Loving Care Animal Hospital is proud of our comprehensive inventory of veterinary pharmaceutical products and medications. Our inventory includes flea, tick, and heartworm medications and much more. This provides you with immediate access to any medications needed, as well as medications which are specifically tested and trusted by our veterinary staff.
In today’s trend of online shopping, many pet owners unknowingly believe that their pets’ medications can be safely purchased online at a decreased cost. In reality, we monitor online pet pharmacies to ensure our prices are competitive with theirs. Our clients are typically pleasantly surprised to find that our prices are more cost effective than online pharmacies in most cases.
Even more important than cost, pet owners need to be aware of the risks associated with online pharmacies. Almost all pet medications are sold directly to veterinarians by the drug companies, but are not sold directly to the online pharmacies. Online pharmacies including 1800-PetMeds must buy their products on what is referred to as the “grey market.” Grey market products are typically expired, near expiration, are products that were returned to the manufacturer due to various concerns by veterinarians, or were purchased illegally. Because grey market pet medications are so common on the internet, no major manufacturer will honor guarantees related to their medications if purchased online, and will not honor rebates on medications purchased online. Even online pharmacies that have been certified by “VIPPS” pharmacy accreditation purchase grey market products. What this means to pet owners is that if you buy medications online and your pet becomes ill, the drug company will not pay for your pets’ medical care. It also means that we are able to offer you manufacturers’ rebates on medication that will make many products dramatically less expensive than can be found online.
Safety issues have become so common with online pharmacies that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have had to create pet owner education information.