About
How this site works
Plain-language guides for American pet and animal keepers: dogs, cats, backyard chickens and home aquariums, with what care really costs and when to call the vet. This page exists so you can judge whether to trust what you read here.
Who writes it
One person. Adrián González Chico writes and edits everything here, and that page sets out what he is and is not qualified to tell you.
What we publish
Leash & Bowl is for people who live with animals and want to do right by them without overpaying: a first dog, a cat that has stopped eating, a flock of hens, a tank whose fish keep dying. Most pages about pets are written to sell food, insurance or equipment. These try to explain the animal, the options and the costs well enough that you can make the call yourself, and know when the call belongs to a vet.
How we handle numbers
Vet fees, food and equipment prices vary by region, by animal and by year, so a single national figure would be wrong for most readers. We explain how a cost is built and which figures come from published sources. When we use a number we say where it came from and when we last checked it.
Sources and verification
We start with government agencies, public universities, official standards and primary product documentation. Manufacturer sources explain their own products and are identified as such. We distinguish sourced facts from example calculations, state assumptions, and check important numbers against the original source. Prices vary by place and date; an example is not a quote. An editor’s source review is not an independent clinical or engineering review.
Corrections
Pages carry an updated date when the content has materially changed. If something here is wrong, send the URL, disputed passage and supporting source to our editorial email. We check the evidence, correct confirmed errors and show a material update date.
Email the editor about a correction.
Advertising
This site is funded by display advertising. Advertisers have no input into what we cover or what we conclude. There are no sponsored articles or affiliate links.
Safety
Nothing on this site replaces a veterinarian. Some situations cannot wait: a dog with a swollen belly retching without producing anything, a male cat straining to urinate, an animal that has eaten something toxic, several birds sickening or dying at once. Call your vet, an emergency clinic or a pet poison control line straight away. For sudden deaths in a flock, call your state veterinarian or the USDA hotline at 1-866-536-7593.