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When I opened my mail last week, I found a newsletter from my vet, the wonderful Dr. Bloom at Presidio Way Vet Hospital.
The flyer paid homage to the fact that February is Dental Health Month- something important to pets like my own, who happen to be products of impractical breeding practices.
But apart from a brief contemplation of the illogicality of the pug dog mouth, another piece of the bulletin piqued my interest. Inside, an entire section was devoted to articulating the dangers of buying pet meds from e-pharmacies.
The newsletter mentioned a “new FDA warning” (which is actually from 2006- see here) about the dangers of buying pet meds from online pharmacies to cut costs.
A brief search shows that the Web is teeming with e-pet-med websites.
Yet the FDA says that the manufacture and distribution of pet medications in general is supposed to be regulated by their own Center for Veterinary Medicine. Individual state pharmacy boards are responsible for regulating the dispensing of prescription veterinary products.
Despite this, there are a host of e-pharma sites solely devoted to selling medication- both prescription and non- to pet owners.
So how does one buy pet meds safely?
Good question.
To start, you can check with a verification check here. You can also ask your vet for his or her recommendations. WXMI, a news station based in Pittsburg, offered a news video clip on “How To Buy Pet Meds Safely.”
And as always, if the e-pharmacy isn’t asking for a prescription and you’re trying to buy prescription medication, it’s a good idea to call the FDA and check.
You don’t want to end up hurting your four-legged loved ones by mistake by unwittingly buying counterfeit medication.
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