I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Saving on Pet Care

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Adoptions 4

Upcoming Events

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Photo Gallery

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Donations 6

Siberian Scoop J U L Y , 2 0 0 9 I S S U E 2

anything with your vet, just like you should with your own personal physician. You must trust your vet. If anything seems off – RUN! 2. Ask about discounts (multi-pet, senior citizen, student, rescue, foster, breeder, professional). Ask about monthly specials (dental awareness month, heartworm prevention

month, etc). Ask about vol-unteer opportunities at your vet’s office in ex-change for services. Ask about bartering for services. 3. Discuss your current vaccination protocol with your veterinarian. Many veterinarians are currently shifting to 3 year vaccine protocols for certain vac-cines rather than every year. Verify that protocols adhere to current area laws (i.e. rabies vaccines). 4. Investigate the availabil-ity of low-cost spay/neuter clinics, vaccine clinics, well-ness clinics. Many rescue groups/shelters and training facilities will offer low-cost

routine veterinary care to either members and/or the public as fundraisers. 5. Schedule all your pets’ care at the same time. Not only will this save you gas money and time, you will probably also save a few office visit charges. 6. Preventative care. This is not the time to skimp on this. Make sure your critters get the rou-tine care they need: well-ness checks, teeth clean-ings, heartworm testing, etc. An ounce of preven-tion is worth a pound of cure. Keep them healthy in times like these. Get medicines elsewhere. You do not need to buy medicines from your vet. The typical mark-up on medicines in a vet office are 150-175%! Ask for a pre-scription (on paper!!). Many medicines that our fur-kids use are the same as we naked-two-legged kids use and are available at CVS/Walgreens/WalMart in generic form (e.g. antibiot-ics). Ask your vet if there is a generic available. Shop online for deals on things such as heartworm preven-tion and

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Many of us have been hit hard by the current econ-omy and I am sure none us want it to affect our fur-kids. Just like the cost of items we need in our eve-ryday human lives, the cost of items our Siberians need continues to increase. The average yearly cost to keep a single dog in a typi-cal American home ranges from $700-$3000 (that is $65-235 per month!). The media reports that there is approximately a 20% in-crease in family pets being dumped into shelters and also what they are calling “economic euthanasia.” There are many things you can do as a dog-owner to help cut the cost of pet care without sacrificing the quality of that care. I will break this down into things that involve veterinary care and into things that involve everyday care. Cost-Saving Veterinary Care: 1. Know your vet!! Shop around - price out the cost of an office visit, of a spe-cific procedure, of medi-cines. Get a second opin-ion if you can; ask friends, family members, training partners, etc. for recom-mendations. You must feel comfortable discussing

Saving on Pet Care

The average yearly cost to keep a single dog in a typical American home ranges from $700-$3000 .

"Saving one dog won't change the world, but surely the world will change for that

one dog."

(Continued from page 1) flea-tick prevention (just make sure it is the real thing). You can also ask if the vet has any free samples. Drug companies are always bringing samples to vet offices for them to hand out. Many of these samples end up in the trash or at animal shelters (if they are lucky). Investigate Pet Health Insurance. This is not right for everyone. There still are monthly costs, deductibles, non-covered items and waiting periods. Research this option carefully and be wise. Another option might be a Pet Health Savings Plan. There are several of these plans avail-able online. Other options in-clude CareCredit, opening a saving account, an emergency fund, a disaster fund, etc. Any-way you do it, putting money aside each week or each month in the event your dog needs it, it a good idea.

Cost Saving Home Care: 1. Keep your pets’ weight un-der control!!! This is probably one of the best things you can do to keep your best friend healthy and out of the vet’s of-fice. Pet obesity is becoming an epidemic just like in humans. You should be able to feel (but not see) their ribs, see a nice hourglass figure from the top and see a nice tuck-up under-neath from the side. If you don’t, talk to your vet about weight control programs (in other words, cut back the food and increase their exercise!!!!)

