BY MICHELLE PELLETIER, WIGGLE BUTTS OWNER
Who knew! 2020 certainly wasn’t on my to do list; not as an individual, business owner or pet parent. Like many of you I felt like I was punched in the gut. Lockdowns, shelter in place orders, essential workers, and the new normal were pushed into our vocabulary. But gratefully, we survived.
Like many of you, and 3.2 million other families in the U.S., I added a new member to my furry family. We can all agree those wonderful adoptions equaled a lot more food, and then even more poop!
Many of us faced financial hardships and limited our outings by making shopping changes. People started buying pet food at the grocery store, so they could combine shopping trips or save money. Instacart was my friend!
These new habits changed what many dogs were fed. We saw big changes in what people were buying or not buying. A lot more toys and chews sold for all the new “family time” that was created by working from home, and also changes in which foods people were buying. Grocery food came with some unwanted side effects like a little more itching here, a little more shedding there, or an extra dirty ear in this one, and strange poop from that one. As people found their new normal, they came searching for higher quality pet foods, in their new budget, that helped reduce those pesky side effects.
Did you know that feeding one of the most well-known and top selling grocery foods is actually MORE expensive than a comparable food sold at independent pet food stores? Trying to compare 25-pound bags with 28-pound bags or the 33-pound bags with the 40-pound bags is nearly impossible. That’s what the dog food companies want. If it’s hard, they think we just keep buying blindly, but we are all smarter than that. Let me show you.
You should ask two things when looking at pet food when all other things are equal.
1.What is the price per POUND?
2.What are the calories per CUP?
The unnamed grocery store food costs about $63.99 for 47 pounds. That is $1.36 per pound. Each cup has 353 calories and includes ingredients that we recommend avoiding, including some scary stuff
The comparable food found at independent pet supply stores is $64.99 for 44 pounds. That is $1.47 per pound, which sounds more expensive I know, but each cup has 468 calories, so you get more meals per bag from the good guys.
The other benefit for shopping at small pet food stores is they know all the stuff that is in the food and where the ingredients come from. No scary stuff here!
This magic can be seen in all types of food we carry: grain-free, with grain, high protein, refrigerated fresh foods and complete raw foods.
You don’t have to sacrifice the quality of your pet’s food, and potentially their health, to save money. In addition, nearly all the independent pet stores offer curbside pickup and home delivery services. You can even find them on Instacart.
