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Has anyone used an online pharmacy for pet meds? I placed an order for revolution on 1800petmeds (saves me over $150 between 4 cats) and my vet refuses to agree to it! She will, however, give me a written prescription for the cats that I can send in myself. I chose 1800petmeds because they are licensed, are in the US, and guarentee products. She says that the meds can be dangerous..... But again, Petmeds is licensed and sells only approved meds.....
I have used Fosters and Smith but real close to me in Rhinelander WI for some things.But get all my heartguard and frontline plus straight from vet but she is same price on that.
My vet will write me a prescription but she did tell me not to use petmed. I can't remember exactly, something about they had some issues with storage and whatnot. Unfortunately while pet prescriptions are supposed to be to the same standards as human meds, I don't think the oversight is as good.
I use smartpak.com. They are wonderful. I started using them for my horses then they started carrying dog and cat stuff. Customer service is wonderful, shipping is cheap, and I believe them to be very reputable and most of all I trust them. I have injectable stuff that I get from them.
Vets and On-Line Meds --- Remember - the VET is a business too..
Hi all: Well - the VET hates to not be able to fill the RX...
Also, they like to keep the $$$ within the community.
Who cares if you can get a quality drug at a better price??? Right???
Remember, no one will watch out for your $$$$ except you.
Any on-line pharm that is within the USA is fine. I was a nurse for 17 years and I know you VET was just " talking" with no sense at all.
Believe me - YOU need to watch out for yourself... No one else will do it for you.
1-800 pet meds and many of the others in the USA are just fine.
Location: in the general vicinity of Cedar Rapids, Iowa
296 posts, read 1,283,763 times
Reputation: 190
Quote:
Originally Posted by nuvetmarie
Hi all: Well - the VET hates to not be able to fill the RX...
Also, they like to keep the $$$ within the community.
Who cares if you can get a quality drug at a better price??? Right???
Remember, no one will watch out for your $$$$ except you.
Any on-line pharm that is within the USA is fine. I was a nurse for 17 years and I know you VET was just " talking" with no sense at all.
Believe me - YOU need to watch out for yourself... No one else will do it for you.
1-800 pet meds and many of the others in the USA are just fine.
Glad you asked this question
Best of luck
Marie
The facts are these: Vets and their staffs get paid far less than you would possibly believe. Vets make over 30% less than human doctors. Starting wage for Assistants and kennel workers is about $7 an hour; starting wage for Vet Techs is $11-12 an hour. People should NEVER get into Veterinary medicine for any reason other than loving to help animals; if you get into it thinking it is lucrative (or even that you will be able to make a living at it), you will be disappointed.
That having been said, the reason Vets like to sell you medications in-office is that a) they can control the source and expiration and other quality elements on the drug themselves; b) they are sending the client home with the med so they know it at least is in the clients' hands and has a chance of being given and c) the markup they place on meds is part of what allows them to stay in business. Believe me, the markups may seem high, but if tomorrow all Vets stopped dispensing medicines from within their clinics -- and that is certainly being discussed in the industry! -- then they would have to raise their rates to compensate just to stay in business. So when you decide to shop elsewhere, YOU make a choice -- support a large corporation owned by who-knows-who, getting their drugs from who-knows-where, and then subjecting those sensitive medications to the temperature extremes of shipping... or support the staff of people that are trying to make a living in your community, just like you are. If their doors are closed with an "out of business" sign the next time you have an emergency or question, well, remember -- you had choices.
Promulgating the idea that Vets are money-grubbers, doing things that are bad for animals just to make a buck is absolutely offensive and totally untrue. The ONLY reason to be in that industry is because you love animals and want to help them, and most Vets make tremendous sacrifices in terms of personal and family time as well as financially in order to provide that service.
I do think that Marie's advice about remaining involved in health care, both for yourself and your family and for your pets, is an excellent one. The more you understand about what is going on, the better partners your health care professionals can be to you. What we truly have a shortage of is people who bother to research and ask questions and be active participants in the process. Don't be one of them!
Here's another thought -- my vet has given me prescriptions (for a pet that had a chronic condition) that she recommended I get filled at the local drugstore, where I could get it at a better price than she could give me. Have you discussed that with your vet?
I lived in the same city as Jessiegirl, I never got out of the vets office for less than $100.00 for just shots. If you asked to see a vet because your dog was sick during the day, you were charged more because it was an emergency, even if you told them, you just wanted to get them checked out because they were (ex) favoring a paw, throwing up. expected to pay at least $200 with a shot or meds.
Where I live now.. average cost to see a vet is $24.00 for shots and visit, $18.00 more if kennel cough shot is needed. If you call during the day for emergency, no extra charge. Also you can call and talk to the vet without going through the 3rd degree. They also told me to get insulin needles from the drug store for my cat because they would be cheaper
Still, the cost of heartworm and flea preventative is about the same as in FL.
I buy flea preventative from online but haven't tried to get heartworm meds yet.
Last edited by Keeper; 03-04-2008 at 08:21 AM..
Reason: added
Has anyone used an online pharmacy for pet meds? I placed an order for revolution on 1800petmeds (saves me over $150 between 4 cats) and my vet refuses to agree to it! She will, however, give me a written prescription for the cats that I can send in myself. I chose 1800petmeds because they are licensed, are in the US, and guarentee products. She says that the meds can be dangerous..... But again, Petmeds is licensed and sells only approved meds.....
Opinions?
Jessiegirl, did you see this thread on obtaining meds locally through a pharmacy?
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Vets and On-Line Meds --- Remember - the VET is a business too..