Saving on Pet Care

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Siberians are known for their great metabolism – they do not need a lot of food. 2. Feed high-quality food. Now initially this may seem counter-intuitive. Most high-quality foods are more expensive than your grocery store brands. You will feed less of a high-quality food, therefore your cost per cup will be lower. You will also have less clean-up to do with a high-quality food, saving you time. Think gar-bage in – garbage out. Exercise your dogs! Not only will they be healthier doing this – so will you. You can save money on vet care because your dog will be health-ier – you can also save money by not buying that gym membership and saving on your own personal healthcare costs.

3. Brush your dogs’ teeth! Dental care as a result of ne-glected teeth costs pet owners thousands of dollars every year. 4. Keep your dog safe, confined and out of trouble! Prevent es-capes (fix that fence, fill those holes, lock those gates, inspect your leashes and collars). This will save you money in bailout money when Nanook of the North gets picked up by Animal Control and save you money in potential emergency veterinary costs when Nanook gets hit by a car because he is running amok.

5. Quit smoking. Dogs are af-fected by second-hand smoke just like humans and can develop allergies, lung disease and can-cers when exposed. Save your money, don’t smoke. 6. Keep a clean home and yard environment. Pick up everyday, disinfect dog potty areas, dis-pose of pet waste properly and dump standing water. This will help control those pesky para-sites such as worms and mosqui-toes and prevent the diseases they carry to both humans and pets. 7. Online catalogs and online coupons. These are great ways to save money. Typically you can save mucho dinero buying toys and treats through online catalogs such as PetEdge com-pared to shopping at PetCo or PetSmart. Make sure you check AAHI’s affiliate page where you can find many of these online stores. They will donate a per-centage to AAHI when you shop with them through the affiliate page. 8. Go in with a friend, family member, co-worker, or training partner on bigger ticket items. Create a food co-op so you can buy in bulk and save money. Many high quality foods are available to the public directly from a distributor – the catch being you need to order larger than typical volumes. Combine your food orders with other pet owners to take advantage of dis-tributor pricing. This can be done with toys and treats as well. Buy an entire case or two

Your pet will be healthier eating food with high quality ingredients.

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breeds – our favorite Sibe-rians being one of those qualified breeds. For Motel 6 use code CP542764; for Studio 6 use code CP542765 when making your reservations. You don’t need to have actual AKC papers to qualify for this discount, just own one the AKC registered breeds. 14. If you cannot take the kids with you when you travel you may want to look into deals on pet sit-ting or boarding. Talk to the vet techs at your vet’s office. They typically don’t get paid very well for the job they love and may be looking to make a few bucks on the side with a pet sitting job. Who better to sit for your pets than someone who knows vet-erinary care? Talk to fellow breed lovers as well. What could be more comforting while you are away than to have someone who really understands Siberians watching your kids? 15. Skip on the luxury items such as doggie birthday par-ties, the groomer every 6 weeks, the gourmet treats from the doggie bakery, the collars with lots of bling, etc. 16. Finally, consider the “do it yourself” route for many things: a. make your own doggie

treats b. make your own toys

c. groom your own dogs – take them to the do it yourself doggie wash. d. have the dogs groomed

at a grooming school/college e. trim toenails yourself f. do your own vaccines

(talk to someone with experience first so you know what to buy, from where and how to do this. This really only be-comes a cost-saving measure if you have lots of dogs. Typically you have to buy vaccines in lots of 25).

To summarize, there are many things you can do to save money in these hard times without sacrificing quality and care. There are things you should not skimp on and these include the quality of veterinary care, quality of food, heart-worm, flea and tick pre-ventative, vaccines (especially Rabies which is required by law), parasite prevention and emergency care. But even within these items there are ways to save money and still keep your fur-kids happy and healthy. Jenn Siegel IL Volunteer Furricane Racing and Performance Siberians Woodstock, IL

of a particular toy or treat. Go in with a friend or “sell” the extras to other pet owners. 9. Inspect your toy collec-tion. Make sure they are all in good condition. Surgery for ingested items is not cheap when they become obstructed in the bowels. 10. Rotate the toy collec-tion. Only keep a few toys out at a time and store away the others. Every couple of weeks pick up the available toys and bring out a few “new” items from your stash. Your dog typically won’t realize that it isn’t brand new. Now you won’t have to buy “new” toys every few weeks. 11. If you do wish or need to buy new you may find new items locally. Try a dollar store, the local farmer’s market or local feed stores. Not only are you potentially saving money, you are helping out your local economy. 12. Buy high quality items from the start. Higher qual-ity items will typically last longer. Items that might fit into this category include dog beds, dog crates, grooming utensils, etc. 13. If you need to travel with the kids, the American Kennel Club has struck a deal with Motel 6 and Studio 6 for AKC-registered

