Pets given cheap human medicine due to vet bills

▶ Owners want price regulation in UAE amid warnings treatments could be dangerous

High vet bills are causing some pet owners to turn to cheaper human drugs to keep costs down.

The inflated price of medication used to treat animals has sparked calls for a national registry, with experts wanting vet services to be rated under a universal set of standards similar to those applied to Dubai’s hospitality sector.

The cost of drugs used to treat pets can vary wildly, with some almost identical to those used by humans but costing significantly more.

Vets warn that although some drugs used for humans are safe for pets, the varying dose, tablet size and metabolism of animals can make others dangerous.

Also, some medications, such as those used to treat animal seizures, are unavailable in the UAE due to licensing regulations.

This means vets often have to look for alternative human medications that are available at greater cost, but may not be as effective.

Claire Champion, who owns five rescue pets – three dogs and two cats – said finding the right treatment for animals can be a challenge.

“The vet bills are difficult to deal with,” said Ms Champion, who is British and lives in Town Square, Dubai.

“Unless you know what medication pets need or which vets are good to use, there is a lot of trial and error.

“We’ve tried a few veterinary clinics and we’ve even had a misdiagnosis.

“If my dog needs antihistamine tablets, I can get them from the pharmacy for Dh20 for a pack of 40, rather than Dh5 a tablet from the vet.”

Another pet owner, who lives in Jumeirah Village Circle, says she was charged Dh582 for heart pills for her 14-year-old dog after previously being prescribed the human drug Renitec.

The Renitec tablets cost about Dh1.80 each from a pharmacy, but the pet version, Enalapril, costs about Dh4.85 a pill.

Another example is the antibiotic Augmentin, for humans, which typically costs about $1.30 (Dh4) a tablet. The animal version, Clavamox, can cost about $3 (Dh11) a tablet.

David Appleby, founder of Microchipped.ae, a company that tracks lost pets and conducts animal community care, said expensive veterinary fees can also be a barrier to finding new homes for animals. “A good vet will often give advice on what cheaper drugs from the pharmacy can be used, but this is usually for minor complaints,” said Mr Appleby, who helped rescue more than 150 cats dumped in the Abu Dhabi desert in October.

“We believe vet services should be rated under a universal set of standards, similar to the way hospitality is.

“The difference in prices can be astronomical. It is often far more expensive to treat an animal than a human, some of the prices are horrendous.”

While there is no UAE legislation preventing the prescription of human drugs for animals, unlike in the US or UK, vets say they often feel reluctant to move away from from pet-specific medications.

“We don’t use human medications in our practice as we’ve got a policy where if there’s a licensed veterinary drug we would always use that,” said Dr Sam Westhead, from Amity Veterinary Clinic in Al Barsha, Dubai. “Human medication is often only a rough translation because there are different pill sizes and different formulations. Veterinary drugs are formulated to be palatable to animals, to be the right size and shape.

“If there is a veterinary-licensed product, you have to use that unless you’ve got very good reason.”