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Purchasing pet drugs online: buyer beware.

Article Excerpt
"Discount pet drugs--no prescription required."

This message, and others like it touted by many Internet sites, may sound appealing to pet owners, but the Food and Drug Administration says buying drugs online from such sites can be risky.

Some of the Internet sites that sell pet drugs represent legitimate, reputable pharmacies, says Martine Hartogensis, D.V.M., promotion and advertising liaison for the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM). But others are fronts for unscrupulous businesses operating in violation of the law.

"Some of these Internet companies are overseas, and there is a risk of the drugs not being FDA-approved," says Hartogensis. The FDA has also found companies that sell counterfeit pet products, make fraudulent claims, dispense prescription drugs without requiring a prescription, and sell pet drugs that have expired.

Pet owners who purchase drugs from these companies may think they are saving money, says Hartogensis, but in reality they may be short-changing their pet's health and putting its life at risk.

The FDA's CVM regulates the manufacture and distribution of animal drugs, while individual state pharmacy boards regulate the dispensing of prescription veterinary products.

Some foreign Internet pharmacies are advertising that veterinary prescription drugs are available to U.S. citizens without requiring a prescription. Or a foreign or domestic pharmacy will claim that one of its veterinarians on staff will "evaluate" the pet after looking over a form filled out by the pet owner, and then prescribe the drug....

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