Ethical Pharmacy

Clients shopping for brand name products in flea, tick, or other parasite control for their pets need to be wary of counterfeit products out on the market, and frequently sold online. These products come from unknown sources, not qualified pharmaceutical companies, and may not even be produced in the United States.

Clients who wish to order their pet(s)’ medication(s) from online pharmacies other than VetStoreRx first must:

Have an annual wellness exam by a DVM for their pet(s) at our clinic;
Have any required blood work and diagnostic testing up-to-date for their pet(s);
For canine heartworm preventative medications, dogs must have had a Heartworm Test done at our clinic within that year, and have had that test result be negative;
Received a written prescription from the DVM, a photocopy of which will be kept in the pet(s)’ medical records.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, these products are packaged to look like the brand name product, but are NOT approved by the EPA for use in cats and dogs. They are frequently missing the required package inserts that contain important product disclosure information. They do not have child-safety seals, they make false claims of effectiveness, and often what is advertised on the box is NOT what is in the box.

Counterfeit products can be dangerous to your pets!! The use of such products may produce vomitting, diarrhea, skin rashes and severe allergic reactions, kidney or liver illness, and other forms of poisoning. Using a counterfeited product could potentially be fatal to your pet! Many dog products CANNOT BE USED ON CATS, and yet a counterfeit product for cats may be a dog product falsely advertised as a cat product. Overdosing can occure if a product falsely advertised for a small pet is really the same amount for a very large pet. The worst part is that the ingredients advertised on the package are more often NOT the ingredients of the product you are putting on you pet.

If you have any doubt as to the nature of a product you purchased, the Rockland Veterinary Group team strongly advises you NOT TO USE THAT PRODUCT ON YOUR PET! In the event that you have used such a product on your pet, and your pet is displaying signs of poisoning, contact our office and the animal poison control hotlines immediately, then take your pet to the closest animal emergency facility as soon as possible.

This is why Rockland Veterinary does not recommend the use of online pharmacies other than VetStoreRx to our clients. We have verified with our own vendors that they send their brand name products directly to VetStoreRx, so there is no question that what you are purchasing is exactly as advertised. Use other online pharmacies at your own risk.