Heidi is Bought By Many’s social media manager. She adopted Golden Retriever Cleo late last year and spends about £240 a month on her on average. Find out what she buys for her pet.
What did you buy before you got your Cleo?
Before we brought Cleo home we purchased things to make sure she was safe and comfortable, including beds, food, treats, toys, a lead, a car seat-belt, a harness, a collar and name tag. All of that cost around £400.
How much did you pay or donate for Cleo?
We adopted Cleo, who is 8 years old, from The Dogs Trust in December 2019. There was a £150 adoption fee.
How much do you spend on food and tasty treats?
Cleo is a big dog, so her food does cost a bit! We feed her a mixture of dry dog food, which we buy in 15kg bags that last around 6-8 weeks, these are £35 a time.
We also mix in half a pot of Pooch and Mutt wet food each meal to keep the flavour interesting, this costs about £30-£35 per month. We try to buy in bulk when the brand has discounts on.
It is definitely possible to feed her for less but we like the Pooch and Mutt food because Cleo has a slightly sensitive tummy and this brand doesn’t affect her.
We spend £27 per month on dental chews, Cleo has Whimzees for large dogs.
How much do you spend on toys?
I probably buy one toy a month, which usually costs between £5 and £10.
How much do you spend on pet insurance?
We spend £74.89 per month on Cleo’s pet insurance.
As Cleo is older and Golden Retrievers can be prone to cancer and joint problems we opted for the most comprehensive pet insurance we could find: Bought By Many’s Complete policy. This means Cleo is covered for vet fees up to £15,000 per year.
Even though I work for Bought By Many and I know how awesome we are, I did check prices with other providers but found that most of them would not insure a dog over 8 on lifetime cover.
I definitely think it has been worth it. Cleo has had two operations and unfortunately now has a limp that the vet is investigating. I am very thankful we don’t need to worry about money and can focus on getting her the best care.
Do you have other monthly costs?
We spend £7.50 a month on flea treatments. And £8 every 3 months on worming.
We have a dog walker who comes twice a week for 30 minutes at a time and costs £60 per month. My husband and I are able to work from home a lot so we do manage to save money here.
We give Cleo joint supplements, these cost around £10 per month and we buy them in bulk from our vet.
What’s the most you’ve ever spent on your Cleo?
One day I was stroking Cleo and noticed her ear flap had a soft lump, it felt like a blister. It was an Aural Hematoma.
Aural Hematoma can occur when a dog experiences trauma to the ear, it can often be because they have an ear infection or mites, causing them to knock their head trying to scratch their ear.
I took Cleo to the vet the following day and her ear canal was healthy, there were no mites or sign of infection, we scheduled surgery for later that week which was £400. Exactly a month later, we found an Aural Hematoma on her other ear, at this point we suspected that the trauma that was happening because she was shaking her head next to our coffee table that was at ear level.
We arranged surgery again for £385 and got a new coffee table for £300. Thankfully due to our pet insurance we were able to get most of the payments back, sadly, the coffee table was out of our own pocket.
What’s the most you’ve spent other than medical treatment?
I think her bed.
I wanted her to feel comfortable and as she is an older girl I concluded a memory foam mattress was the best for her. I wanted it to look nice in our living room as well, so I purchased the medium ‘muttress’ from Ivy and Duke, which was £140. It was worth every penny as she loves it!
Has having a pet influenced other spending?
Absolutely. The coffee table mentioned above was one cost we hadn't expected!
I have also purchased rubber mats to go around the house as she sometimes slips on our wooden flooring.
The biggest purchase that was influenced by Cleo was a new car. We found our old car simply was not big enough to accommodate her, and it wasn’t nice feeling like she was uncomfortable so we made the decision to purchase a bigger car so that we can take her with us a lot more comfortably. It was worth it as she settles much better now with more space.
Were you surprised how much you spend each month?
I think before we got her I would have guessed we would spend around £150 a month. I didn’t take into account the smaller things that add up.
Additionally, my compulsive need to buy her ‘something nice’ every time I go to the pet store does increase the spend a bit!
I think as a first time dog owner I probably spoil her a bit, but I can’t see me stopping that anytime soon. She's my best friend and worth every single penny!
Would you like to share your pet money diary? We have a £50 Pets Corner voucher for any we publish. Email socialmedia@boughtbymany.com and we can tell you how to get involved.