In the famous Harry Potter books, the character depicted above edits a magazine called “The Quibbler,” so I will name this blog post “The Vet Quibbler”. The Quibbler publishes what the character believes to be good and true, at least until his daughter is kidnapped by villains. The subject of this article will be the rather boring topic of online pharmacies, but we will make it more exciting with cartoons, diagrams, and quotes from famous people.
I will start us off with the cartoon:
Some vets call large online vet pharmacies predatory. I believe that this is a bit extreme, but I can see where these vets are coming from that have had part of their business and livelihood eaten by these pharmacies. This is America though, where competition drives excellence and often prosperity for the average citizen. That being said, shopping local is a great thing to do no matter where you live, so try to do it in the pharmacy sector too. Here are a couple of helpful rules to live by when working with your local vet on pharmacy prices:
1. You can’t bully people into signing anything they don’t want to sign or working with their competitor more than is required. Besides, bullying is mean, don’t do it.
2. Patience is a virtue. Have it and be a person that your mother would be proud to have raised.
To channel Martin Luther King, Jr., I believe in an world that all people value relationships over quibbling over prices and shopping until they drop. Bargain shopping in veterinary medicine should only be done cheerfully and respectfully, and the Veterinary-Client-Patient-Relationship is something to be valued, protected, and enjoyed. Don’t let a relationship with an large online vet pharmacy weaken the bond between you and your vet. The wellbeing of your pet depends on it.
I encourage people to try to avoid using a vet pharmacy other than their own vet’s to minimize chances for errors and to truly support the vet. This allows them to keep their services more affordable. At St. Francis, we price match quickly to the best of our abilities and value your hard earned dollars. We work within peoples’ budgets to maximize the well being of their pet.
We are super excited to announce that we are getting a new online pharmacy/store that will help us take on the biggest online pharmacy in the world in direct, head-to-head competition. It will likely even carry a few products that the largest pharmacy doesn’t, and opens in less than a week on Tuesday, the 22nd. Yay!!
It has been a blessed week for us, full of cute puppies!! Last Friday was tough though. We had to euthanize a beautiful dog that was losing her short battle with cancer at age three. It is just a reminder for us all that life is too short to quibble. Enjoy your precious days!! Enjoy your relationships, and enjoy your pets. And with that, I leave you with this quote: "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."--Eleanor Roosevelt