SFVS News: Dr. Alan Stewart on Ordering Pet Meds Online

SFVS internal medicine specialist Alan Stewart, DVM, CVA, DACVIM, recently was interviewed for a Paw Nation (AOL) article on the safety of ordering pet medications online. The article begins:

In an age where all of your pet’s necessities can be purchased online, it only seems natural that its medication should be available through the click of a mouse. While a multitude of online pharmacies provide a convenient and often inexpensive way to obtain prescriptions you’d normally purchase at the vet’s office, many veterinarians warn against using them.

The author notes two risks to consider:

#1: Pharmacy could be selling counterfeit or inferior medicine

#2: Even high-quality products can degrade during shipping

There are, however, a number of ways to protect your pet and shop smart (such as making sure the online pharmacy honors a manufacturer’s guarantee and talking with your vet to ID a reputable outlet).

For the full article, including ways to shop smart online and offline: Pet Medicine – Is It Safe To Order Online? (AOL Paw Nation)

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Headlines: Pilling Pets

No pills!

The latest “Your Whole Pet” column from the San Francisco Chronicle has a helpful article on giving pills to your pets, even when it seems an impossible task. There are links to step-by-step guides included in the text. The writer, Christie Keith, begins the piece with an experience many of us have had: “Scarlett was a healthy dog, with a great appetite. She always happily gobbled up her meals, as well as vitamins or pills stuck inside a piece of hot dog. So why was I standing in the kitchen, a pill wrapped in cream cheese in one hand, a second pill smeared with peanut butter in the other, trying desperately to beg, coax or otherwise convince Scarlett to take her medicine?”

Read the article: The pill wars: What to do when you absolutely have to give your pet a pill … and can’t

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