Free Home Delivery Sweetens the Savings on Pet Food
Some pet stores in town charge a little less for name-brand pet food, but they also charge $10 and up for delivery--if the service is even offered. At Consolidated Pet Foods in Santa Monica, delivery is free, and shoppers get a break on prices too.
I cannot struggle upstairs with a 40-pound bag of Science Diet, and I suspect many other pet owners can’t--or won’t. I don’t mind schlepping the small bags of kibble, but like anything else bought in large amounts, you save money with the jumbo size.
Their price for a 40-pound bag of Science Diet canine kibble is $31.99, contrasted with the Pet Department’s $35.99. The Science Diet feline kibble in a 20-pound bag is $25.99 instead of Pet Department’s $29.99. So I’ll be saving much more than $8 a month on these two items because I have been buying the smaller bags. Consolidated also carries IAMS, Eukanuba, Nature’s Recipe and Nutro. All brands are fairly priced.
I always mix the kibble with canned food for my pets’ main meal. When I discovered that Consolidated Pet Foods makes a pet loaf with no preservatives, artificial colors or sugar and 40% fewer calories (my golden Labrador retriever, Sadie, has to watch her figure), I gave it a try. There are 13 flavors--variations on beef, chicken and lamb--along with a cheese loaf and a vegetable loaf. Half the 15-ounce loaf is ample for dinner when mixed with the kibble.
Prices on the individual loaves run from 84 cents for the premium beef or chicken to 98 cents for premium beef and sausage or lamb and real avocado. The volume discount on Pet Loaves ranges from 5% for 25 pounds to 15% for 300 pounds.
Consolidated has developed regular and special diets, such as hypo-allergenic, low-salt, puppy and low-calorie loaves. Each loaf is frozen and delivered anywhere in Los Angeles or Orange counties. Most areas in Southern California receive delivery every other week on assigned days.
As a trial offer, Consolidated will deliver a free dinner for your pet (Sadie’s was a loaf) and give a 15% discount on your first order. They bill monthly, and charge accounts must be current to receive discounts.
With free delivery, I would have been pleased with the same prices I’ve been paying. But now, between Sadie and her cat Jake, I’m saving about $20 a month, and I don’t have to wrestle those heavy bags and cans up the stairs. How civilized.
Consolidated Pet Foods, 1840 14th St., Santa Monica. Open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday. Cash or check only. (310) 393-9393 or (800) 479-4977.
Geri Cook’s Bargains column runs every Thursday in Valley View. Questions about shopping may be sent to her in care of Valley View, Los Angeles Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311. Letters will not be answered individually, but topics of general interest will be discussed in future columns.
