What to Look for When Buying Pet Medication Online
Prescription Medication / Veterinary Verification
To order medications for your pet online, your vet will need to verify the prescription. One of the easiest ways this is done starts at checkout. You’ll supply your vet’s name and contact information and many sites will reach out to verify before they ship. You can also mail (not email) a hard copy of your prescription, which isn’t always convenient if you need the meds quickly. Some sites will also fax your vet and require them to fax in a prescription.
Pharmacy Verification
There are loads of places online in and out of the country that sell prescription medications. But if the business isn’t legitimate, you could receive counterfeit or incorrect drugs for your pet. The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy has a site that allows you to check if a pharmacy website is verified (the page also includes a link to download the full spreadsheet of verified pharmacies). To be part of the program, pharmacies must be regulated—both where they’re located and where the patient is located—must accept only valid prescriptions, and comply with drug and privacy laws.
Delivery
All sites offer free delivery in certain situations. Most offer free shipping once you’ve spent a certain amount, which ranges from $25 to $59. Costco offers free delivery on all orders, as does Amazon if you’re a Prime member. The same is true for some of the online pharmacies if you join their paid membership program.
Keep in mind that before prescriptions can be shipped, your vet has to respond to verify it. That can add a few additional days to the process depending on how quickly they answer. Most sites will make several attempts to contact your vet and then will let you know if they couldn’t be reached.
Packaging
If your pet’s medication needs to be refrigerated, it will be shipped in an insulated cooler to keep it safe or it will be shipped overnight. Prescriptions are often shipped in boxes to avoid crushing the contents. Examine your medication once it arrives to make sure pills aren’t crushed or liquid isn’t spilled. Be sure to check the expiration date.
Veterinary Insurance
Most pet insurance plans cover at least some medication. Comprehensive coverage may pay all or part of medications, while accident-only coverage may only cover medication linked with a covered illness or accident. You can also buy a rider to your policy that includes medication such as monthlyheartworm preventatives.
Why Trust The Spruce Pets?
To find the best places to buy pet medications online, we researched numerous sites, looking for everything from selection and shipping price to customer reviews and how the prescription process works. We considered recommendations from pet owners and relied on our own experiences as well.
This article was researched and written by Mary Jo DiLonardo who has covered animals and pets for several decades. Mary Jo has fostered more than 60 dogs and puppies. She has shopped online for products for her own rescue dog and her foster puppies. She is always searching for the healthiest and most effective products to use with them such as best dog toys and best dog treats.