Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Pet Costs: Wants vs. Needs

What would you pay $500 for? For a car? Well, $500 wouldn't get you much of a car. For a computer? That would be a low price for a computer. For refrigerator? That would be an ok price for a fridge. How about an automatic pet feeder?
Perfect Pet Feeder
Hmmm...seems high. Would you be surprised if I said I was considering it?

I'm not planning any trips soon but I would like to be free to travel on the weekend or for a week without having to rely on dog boarding ($41 a day for my 2 dogs) or the schedules of my friends and neighbors . Of course, I wouldn't want to leave my dogs alone for a whole week but it would be much easier to get someone to look in on them every other day rather than trying to get someone to feed them twice a day. (Feed my dogs at 6:30am and 6pm pretty pleeeeeese!)

So I started looking at automatic feeders. The reviews for the feeders sold at Petco were not good. 50% said their feeder broke soon after purchase. At $130 I would hope the item would work for longer than a few weeks or months. The best automatic feeder that I found was the Pillar Perfect Pet Feeder (not sold at Petco). It is all stainless steel compared to the plastic construction of the other feeders. My dogs think plastic is a chew toy...especially food bowls.

The only problem with the Perfect Pet Feeder is the price. $500 seems like a huge amount of money for a dog feeder. On the other hand, if it works and lasts for many years it would be worth it. It does have a 3 year warranty and I did not find any negative reviews except about the price. And it would be equal to a little over 12 days of dog boarding at $41 a day.

I'll put it on my "want" list for things that I can buy if I keep working after the mortgage is gone. That is, after I re-build my emergency fund, figure out what my plans for a house are, build up a replacement auto fund...and on and on. I have a few higher priorities above a pet feeder. But it sure would be nice to have it now.

2 comments:

Over the Cubicle Wall said...

My dog would mangle that thing. My cat would probably like it.

Maybe your tenants would be amenable to watching your dogs for a reduction in rent? Something less than the amount that a kennel would charge but worth their while?

Daizy said...

I wonder what my dog would to to it, but with a 3 year warranty I'd be willing to find out.

I hinted at pet care with my tenant but no, she's not a pet person. I can still ask the rescue lady but I hate to impose since she has a lot of dogs and lives on the opposite side of town, 50 minutes away. I'd rather be self-sufficient if I can afford it.