Rinky-Dink Pet Pharmacies Can’t Match Human Pharmacies Safety

Rinky-Dink Pet Pharmacies Can’t Match Human Pharmacies Safety or Integrity.

Did You Know that the so-called “Pharmacy” operating within Chewy, Petsmart, PetcareRx and Petmeds is the same company?

To be honest, I felt like Chewy (especially) really sank to the next level when they hopped into bed with that gang.

The most annoying thing about these p.o.s. “pet” pharmacies:

When they see their advertisement on TV and go to their site, people start looking around and they see stuff they think might be good for their pet.
So they order it. Because you can. You can order anything those pharmacies sell, of your own volition.

But often, it requires a prescription, so the Pet Pharmacy (supposedly a human being there, ha ha ha!!!) sends me a prescription to authorize.

And sometimes it’s for something that would kill the client’s cat SO FAST, it wouldn’t even get to my office in time for stomach pumping.

It doesn’t work that way at human pharmacies: People can’t just walk up to a human pharmacist and say “I think my pet needs this, please send prescription authorization to my Vet.” Pet Pharmacies oblige this CONSTANTLY. What idiots.

I get prescription authorizations for:

  • – Flea control that kills cats (Products for dogs only)
  • – Nsaids that kill cats (Acetaminophen in the formula)
  • – Two of the same category (redundant) medications,
  • – Two antagonistic medications for heart conditions because ‘my grandfather takes that and I thought it would help my dog”,
  • – A dose on thyroid medications so low that it wouldn’t help a church mouse, (Owner and Dr Google just guessed the dog had thyroid problems)
  • – Heartworm pill refills for three years in a row with the prescription date LITERALLY hand scratched out,
  • – An authorization for brand Vetoryl when the generic would have been a quarter the price. (I should have let the client pay for the $50 stuff instead of pointing him at the $12 stuff)
  • – Heartworm pills at $4 off per box while *we* were running a buy-two-get-one from the manufacturer at the office.
  • – Authorizations for fake heartworm pills.
  • – Fake authorizations for real heartworm pills. (Yeah, these onlines will take almost handwritten prescriptions <johnsonvet.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/fake_prescription_nonvipps_pharmacies_will_take.pdf> )
  • – Heartworm pills with Dutch (?) labeling from South Africa or something?

There’s more, except the number of instances is rarer.

One of these days they’ll go in and take the licenses away from the so-called “pharmacists” working in those shops. But tbh I doubt that would impede the big wheels turning in that industry.

People can’t just walk up to a human pharmacist and say “I think my pet needs this, please send prescription authorization to my Vet.” Pet Pharmacies oblige this CONSTANTLY. What idiots.

So I said all that to say this: Use a human pharmacy instead of a “pet” pharmacy. There are SEVEN human pharmacies that do animal products. They’re on my website <johnsonvet.com>. They’re VIPPS accredited (not just dot-pharmacy domain holders) and they’re legitimate.

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Dr Erik Johnson is a Marietta, Georgia Veterinarian with a practice in small animal medicine. He graduated from University of Georgia with his Doctorate in 1991. Dr Johnson is the author of several texts on Koi and Pond Fish Health and Disease as well as numerous articles on dog and cat health topics.