Don't Forget Our Furry Friends this Holiday #iLoveMyK9

The Holiday Season usually gets me thinking about how much I have done to give back to my community, and each year I feel like I really could have done more.  Our lives are so busy that before I know it, the year is over and I feel a little guilty.  For a couple of years now, I have been wanting to volunteer at a local Humane Society.  I think it would be something I could do with my daughter and know that we would both really enjoy it, but for some reason it has been put off and put off.  Well since the month of December is pretty much booked up for us, we thought that donating a puppy prep kit to the shelter would be a nice way to help out, until we have more free time to actually go in there and volunteer.  I think this is a good way to teach my kids that the Holidays are more about giving than getting.  My shopping trip though, I determined, would go more smoothly kid-free, so I decided to go after they were dropped off at school.

I went to our local Wal Mart to get my shopping done.  This Wal Mart just recently opened and it is like a mini-Supercenter.  It's open 24  hours but it's quite a bit smaller than your average Super Wal-Mart.

I was a little concerned that they might not have a few items on my list, they have been known to run out of items and not restock in a timely fashion.  I was worried that I would have to drive to the Super Wal-Mart in the neighboring town.

To my surprise, the pet section was actually pretty large and well stocked.  It has been a while since we have a had a puppy (our fur-baby is all grown up) so I wanted to look around and get an idea of what is really out there and available.  There were only three things on my list that I wanted to get for sure, I figured the rest of the stuff would be things that caught my eye while shopping.  First on my list was Pup-Peroni®. 

The dog treat isle was a little overwhelming, there are so many to choose from.

I found the Pup-Peroni® fairly easily.  The package that was at eye-level for me was the large package, priced at $10.52.  That seems a little pricey to me, so I was glad they offered a smaller size package for $2.48.  This one, though, was a little higher up on the shelves.

I chose the Combo Bites because they're small so I thought that they would be great as training treats, plus they look like the Combos that we eat!  Next, what puppy prep kit would be complete without some Milk-bones!

I love the variety pack and this was an even bigger box which also included a coupon for $2.00 if I also bought Pup-Peroni® or Milos Kitchen® treats, which was a nice bonus.  I have been buying Milk-bone® for years, these treats were my go-to treats for training.  I love the price and also that you can break them into smaller prtions....plus my dogs have always loved them.  Next on the list was Milos Kitchen® treats.  There were quite a few varieties to choose from, I really had a hard time choosing since these look like real food.  I ended up with the Beef Jerky flavored ones.

I browsed the pet section and thought about all the things that a new puppy needs, trying to come up with some more items for my kit.  Obviously, since puppies chew a lot, I would need some chew toys.  I found some squeaky toys that look like balloon animals, they're super cute, and some rope bones which are my dogs favorite.  There were not so many care items available, such as nail trimmers and brushes, but there was a nice selection of doggie shampoos.

I didn't end up getting this, but I wonder if it works, anti-shedding shampoo.  Lucy needs some of that.  I also added a couple of bowls to my kit, nice Holiday green ones.  The dog bowls were sort of hidden amongst the bags of dog food in the next isle.  I think maybe if they were next to the treats or with the care items, they would get noticed more.

I also did not purchase a collar.  I think that is more of a personal item, I know I'm kind of picky about my dog's collar, plus you dont really know what size to get since breeds come in so many sizes.

I did purchase some puppy training pads and some pet stain and odor remover.  I have never tried the training pads but it is really cold outside now and it could snow any day, so a little puppy might not be so willing to let you know he has to go out.  This Purina pet stain remover, however, does work like a charm.  My dog got sick while I was out one time and I had to use this.  She never goes in the house, so I knew she must have not felt good at all, and of course she didn't go on the hardwood, only the rug.  This stuff got the stain and smell out and didn't leave an overpowering scent behind.  This stuff also gets marker and various other child stains out of carpet :)

Here is my cart prior to checkout, I added a big red bow and a stocking to use when putting my kit together to make it festive looking.  There are also a few other grocery items in there.  Over all I think my shopping trip was a success, I have enough things to put together a nice puppy starter kit to donate to the shelter.  Can't wait to put it all together and have my kids deliver it!  If you want to see all the photos from my shopping trip you can check out my Google+ album HERE.

**This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias, all opinions are 100% my own.  #CBias**