cracks, and make sure all the pieces are there.  Wash with a bleach water solution and air dry.

Bird cages can sometimes also be purchased used.  

Saving Money on Other Pet Supplies


Owners of rabbits and other small caged pets can save money on bedding by purchasing shavings (aspen is best, pine is okay, but never buy cedar) in large bags.

A bale of grass hay can be purchased from a farmer for less than a much smaller bag of loose hay can be bought at a pet store.  Really all you need to buy from a farmer is a few flakes of hay.

Large bags of rabbit food can be purchased at a livestock feed store.





Friday, April 17, 2015

Lucy the Elephant in Edmonton

I grew up in Edmonton, Alberta.  The winters are very cold.  Temperatures get below freezing for weeks on end, and there is snow to contend with.  It sucks, but it must suck even more for Lucy, who is an Asian Elephant. 

Lucy had been orphaned in 1975 and was purchased in 1977 when she was just two years old and brought to the Edmonton Valley Zoo, which was known as Storyland Valley Zoo back in its early days.

Lucy has lived alone and the zoo claims she is not a social elephant and prefers to be alone rather than with other elephants.   I am not sure how they would determine that as she really has not been tested with other elephants.

 I have visited the zoo a few times and mostly would observe Lucy standing in her rather small and boring enclosure, however on my last visit we saw her walking around.  This was the first time I have ever seen this but apparently she goes for daily walks.  The handlers told me that they more or less allowed her to go on her own.  They did say that in the winter they have a spot where they can stop so she can take a break and warm up but did not say she hated the cold.  Her large size would help her stay warm, but I am not sure if they put a blanket on her back in the winter or not.

The Calgary zoo, which is further south in Alberta, decided to send their elephants to warmer climates and many are calling for Edmonton to do the same.

Personally I do not know what to think.  I am not an expert on judging if an elephant is happy or not.  I cannot tell if she is happy as an only elephant or not.  I do not know if she likes her daily walks, even in the winter. 

I do know that the staff at the Edmonton Valley Zoo do their best to care for Lucy.  She has arthritis, possibly related to a deformity she was born with, and has some breathing problems when stressed.  In fact this problem is one of the reasons why some people insist she should not be moved, they say the stress will be too hard on her.

As such, while there are many petitions to move Lucy to a warmer climate I am not really sure what is best for her.

I will say, however, that this is a fine example of why we need to stop taking animals from their natural homes and bringing them to other places just for our entertainment.

Other reading on Lucy