anyone buy from pet care direct?

[ticktock]

This company is based in Australia and they seem to have great deals on Revolution and other pet medications. Has anyone ever bought from them? I'd love to know if they are legit because I have an ark of animals to buy medications for.

I live across the street from a park where horrible,evil, sick, selfish people (can you tell this really bothers me? ) leave unwanted cats and dogs instead of doing the honorable thing and dealing with them. So of course I now have 2 dogs and 4 cats (ok 5 cats but don't tell my husband, PLEASE). Not because I need this or can afford it but because I can't stand to see animals starve to death before my eyes.

None of the shelters around here will accept any more animals. They tell me if I bring them in they will be put to sleep. They can't get rid of the perfect pure bred golden retriever some family got tired of when it wasn't cute and cuddly any more, let alone the mangy half starved strays I seem to attract with my soft heart and softer head. OK rant over, for now.

 

[jeankeri]

I have heard that the pet medications bought from discount sites may be counterfeit/placebo and of no benefit. As much as I have wanted to save $, I cannot take that chance with my fuzzy babies. I feel your pain. We have 4 dogs and 2 cats. The cats and 2 of the dogs have been saved from shelters and other less desirable places. Our vet is aware that we have saved these animals and at times has given us sample packs that he gets from the med companies. Also- some of the meds (heartworm pills and top spot) are the same concentration for larger and smaller dogs, just different sized pills/ liquid vials. But the kicker is, they are all the same price. The larger pill for the large breed dog costs the same as the mini pill for the small breed dog. So, knowing the weight of your pets, if you have any smaller dogs you could split the larger sized pills and in effect buy half as much. That was my vets advice; he sat with me and figured out the weights and how to safely split the meds.

 

[indylaw99]

I don't know how their prices compare, but I've heard good things about 1-800-PETMEDS. They have free shipping right now on purchases over $39.

 

[DVM]

If you purchase from any online site or pet store, there are many pitfalls.

First of all, the flea/tick and heartworm/GI parasite preventatives are not sold to any of these companies by the manufacturers of the products (Bayer, Merial, Novartis, Pfizer).

The manufacturers gaurantee their products and pay for the costs of tests and treatments in the face of an illness they were designed to prevent. For example, if pet gets roundworms, Novartis Interceptor will pay for test and treatment. Same with heartworm disease, which is a very costly disease to treat.

None of the manufacturers will gaurantee the products if you buy them from the internet or pet store, regardless of the lies that the internet 800 number phone operators and commercials will say. Petmed can say gauranteed, but you will not get reimbursed by petmeds if the product results in disease to your pet. It's gauranteed to get to your door in the mail and be charged to your credit card...Then internet company or pet store is not going to help you when your pet is sick and you want reimbursement for a supposed gauranteed product. So, if your pet gets heartworm, and you are faced with a $500+ bill, the manufacturing company will refuse your request for reimbursement because the medication was not purchased from a veterinarian's office.

Try this: go and Google "petmed and indictment"....then ask yourself if it's worth it.

Better yet, try this: Call Novartis or Merial, makers of Interceptor and Heartguard heartworm/GI worm preventative monthly pills - ask them if they will pay for your pet's treatment for heartworm or roundworm disease that your pet has sustained despite you giving the pills each and every month. They will ask you for receipts from where you bought the pills - internet or pet store and you are SOL. Too many people find this out the hard way, too late and after the fact, wishing they had never done purchased from these places.

Also ask Novartis or Merial if they sell it to petmeds or your pet store and they will say NO and they don't know how they got the medications on their shelves.

A year or two ago, Consumer Reports and the Wall Street Journal both did articles about the fake products - CR was about the fake Frontline flea/tick preventatives.

Worse than not getting reimbursed is getting a sick pet that could die from some of these diseases (heartworm), or could transfer the disease to children (roundworms, hookworms). All this as a result of trying to save a buck and getting scammed by a huge multimillion dollar internet company that can take the minor expense of indictments and convictions on white collar pharmaceutical crimes and never loose a minute of business.

