Pet owners fume over the high cost of pet medicine

Pet medicine is so expensive some people are tempted to give their furry friends cheaper human drugs but the consequences can be deadly.

Exclusive: It could be cheaper to buy your pet medicine from a pharmacist than from your vet a News Corp investigation has found.

Vets are making a tidy profit selling pharmaceuticals with some charging a dispensing fee of up to $50 in addition to high prices for the drugs.

Dominique Maber and her dog Sabre. Picture: AAP

The issue has emerged as a major concern for pet owners with many online forums and pet chat rooms full of outrage and advice about how to get a more affordable deal.

Examples of the high prices charged by vets include pet owners being charged $2.70 per pill for reflux treatment Losec compared to just 69 cents when it is dispensed to humans.

Anti-depressant Prozac costs just $20 when dispensed to humans but $30 for a months’ supply when purchased from some vets.

Online pet chemists supply medicines at cheaper prices. Picture istock.

Online pet chemists can supply the medication at prices well below, up to 50 per cent cheaper, than those charged by a vet.

You can buy Prozac for your dog for just $8.95 per month from an online pet chemist.

In some cases pet medicine purchased online is much cheaper than human medicine purchased from a suburban chemist.

You can buy antibiotic amoxicillin 250mg for $8.90 from on online pet chemist but it can cost a general patient up to $18.48 from a suburban pharmacist.

However, vets aren’t allowed to prescribe medicine for humans and pet pharmacies can’t dispense medicine without a vet’s prescription.

Australian Veterinary Association president Dr Paula Parker said even though they use the same active ingredient many pet medicines can’t be used by humans and are specially formulated for pets.

In 2014 an investigation by consumer group CHOICE found prices for pet medicine varied widely.

One woman was quoted $30 and $66 for the same vaccine from two different vets in the same area.

It also found many vets were urging pet owners to pay for annual vaccination when Australian Veterinary Association guidelines issued in 2009 recommended core vaccinations only be given only once every three years instead of annually.

Vets charge a dispensing fee adding to the cost. Picture: Supplied.

Part of the reason medicines cost so much from a vet is that they charge a fee for prescribing and dispensing as well as a substantial mark up, a spokesman for online Pet Chemist, Mr Howard Humphries said.

Dr Parker said vets can charge a dispensing fee of up to $50 to cover their professional services in prescribing the medicine, checking it is the right dose for the species and the size of the animal.

They also have to cover the costs of keeping medicines onsite in their clinic, she said.

Pet owners who want to save money should ask their vet to write a prescription that can be dispensed by an outside pharmacy.

“You certainly can request a prescription from your vet to get dispensed elsewhere but vets may not always say that is the way to go,” she said.

When buying online consumers should make sure they purchased from sites registered in Australia that complied with Australian regulations, she said.

Pharmacy Guild spokesman Greg Turnbull said cash strapped patients should not try to save money by using their own human prescriptions to obtain PBS subsidised medicine for their pets.

“Medicine prescribed by a doctor for patients should be used only by that person, anything else would be dangerous and would breach PBS conditions,” he said.

Giving pets human medicine can be deadly. Picture istock

Petsure chief veterinary officer Dr Magdoline Awad said pet owners who try to save money by dosing their furry friends on cheaper human medicines could also be putting their pet’s life at risk.

Panadol can kill your pet cat and rabbits can’t take certain forms of antibiotics.

Dr Parker said she had a sad case the other day of a pet owner who gave their dog human ibuprofen to help with the pain of a sore leg.

“Dogs have an increased sensitivity to ibuprofen and the dog was put into renal failure,” she said.

TRY ONLINE

Dominique Maber says she buys pet medication online now. Picture: AAP

With two cats and two dogs to keep healthy, Dominique Maber knows first hand about the high cost of buying pet medicine from vets.

The 25 year old DJ and bartender from the Central Coast says she has switched to buying flea and tick preparations and worming treatments online to save at least $30.

“In the beginning I bought flea and tick treatments from the vet but they were so expensive,” she said.

“They are so much cheaper online. At the vet, it’s ridiculous,” she said.

The furry members of Dominique’s family include two Siberian Huskies Lunakai and Sabre and two cats called Blue and Chicken.

It has taken her three attempts to find a vet that provides good service at reasonable prices in her local area.

One vet ordered over $1500 worth of tests on her dog only to report that not much was wrong.

“I would say to people definitely shop around and look online,” she said.

Originally published as Pet owners fume over the high cost of pet medicine