As the cost of pet meds soar, N.B. won't allow pharmacies to sell cheaper options to owners
Pharmacies often provide significant savings compared to veterinary clinics, Competition Bureau says
Leslie MacLaren makes a point of giving her one year old Bernese mountain dog, Lola, lots of exercise to keep her pet happy — and healthy.
But another part of that care includes a monthly vet visit for an oral tick, flea and worm medication. It's a preventive measure that costs about $60 per visit.
"If you look at other countries [those costs are] lower," she said, speaking to CBC News from a dog park in Fredericton. "It seems to be what the market will bear in Canada."
In the United States, and other countries, pet owners can buy pet medications from large companies like Chewy, Walmart and Costco, both online and in a store.
It's that open market that the Competition Bureau of Canada said needs to move north of the border. It recommends provinces crack down on the exclusive distribution practices of veterinary clinics, and give pet owners the choice to buy more affordable medications at pharmacies instead.
The Competition Bureau's Youssef Zine said there is a patchwork of rules across the country which limits consumers' ability to shop around.
"We know that competition does work and if you restrict choice, what you're effectively doing is keeping pricing high and you're protecting existing business models at the expense of consumers," he said.
"Now if you do allow other competitors in the market, whether they be pharmacists, online providers or innovators to compete … you are able to get more choice, more convenience and lower prices."
After years of advocacy, Quebec relaxed its rules and allowed pharmacies to dispense pet medications in 2021. An Ontario-based online pharmacy has also successfully obtained access to a supply of many pet medications.
But in New Brunswick, veterinarians are prohibited from reselling medicine, and pharmacists cannot order medications anywhere else.
Bylaw 21 of the New Brunswick Veterinary Medical Association restricts veterinarians from dispensing medication to anyone other than the animal owner.
Association registrar Mary-Ellen Themens said there have been sporadic conversations over the years about following suit.
"But at this point in time, we have not been approached to change the bylaw," Themens said.
Themens has been a Dalhousie Veterinary Clinic veterinarian for more than four decades, and has seen a lot of change in the industry over the years, including increased costs. But she's not sure more competition would drive prices lower in the long run.
"Everyone is looking to cut costs. Everything is so exponentially expensive but overall, is it going to reduce the cost of care? If there is a loss of revenue, it's going to be made up somewhere else."
Business model needs to work
Ivan Zakharenkov is an urgent care veterinarian with four clinics in Atlantic Canada, two in the United States, and more on the way. The demand is high for emergency care for small animals, but he said it comes with a higher price tag.
"$500 is roughly an average that people spend in our clinics," he said. "So that's almost every single pet that comes into us, unfortunately ends up at least than that."
But for primary care, medication sales make up a big part of the business model. In fact, the Competition Bureau found "approximately 30 per cent of veterinary revenues come from product sales, including prescriptions."
Zakharenkov said taking away that revenue stream could be their downfall.
"Veterinary clinics have been built with pharmacy as part of the revenue stream. So you will lower potentially the cost of medication, but then you will run a lot of hospitals into no profitability."
According to the Canadian Animal Health Institute, 60 per cent of Canadian households currently own at least one cat or dog. But Zakharenkov said buying a pet is not a decision to be taken lightly.
"It is a privilege to own a pet. It needs to be a mature decision that accounts for these numbers and research that 'Yes, I do have 4,000-plus dollars of disposable income that I can dedicate to my pet,'" he said.
"I think that without making that analysis it would be hard to justify having a pet."
Pet care costs rising
Statistics Canada found New Brunswick households spent $99.4 million on "veterinary and other pet services" in 2023, a 57.5 per cent increase over 2019. That's more than double the increase in all other household expenditures during the same period
The New Brunswick SPCA said it's no coincidence that there has also been a record number of pets landing on their doorsteps in recent years. More than 1,200 animals were surrendered in 2024 — twice as many as the previous year. Finances were one of the main contributing factors.
Jordan Carruthers said he can easily see how people end up in that situation. He does what he can to keep costs down for his six-year-old dachshund, Laika. That includes cutting her nails himself, and giving her "a really good walk every day" around his Fredericton neighbourhood, since dashers are prone to obesity.
But he said she's on a schedule for worm and flea medication that requires bi-annual checkups — which almost always includes extra charges.
"I've never been given an explanation for the hundreds of dollars per visit," he said.
"I took on the responsibility of having a dog. Now she's my girl and I have to look out for her. But am I getting preyed upon for my love for my dog? I don't know, it seems expensive, right?"
He welcomes any change to the distribution practices that would cut down on costs for pet owners.
As a single dad, Carruthers said he is not willing to jeopardize his family's finances for his four-legged friend. He recently watched a friend pay $12,000 trying to save her pet, which forced him to consider how much he would spend on Laika.
"If I had to shell out more than $2,000 for Laika on a whim to get an operation, I wouldn't be able to do it," he said.
"I'm giving her the best life I can. I just can't prolong it financially when it gets to be ridiculous," he said.
"I'm looking at [her] right now and I hate saying that, but it's true."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
