You may not realize that you can get medication for your pet from your regular pharmacy, and it could really save you money. "Super Saver" Erin Libranda's dog "Smudge" developed an expensive medical condition.
"We were gone on vacation basically and came back - he was boarded - and he was real sick and lethargic and lost a lot of weight," she said. "We brought him in and the vet said he has diabetes - so it was a big shock. Between everything together, the insulin, the needles, special food - we're looking at $100-$150 in addition to his regular food a month for our pet."
Erin, who prides herself of finding the best deals on everything, was surprised to hear there are ways to get deep discounts on pet medications as well.
"A lot of the medicines that you can get in the veterinarian will be the same medicines that we use to treat human diseases and, in fact, you might be able to get them on prescription with us for less than you pay at the veterinarian. The doctor just has to call in a prescription to us and we fill it as any other medication," said Kroger pharmacy manager Susan Curtis.
Curtis says some of these medications are even available under their special generic program where you get a 30 day supply for $4 or 90 day supply for $10.
"The anxiety medication is really a big thing, antibiotics are really big, sometimes things like steroids - Prednisone - that's also on the $4 plan."
Curtis said Prednisone could be used for an animal that has inflammation.
"Something like this Ciprofloxacin, it's used for a wide variety of infections in humans - also good for animals," said Curtis. "This one is the Amoxicillin, which you might remember from using in the kids - this is the liquid for an easier way to give it to the animal.
And Susan says you may even find some over the counter drugs useful as well. Of course, you'll always want to check with your vet or pharmacist first.
"This is the Benadryl, which we'll commonly use for allergy reactions in animals. This is the children's form in a liquid, it is very easy to use in animals and it allows you to change the dosage and it's a very good price. said Curtis. "The same medicines that you'll use to help relieve arthritis conditions to support the joints and increase the lubrication in the joints - you can use in the pets as well - really give them some relief from their arthritis pain. We have a wide variety of them - some of them available in a Kroger generic."
The insulin Smudge takes twice a day isn't offered on the deep discounted generic program, but after asking around Erin found a way to save 40 bucks!
"We did find that you can get the same thing but if you buy it at a different place it's $25 versus $65 for the exact same product," said Erin.
Erin's talking about the "Reli-on" version of insulin - a line introduced about a year ago and exclusively offered at Wal-Mart to help people save money.
"If you look at them, they are both exactly the same - they are both made by Lilly. They are both 100 units Humulin - for human the only difference is this one says Lilly.com and this one says Reli-on. Smaller package, but it's actually the same exact size. They carry both of them - so you have to ask for the cheaper one," said Erin. "Finding out about it has saved us a lot of money."
We checked around and many pharmacies offer discounted meds for pets - so it's worth it to ask!
Commonly prescribed meds for pets and what they are used for:
For more information visit Kroger.Com
Click here for more on Saving Money on Pet Medication
Kat shares her money-saving secrets on Deals Saturdays at 10am on ABC 13 and on the Live Well Network 13.2.
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