About Pet Meds Rx

You've likely seen commercials on television or Internet advertisements for the PetMeds, Drs. Foster and Smith, or other online veterinary pharmacies for purchasing pet medications at a discount. Because veterinary clinics mark up medications significantly before selling them to the public, turning to an online pharmacy to buy needed medications for Fluffy or Fido before a medication gets a huge markup may seem like a good idea. However, it's important to first know whether you're buying from a reputable seller.

  1. Products

    • Like a real pharmacy, online veterinary pharmacies traditionally offer a wide variety of medical products for your pet. Some require a prescription, while others medications are available "over the counter" or without a prescription. Be wary of online stores that don't require prescriptions for powerful drugs.

    Quality

    • Reputable pet meds pharmacies offer customers guarantees. For instance, PetMeds guarantees that the medications it sells are the same exact ones sold through your veterinarian, as does Drs. Foster &Smith and PetCare RX. According to the PetMeds website, all products sold through the online pet pharmacy have passed either Food and Drug Administration or Environmental Protection Agency approval. They are also the freshest available products, touts the website. PetCare Rx's website makes the same claim. Foster &Smith doesn't make this promise, but the site also sells non-medical pet supplies that are not subject to FDA or EPA rules.

    Guarantee

    • Reputable online veterinary pharmacies will offer a money-back guarantee on products. For instance, both PetMeds and Drs. Foster &Smith offer a 100 percent guarantee on all of its products. This means that if your pet doesn't take well to a particular medication, you changed your mind about using the product, you ordered the wrong product for your pet's size or if the product didn't effectively do its job, you get your money back.

    Use

    • Rx pharmacies works just like an online pharmacy for human medications. This means that all prescription products must be prescribed by a veterinarian in order to be dispensed. Your vet can fax prescriptions to the online pharmacy, so that when you go online and order them, the online pharmacy already has the needed authorization to send them to you. An online pharmacy willing to dispense pet prescription veterinary medications without prescriptions may not be on the up-and-up.

    Considerations

    • There are many online veterinary pharmacies. When searching for pet meds at a discount, remember to comparison shop. Additionally, only order from online pharmacies that are licensed to dispense medications in the United States. It may seem like a good idea to order pet medications from an online pharmacy in a foreign country if the prices are cheaper, but you may end up with products past their expiration dates or imitations of real brands.