I have to call 1800petmeds...but....?

Question

Okay, here are all the details:

My dog ran out of heartguard medication. Because our vets are cheap rip offs, we ordered from 1800petmeds. They told us that they would have to call the vet to confirm it was our dog and the medication. Our vet called us and said that we couldn't confirm the medication because our dog needed to be tested for heartworm. He was in fact tested when we first got him. Also, before the whole thing started, our vet asked if we wanted to do it in the winter or in the spring, just to see if anything had happened. We decided to do it in the spring and told our vet. Our dog IS tested, but the vet said that he couldn't get the medication until he got tested AGAIN, even though we had already decided to do it in the spring at it was in their files.

(more info in the details, please don't ask what the question is)

So we called the vet back and told him that we had decided to do it in the spring, and he had already been tested. The vet said alright, and he gave us the prescription.

Now I am looking at the 1800petmeds website and it says either mail the prescription or have the vet fax it to them.

I don't want to mail it, my dog is out of medication and he needs to stay protected. I am thinking about faxing it, but they said the vet should fax it, and I am sure our snotty and money sucking vet will tell us that they will send it, but never do it. Could I fax it myself, and then call and say that I faxed the prescription to them?

No, I refuse to buy from my vet. It costs about $60 while petmeds is around $25 I think.

There are pretty much no other vets in our area anyway.

By ripping us off, I mean:

Dog gets all his yearly shots. We pay with a credit card and we get the receipt, I even still have it in my dogs file. It adds up to $50, but worth it to have a safe doggie.

So we come back later for a check up, and before we leave, the vet tells us they need to charge us for those shots. They say they never charged us for the other time, so we pay another $50, and now I have 2 of the same receipts!

Oooo, thanks Ihave5katz!

Looks like a good website :)

Answer 1

I stopped using 1800petmeds and went to www.entirelypets.com... they are usually cheaper and they will call the vet and take the prescription by phone, you can fax your Rx or mail it. It sounds like your vet is trying to be the only game in town, or just being butt headed. You might consider getting one dose from your vet, ordering your continued prescription, and then shopping around for another vet.

Answer 2

I think your best bet is to find an new vet. If you are not happy with this one then leave. I really don't recomend those 1-800 number medical things. The makers of Hearguard stand behind their product. If your animal were to get heartworms while on the medication the company would pay for treatment. However if you got the medication from one of the 1800 companies the contract is void, because many of those medicinces are from outside the USA and often don't contain the same amount of medication (if any at all) as the one from your vet that came from the company. So I want to strongly urge you to simply take your dog to a new vet (they will have to do the test again, sorry), and make sure that you're happy with this one. These are the people that you are trusting your beloved family pets to, you should feel confident in the care they are recievine. Best of luck to you and your pet!

Answer 3

Our vet tests for heartworms yearly, and so did our previous vet. I thought that it was standard. He wouldn't re-prescribe or re-dispense any medication unless he had seen the dog within the year and the test had been done within the year. I'm not sure how our current vet does it because his price is actually lower than 1-800-Pet Meds.

I think that you should just get three (I think that's the smallest number of doses my vet will dispense) doses from your vet this time, and then get the next year's worth from 1-800-Pet Meds.

After everything is said and done, your dog's health is far more important than saving the (approximately) $50 on those three doses.

Answer 4

Well, your vet is right. Most vets require dogs to have yearly heartworm testing if the people do not use preventative all year round. I treat all year round with my dogs. I would ask your vet to fax it for you. You might try asking your vet if he would sell it to you at the cost of where you are ordering it from. There really is not much of a markup on heartworm meds at vets. Ask your vet if he will give you the meds at the same cost. My vet will give me frontline plus at the same price that I would be able to get it from Revival for.
It is not a scam for a vet to want heartworm testing done on a dog that has not been on it for the winter months.

Answer 5

My vet requires a yearly blood test for heartworms. It's just to ensure that the pet is free of heartworms and it's not too pricey. I don't know about your vet, but my vet recommends to purchase if not from them from VetStore which is directly a 3rd party for them.

https://secure.vetcentric.com/eStore/index.cfm?eStoreVetID=MjE2Njg0&CatalogBrowse=true&eStore=true

So you might want to ask your vet if there is another place you can purchase the heartworm medicine from. They might be able to provide you with one. Another option is PetEdge, they're actually located right here in the US and have a couple of locations and also do home delivery.

If you don't do heartworm test once a year (which is why your vet might have said you need to be tested) then the vet will ask you to do another test. I know when I order my heartworms online they state it is a percription and your vet needs to varify the information.
Good Luck.

Answer 6

Your dog should be tested every year before being placed on heartworm preventative. Even if they have been on it year round. If your vet is giving you a really hard time pick up the prescription and fax it yourself.

Answer 7

My vet requires that the dog be tested yearly for heartworms. Must be to confirm that the pet stays negative. I suspect this is a requirement because the vet is not the one who is giving the medication to the pet. He/She is relying on the owner to remember to give it to the pet. Because people can and do forget, it becomes necessary to re-check the status.

Answer 8

Since this is something your dog needs, for this time only, pay your "snotty, money-sucking, vet". Before your dog runs out of heart worm preventative again, look for another vet that has more reasonable prices or offers a payment plan.

Answer 9

you can fax it yourself. If you aren't happy with your vet find a new one. My vet clinic would price match petmeds prices because we don't trust them and we also offered generic heartgard. (1800petmed has been caught selling counterfit medication and dispensing all kinds of drugs without perscription which resulted in the death of several dogs in new jersey and new york, they just paid the fine and kept on doing business)

Answer 10

Good luck, I have a friend going through the same thing. Plus, after having her dogs tested, her vet said she'd have to pay additional for a prescription if she wanted to buy it elsewhere (which doesn't seem legal to me).

Now it seems vets are saying you should have them tested annually, even if they have been on heartguard ... scam?