RHINELANDER, Wis. (WJFW) – Last summer, residents could no longer walk into Blaine’s Farm and Fleet and buy over-the-counter medication for large animals and pets. However, with their new program, it is possible to get what you need. Department head for Blaine’s Farm and Fleet’s pet, egg, and nature center, Carley Czaikowski, said the FDA created new rules for animal medication because of the dangers it can cause for pets, which introduced the Animal RX program.
“Some people, when they are medicating their own animals, can give them the wrong dosage sometimes or they can try treating something that might not actually be what needs to be treated,” said Czaikowski. Most of the stronger medications are now found by scanning a QR code in-store that takes people to the program.
“It’ll ask you about your prescription and what vet you go to, and then our Blaine’s veterinarians will call your vet and see that everything matches up and that they can send that medicine out,” said Czaikowski. Most of the medicines found through the program are for larger animals such as cows, but they also offer medications for smaller pets like dogs and cats.
“I believe there might be some for exotic animals as well, like for hamsters; they have ointments for them and stuff like that,” said Czaikowski. The program allows Blaine’s Farm and Fleet to still supply important medication to those who need it.
“It makes it a little bit easier since we can’t carry them in-store; we can still help our customers and everyone in the area and make sure they get what they need,” said Czaikowski. While most prescriptions are found through the program, they still carry some over-the-counter medication.
“Like influenza vaccines and we still have our K-9 distemper and Lyme disease medication and stuff like that, so we still do have stuff in-store,” said Czaikowski.