Bottom line, buy it from a veterinarians office, or run the risk of counterfeit, fake, expired, or other versions of 'snake oil' that may easily result in your pet or family member becoming ill.

I know this is a long post, but you asked and i answered and i hate seeing people get scammed especially when they are trying to do the right thing and jeapordize their family's and pet's health inadvertently.

 

[anitame]

Wow, great post. I truly had no idea!

 

[indylaw99]

How are they not being shut down if they are this bad? (not that I do not believe you) It seems like if people are having so many problems with them, they would eventually be sued out of business. It's one thing when a manufacturer just has bad customer service or makes an inferior product (there are plenty of those companies to go around that will always stay in business). But it seems a lot worse if the end result is that animals are getting hurt.

 

[lisajl]

If you purchase from any online site or pet store, there are many pitfalls.

First of all, the flea/tick and heartworm/GI parasite preventatives are not sold to any of these companies by the manufacturers of the products (Bayer, Merial, Novartis, Pfizer).

The manufacturers gaurantee their products and pay for the costs of tests and treatments in the face of an illness they were designed to prevent. For example, if pet gets roundworms, Novartis Interceptor will pay for test and treatment. Same with heartworm disease, which is a very costly disease to treat.

None of the manufacturers will gaurantee the products if you buy them from the internet or pet store, regardless of the lies that the internet 800 number phone operators and commercials will say. Petmed can say gauranteed, but you will not get reimbursed by petmeds if the product results in disease to your pet. It's gauranteed to get to your door in the mail and be charged to your credit card...Then internet company or pet store is not going to help you when your pet is sick and you want reimbursement for a supposed gauranteed product. So, if your pet gets heartworm, and you are faced with a $500+ bill, the manufacturing company will refuse your request for reimbursement because the medication was not purchased from a veterinarian's office.

Try this: go and Google "petmed and indictment"....then ask yourself if it's worth it.

Better yet, try this: Call Novartis or Merial, makers of Interceptor and Heartguard heartworm/GI worm preventative monthly pills - ask them if they will pay for your pet's treatment for heartworm or roundworm disease that your pet has sustained despite you giving the pills each and every month. They will ask you for receipts from where you bought the pills - internet or pet store and you are SOL. Too many people find this out the hard way, too late and after the fact, wishing they had never done purchased from these places.

Also ask Novartis or Merial if they sell it to petmeds or your pet store and they will say NO and they don't know how they got the medications on their shelves.

A year or two ago, Consumer Reports and the Wall Street Journal both did articles about the fake products - CR was about the fake Frontline flea/tick preventatives.

Worse than not getting reimbursed is getting a sick pet that could die from some of these diseases (heartworm), or could transfer the disease to children (roundworms, hookworms). All this as a result of trying to save a buck and getting scammed by a huge multimillion dollar internet company that can take the minor expense of indictments and convictions on white collar pharmaceutical crimes and never loose a minute of business.

Bottom line, buy it from a veterinarians office, or run the risk of counterfeit, fake, expired, or other versions of 'snake oil' that may easily result in your pet or family member becoming ill.

I know this is a long post, but you asked and i answered and i hate seeing people get scammed especially when they are trying to do the right thing and jeapordize their family's and pet's health inadvertently.

ITA...Listen to us...I work for a vet. We had a client of ours come in and complain about their flea meds not working. I looked up their account and asked where they got it, because they did not buy it from us.
The insisted they did, I showed them every transaction they had with us.
Everything is on the computer....well...the wife admitted she bought it online and the meds did not work.
I felt terrible about it, but there is nothing WE, meaning the clinic could do about it. I also went over the No-guarantee if you buy it through another broker, other than a vet. They were surprised that there could be a difference.
Go to your vet.