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Saving on Pet Care

...there are

many things you

can do to save

money in these

hard times

without

sacrificing

quality and

care.

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Upcoming Events Dog Wash at

All Things Woof...Meow, Too When: Saturday, July 18 Time: 10:00 AM - 5 PM Where: All Things Woof...Meow, Too 29 East Main Street Roselle, IL 60172 630-529-WOOF All Things Woof...Meow, Too is ‘spa-nsoring’ Adopt A Husky at their self-serve dog wash! Has your dog been digging?? Blowing a coat?? Time for a bath!! ALL PROCEEDS FROM THE SELF-SERVE DOG WASH FOR THE DAY WILL BE DONATED TO ADOPT A HUSKY!! So grab your dog(s), your friend’s dogs, your neighbor’s dogs and get them cleaned up and sup-port our cause. Several foster dogs will also be on hand for their share of pampering.

Dog Days at Cantigny Park

When: Saturday, August 8 Time: 10:00 AM - 4 PM Where: Cantigney Park 1S151 Winfield Road Wheaton, IL

Dash Mackinaw Blueberry

Kianna Karma Kenton

Claire Sara

Sammy Dolly * Kenny* Toby*

Patsy* Nickolai*

Cody Zelda Flurry Zeke

WE FOUND OUR FOREVER HOMES !!!

Cherokee Comet

* Puppies

Anybody who doesn’t know what soap tastes like, never washed a dog”.

--Franklin P. Jones

Look Where We’ve Been !!

IL Husky Hike 2009 -- Silent Auction IL Husky Hike 2009 -- A Long Day for a Little Husky

MN Husky Hike 2009 -- Ready - Set - Hike!! MN Husky Hike 2009 -- Ooooh, that feels so good!

Woodridge Jubilee -- Making New Friends Pet Motel Expo -- Lots of Husky Love

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Donations In Honor Of…

Jenn Adelman-McCarthy (40!), by Ed & Donna Church

In Memory Of…

Inooka, by Fred & Kathleen Lueth Miatuk, by Kelly Anderson Miatuk, by Deanna Bowen & Rebecca McNeill Sasha Dailly, by Deb Zirkle, Donna Massey, Judie Cruse, Dale Gibbons

General

Steve & Debbie Ayers Tammy Variano Katherine Davison-York Ted Wojnarowski Michael & Lori Wallach James Novotny Paula Agius Steven Klapka Bonnie Ulrich

Catherine Doyle Jennifer Moore CustomInk.com Krysta Walsh Ann Bartosz

Thank You !!

You Can Support Adopt A Husky, Too! � � � � YES, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A DONATION TO ADOPT A HUSKY (Please circle option below)

In Memory Of In Honor Of Birthday/Occasion General Donation

YOUR NAME___________________________________________________________________________________ ADDRESS___________________________________________________CITY/STATE/ZIP______________________ TELEPHONE_______________________________________E-MAIL_______________________________________ IN MEMORY/HONOR/BIRTHDAY__________________PERSON TO NOTIFY________________________________ ADDRESS___________________________________________________CITY/STATE/ZIP______________________ AMOUNT OF DONATION $__________ � Check enclosed (payable to AAHI) SIGNATURE______________________________________________________DATE_________________________

Mail this form and payment to: Adopt A Husky, P.O. Box 87226, Carol Stream, IL 60188-7226

YOU CAN ALSO MAKE DONATIONS ON OUR WEBSITE AT www.adoptahusky.com

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