# To My Dog's Vet: No, I don't have to buy HeartGuard from you! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 13, 2004, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-dogs-vet-no-i-dont-have-to-buy-heartguard-from-you/259746 "2004-08-13T20:50:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-dogs-vet-no-i-dont-have-to-buy-heartguard-from-you/259746/101 "2012-07-24T09:27:12Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > And some of us don’t even label ourselves as such. Four cats rule my house. As you might expect, there are frequent challenges to the throne. Only four? Wimp. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-dogs-vet-no-i-dont-have-to-buy-heartguard-from-you/259746/102 "2012-07-24T09:40:08Z")
I have 8 1/2, so add me to the Cat Lady list 🙂 (The 1/2 is a semi-feral who comes and goes, but I feed him when he’s around. Which, come to think of it, has been daily for quite some time now…) **araminty** , thanks for asking this, I’d like to know too: > [@](#): > > Since we’re all here anyway, does anyone have an opinion on Trifexis? It’s a new all in one (heartworm, intestinal worms, fleas) monthly tablet. My vet is pushing it pretty hard. The Bay Area isn’t exactly a thriving heartworm hotspot, nor do my indoor dogs get a lot of fleas or worms. But we do hit the dog parks and off leash hiking areas a bit, so they’re exposed to poop. > > It’s pretty expensive, but I’m giving my two ~20lb basenjis half of the 20-40lb weight range tablets. Wonder what the vets will say about THAT…! ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-dogs-vet-no-i-dont-have-to-buy-heartguard-from-you/259746/103 "2012-07-24T10:50:37Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > Besides the fact you missed the entire point that my vet, not a stranger, DOES examine my pets, DOES know them personally, and then writes out a prescription based on what their knowledge and experience tells them my pet needs. At that point, aside from inviting my cute little redheaded vet over for some lesbian hot tub action, the need for in-depth interpersonal communication has ended, and what remains is for me to carry out the orders of my vet, acquire the medicine, give it to the animals, and report back to the vet if there are problems. . Well, I got sucked into this stupid ass zombie thread, but I now I must know what happened those many years ago Did **Una** ever get it on with the hot redheaded vet? ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-dogs-vet-no-i-dont-have-to-buy-heartguard-from-you/259746/104 "2012-07-24T14:57:36Z")
> [@saje](#): > > I have 8 1/2, so add me to the Cat Lady list 🙂 Argh, you beat me by half a cat – although one of the three barn cats at the farm where I board my two horses was rehomed there by me when she proved unable to take the chaos of a multiple-cat household, so maybe that gets me to nine? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kelsey1990](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a9adbd/32.png) [@kelsey1990](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelsey1990)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-dogs-vet-no-i-dont-have-to-buy-heartguard-from-you/259746/105 "2013-02-08T01:08:50Z")
To start off I would like to say that I have never ever created an account like this to reply to anything online (I don’t even have a facebook account). I think it is a complete waste of time to spend your days going on rants online about things you don’t like in life. (So you can imagine how provoked I would have to be to go through the trouble of posting this.) I came across this post by chance while I was googling heartguard, but after reading the first couple lines of “PunditLisa’s” post I had to create an account and post a reply. “It’s a DOG and if he dies of shock, I’ll live with it.”…PunditLisa you are a horrible, horrible person. I can’t believe you own a dog! why would you want to own a dog if you are not going to love and care for it? Wanting to save money on medicine and feeling like you want to protect yourself from being taken “advantage of” is fine (cheap, but fine). But saying or thinking that you would “get over it” if it died from shock (cause you wanted to save money) is embarrassing. Why would you even put that online? You were trying to complain about poor customer service but you lost any credibility by running your big mouth without thinking first. You don’t deserve to have a dog. Why don’t you get off of your computer and go try to be a loving person and not a cheap, annoying, selfish, you-know-what? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-dogs-vet-no-i-dont-have-to-buy-heartguard-from-you/259746/106 "2013-02-08T01:20:26Z")
Uh, **PunditLisa** wrote that 8 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-dogs-vet-no-i-dont-have-to-buy-heartguard-from-you/259746/107 "2013-02-08T01:29:14Z")