Lisa

 

[DVM]

How are they not being shut down if they are this bad? (not that I do not believe you) It seems like if people are having so many problems with them, they would eventually be sued out of business. It's one thing when a manufacturer just has bad customer service or makes an inferior product (there are plenty of those companies to go around that will always stay in business). But it seems a lot worse if the end result is that animals are getting hurt.

They aren't shut down because pets are not considered lifeforms like people, in a court of law, but instead treated as property, like your home or car. Similar to a bad car fix-it shop poorly repairing your car and staying in business.

Other reasons they are in business too, as the OP says, they are in Australia...way way way far away to sue. Also, they are such big business that little old you and me can't put a dent in them.

Many more things I could say.

 

[ticktock]

DVM thanks for the advice. I don't know how I'm going to keep all these animals in meds this year. Their yearly check up with shots is over $100.00 per animal. It's about $150.00 per animal for flea meds plus the dogs need additional heart worm meds.

That's not including accidents and allergies (one of my dogs is allergic to plastic!?!) etc. Last year was really bad. Three cats had illnesses that required vet time one dog had stomach problems, the other kept chewing her feet raw bcause of her allergies. My vet and med. bills last year were about $5,000.

The front page of the local paper today "7 of 10 animals in the city shelter are killed". The average number of animals euthanized each month is 1,300. This reminds me, I need to get two of the cats "fixed" $$$. Maybe I could start a non profit charity?

 

[jmay127]

ticktock -

Unfortunatey, I don't know anything about the internet/mail purchase of pet supplies but did want to ask 1 - regarding the pure bred Golden...are you in North Carolina? 2 - usually a shelter will call them but contact your local Golden Rescue group (just google on the internet) & they will at least save him/her from the shelter buying another animal some more time. You can pm me if you prefer...Thanks!

 

[ticktock]

jmay127 sorry, there is no golden that I know of in need of rescue at the moment. That was just an example I was told by a shelter employee a couple of years ago when I first started adopting all these strays because there was no room for them in the shelters. Sorry for the confusion. I know about bred rescues, my sister voulunteers with a boxer rescue. I just wish more people would stand up for the mongrels out there.

 

[DVM]

DVM thanks for the advice. I don't know how I'm going to keep all these animals in meds this year. Their yearly check up with shots is over $100.00 per animal. It's about $150.00 per animal for flea meds plus the dogs need additional heart worm meds.

That's not including accidents and allergies (one of my dogs is allergic to plastic!?!) etc. Last year was really bad. Three cats had illnesses that required vet time one dog had stomach problems, the other kept chewing her feet raw bcause of her allergies. My vet and med. bills last year were about $5,000.

The front page of the local paper today "7 of 10 animals in the city shelter are killed". The average number of animals euthanized each month is 1,300. This reminds me, I need to get two of the cats "fixed" $$$. Maybe I could start a non profit charity?

Talk to your vet's staff - many of them will know of and readily offer rebate coupons for you to mail in to the manufacturer for Interceptor and other similar deals. Many vets will match prices, and sometimes they are already cheaper - just ask nicely, you know what they say about catching more flies with honey rather than lemons (how does that go?)

I recognize the cost of pets is enormous, and that is the reason many people get rid of animals and you subsequently have taken them in. For some, they are seen as a luxury, although this analogy is off kilter when it comes to lives rather than ferrari dreams. Don't get in over your head.

Where are you located? Maybe I know someone who can help

rjf

 

[ticktock]

Thankd DVM we're in North Fl. My dh did mention some of this last time he was
at the vet, yesterday . No go with coupons or discounts. I think part of the problem is they know we will pay for every thing deemed medicaly neccesary for our animals. I am one of those people who get all the shots, wormings, flea preventitives etc. If I didn't have so many to provide for I would have gotten the microchip for them. They probably save any discounts for people who either can't afford them or won't spend the money for needed medical care. I won't be taking in any more furkids though. If (when) others show up I'll just trap them and take them to the shelter.