Taking care of a pet can be expensive. When your four-legged friend gets sick, the medicine the vet prescribes can sometimes cost hundreds of dollars. Consumer expert Amy Davis is helping you save money on your dog or cat prescriptions by simply shopping around.
12-year-old Shelby is Kristin McDonald's only child.
"She is a border collie mix. We got her from the pound," McDonald explained.
When Shelby was just two, her care-free canine life got a little more complicated.
"She would start having seizure and they would happen like weekly," McDonald said. "Almost every week she was having these violent seizures."
A veterinarian diagnosed Shelby with epilepsy. The good news: The seizures could be controlled with the prescription drug phenobarbital.
The bad news was the prescription cost McDonald about $55 every six weeks.
"I was fresh out of college and had just started teaching and so my budget was tight," she explained.
McDonald picked up the meds from her vet for 9 years, until last year.
"It was actually one of the employees at the vet that told me 'Hey you could fill this at Walgreens.'" McDonald recounted.
The same prescription at Walgreen's is 35.83, a savings of $20 on every refill. Over the course of a year, McDonald saves about $173. It's why she tells people not to wait 9 years like she did to comparison shop.
"Check out other places cause you can definitely find something a little bit cheaper," she advised.
Sites like GoodRX for pets let you type in the drug you need and your ZIP code; and they will show you the prices at nearby pharmacies.
1-800-PetMeds and PetCareRX will also fill prescriptions and give you prices online. You can also pick up the phone and call different pharmacies to check prices.
Don't overlook the discount drug card programs or sites like AARP and AAA. Many of these programs cover pet prescriptions as well as human medications.