**PETA** arrives! Only took 8 years. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-dogs-vet-no-i-dont-have-to-buy-heartguard-from-you/259746/108 "2013-02-08T02:44:32Z")
I wonder what kelsey1990 would think about I burning your dog if THIS upsets them so much! ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-dogs-vet-no-i-dont-have-to-buy-heartguard-from-you/259746/109 "2013-02-08T13:04:01Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > **PETA** arrives! Only took 8 years. Despite the fun you appear to derive from needling PETA, that ain’t PETA. They would never use the term “_own_ a dog.” ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-dogs-vet-no-i-dont-have-to-buy-heartguard-from-you/259746/110 "2013-02-08T14:04:56Z")
**kelsey1990** needs to go look up the definition of mortified. (Unless of course she’s PunditLisa in disguise 😛 ) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-dogs-vet-no-i-dont-have-to-buy-heartguard-from-you/259746/111 "2013-02-08T14:16:17Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Uh, **PunditLisa** wrote that 8 years ago. Well, hopefully she’s off the computer by now. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-dogs-vet-no-i-dont-have-to-buy-heartguard-from-you/259746/112 "2013-02-08T14:43:25Z")
Dog may have died of old age by now. How sad. ---
**Author:** ![buckgully](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb9ed0/32.png) [@buckgully](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buckgully)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-dogs-vet-no-i-dont-have-to-buy-heartguard-from-you/259746/113 "2013-02-08T20:01:54Z")
This post is brought to you by The Umbrella Corporation’s K9 Products Division. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-dogs-vet-no-i-dont-have-to-buy-heartguard-from-you/259746/114 "2013-02-08T20:34:55Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > I am NOT paying for another test. It’s a DOG and if he dies of shock, I’ll live with it. **PunditLisa** lost any sympathy I might have had for her with this statement. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-dogs-vet-no-i-dont-have-to-buy-heartguard-from-you/259746/115 "2013-02-08T20:51:42Z")
> [@Archergal](#): > > My vet does price-matching for Internet drugs. That’s a win-win situation all around. I get better prices (sometimes significantly better) and the vet gets my business and good will. It’s worth asking if your vet will do the same. Mine does too and they have their own deal with an online pharmacy. I can get all the heartworm/flea/tick stuff, the special feline kidney support food, and the cat’s thyroid meds all from one website, which I access through a portal link on my vet’s web page. If I have a special order for some reason, they will make sure it’s available in their online system. In fact, I think my vet’s office goes to the lengths of undercutting 1800petmeds and those sites’ prices so they keep that business in-house and have better control of monitoring who is getting the meds and who isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-dogs-vet-no-i-dont-have-to-buy-heartguard-from-you/259746/116 "2013-02-08T21:32:03Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > **PunditLisa** lost any sympathy I might have had for her with this statement. I think the point of her statement to the obnoxious receptionist was "I’ve made a decision about my dogs health and I feel comfortable with it, your hyberbolic threats of consequences are not going to get you anywhere so please stop. I don’t think she is actually heartless and her update seems to indicate that her assessment of her dogs health needs was accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-dogs-vet-no-i-dont-have-to-buy-heartguard-from-you/259746/117 "2013-02-08T21:39:52Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > Dog may have died of old age by now. How sad. Or shock. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-dogs-vet-no-i-dont-have-to-buy-heartguard-from-you/259746/118 "2013-02-08T22:53:32Z")
Based upon the previous bump in July, Buddy was 11 and doing just fine. But maybe this second bump caused him to die of shock. Only time will tell. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2013, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-dogs-vet-no-i-dont-have-to-buy-heartguard-from-you/259746/119 "2013-02-09T21:08:00Z")
Buddy the beagle is 12 now and still alive despite my best attempts to kill him. Amazingly, I’m still alive also despite not slathering on sunscreen every time I walk outside, despite dermatologist’s recommendations to do so. In short, we continue to defy the odds, the two of us. Kelsey, I hope your bleeding heart heals soon. \*Interestingly enough, the temperatures here in Ohio climbed into the 60s this very week. Guess who got a HeartGard pill? ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2013, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-dogs-vet-no-i-dont-have-to-buy-heartguard-from-you/259746/120 "2013-02-09T22:43:10Z")
The sun burning you and ur dog! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-dogs-vet-no-i-dont-have-to-buy-heartguard-from-you/259746.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-dogs-vet-no-i-dont-have-to-buy-heartguard-from-you/259746.md?page=7)