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Location: Surrey
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 4,420
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Originally Posted by
Gnasher
No you don't! We buy it on-line ... never buy medication from vets, they rip you off.
They said speak to a vet, not that you have to buy it there. You'll need your vet to write the prescription, mine were more than happy to write it, and made sure to do the bigger 6 pack for one dog so I didn't have to pay twice their prescription fee (which was a pretty reasonable fee anyway I thought) for 2x 3 month packs for both dogs. My vets charge more not because they are there to rip me off (they are not money obsessed at all - infact, I owe them money at the minute for the rat I had put down Sunday and they always let you leave from a euthanasia without paying because you're obviously upset, yet they've not chased me up to settle the bill. Even sent me a handwritten sympathy card with no mention of owing them money), but because they can't order in bulk, because they have shop and staff overheads, because if they order too much for a discount they may bin half of it when it's gone out of date without being sold, and so on. I had previously been paying more because I like supporting my vet and know any profit goes straight back into getting the best equipment and staff to treat pets (mine included) but it was getting a bit expensive with me using it so frequently so I decided to broach the subject and they had no objection - just warned me to make sure I use a legitimate website that will have stored everything properly.
Do be careful, there are websites out there that will sell POM without prescription. These operate outside of the UK where they can legally aquire these medications without prescription. However, it IS illegal to import POM into the UK without a license or prescription and you, as the buyer, are also the importer so are breaking the law. Not only this, but these companies are often in remote places using a PO Box in the UK so you will struggle to get hold of them if you need to. Many will actually sell outdated or generic versions of the medication, and some even make their own fake medication with fake packaging. At best, you could buy a product that doesn't work - cheaper than your vet's prices, but a total waste of money - at worst, a fake product that could seriously harm or even kill your pet. There's one recently that was reported to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate who are working with the website host to have the website removed - I'm sure it will crop up with a new website host and name soon though. This one was operating from South Africa I think, and the products received looked like bad fakes.
For the sake of an extra ten or twenty quid, use a legitimate website that requires a prescription and know what you're putting on your pet.
I recently bought the 6 pack of Advocate mentioned from ChemistDirect. You have to post off the original prescription but it's freepost (second class - you can put a first class stamp on to hurry it up) and I think I posted the prescription off Friday night and received my order by Wednesday or Thursday the following week, so pretty good service I think. About £30 for 6 vials for dogs up to 40kg, and a £6.50 prescription fee from my vet, not bad value I think. I bought a few extra bits (Fish4Dogs treats were cheap on there) to get the free postage too.