Our Policy on Internet Pharmacies

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If you wish to purchase medications from an Internet or mail-order pharmacy, you are welcome to do so. However, you should know the following:

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By law, we can only authorize prescription medication from an outside source if we would normally have prescribed it for your pet ourselves, and if we are monitoring the conditions for which it is being prescribed.

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By law, we cannot authorize any medication for a pet we have not seen in more than one (1) year. This statement is true regardless of whether we dispense it here or you get it elsewhere.

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For medications such as flea control, it's as simple as your pet having been examined here within one (1) year. For others drugs, like antibiotics, your pet must have been seen for the specific condition for which you want the drug, and may need to be seen before we can authorize it. Certain pain medications, long-term medications such as those for thyroid, seizure, or heart conditions, and steroids require periodic blood work. This keeps your pet healthy and ensures dosages are at effective levels. Heartworm preventative requires that we have seen your dog within one year, that your dog is current on testing, and is being correctly treated with a preventative.

And now let's debunk some common Internet Pharmacy myths!

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Myth #1 - Veterinarians are more expensive than online!!

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This actually isn't true. Some internet pharmacies try to make you believe your veterinarian is trying to sell you the medication at a higher cost to you and profit to them. While the profit margin on medication varies by clinic, it is not typically the bulk of any veterinarian's income. Often Internet pharmacies are actually more expensive due to extra costs hidden in shipping fees.

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Myth #2 - The medicine I buy online is the same as the one sold by my vet!

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Not always. Internet pharmacies often buy from other countries in large quantities, getting discounts that allow them to sell less expensive, slightly different medications: counterfeit medications. There have been a number of lawsuits against them for illegal practices in acquiring and dispensing medications. Novartis Animal Health, manufacturer of products such as Sentinel®, Interceptor®, and Capstar®, filed one such suit against three internet pharmacies in 2002. Additionally, the Florida Board of Pharmacy, the State of Texas, and the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy have all been involved in similar litigation. We invite you to do a simple Google search of the terms pet internet pharmacy + lawsuits. You can also search internet pharmacies on www.avma.org, the website of the American Veterinary Medical Association. The results may surprise you. Many manufacturers of flea and heartworm medications do not guarantee their own products when sold through online pharmacies. We encourage you to contact the manufacturers on such medications to confirm this statement.

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For accurate information on buying prescription medications online, please check the Food and Drug Administration's website, www.fda.gov, or call toll-free at 1-888-463-6332.