Hi,

I am a veterinary technician. Some places will accept human meds as long as they are the same dose, ect. They can not sell them…I’m pretty sure it’s a license thing. I would definetly ask the vet instead of just flushing them. Many people have to euthanize their pets because they can’t afford simple medication. You can be helping more than you realize. If the vet doesn’t accept them, atleast you know you tried to help :)

Great info thanks… I shall have meds to donate from my husband’s many he had to take I hope. Love to help the babies :) if my dogs needed something I couldn’t afford I guess I’d have to hock my house or van or something… I knew human meds could be used cause I have two dogs with allergies and they take human meds in half doses… but never thought of donating all the many things I have here to the vet for someone else. That’s wonderful. I hate wasting things.

Great idea. Thanks for the info, I will be sure to check with my vet.

Wow! I’ve never heard of that, but it’s a terrific idea! I’m taking my dog in this week for a checkup, and will be sure to mention this to the vet!

Probably, Josh. When I worked for a home health agency, they use to send outdated meds to Mexico and/or 3rd world countries rather than throw them away. I was told once that the dates on meds are there to protect companies from law suits and so people replace the meds when they expire. Keeps people buying the meds and puts money in pharmaceutical pockets. The meds are probably still good; however, the potency may not be up to par.

Thanks for the information about donating prescription drugs to animal hospitals/vets for use on animals. I will check into this with my vet as well.

I thought it might be wise to also offer this link about proper disposal of medicines. Flushing them is no longer a recommended practice due to environmental concerns.

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I never knew that. I am gonna ask my vet about it

That is great! I will ask my vet about it. I also know from experience that there are certain antibiotics that can be obtained for free from certain stores.

When my Dad died, my Mom donated his expensive heart meds to a clinic referred by his doctor. It went to help humans. Didn’t realize meds can be donated to help animals, too. Great info.

Great info! I have been going through a lot of medication changes lately, I’ll definitely check.

My vet does not, but again, I would imagine it to benefit those in need.

is that legal

I’ve never heard of such an awesome thing, but if this is true, I think its a wonderful idea. We have had many health issue’s with 2 of our dogs this year, and the vet bills have been very costly. If these meds can help sick animals, I for one am all for it.

Fab. information! When my husband came home from the hospital a couple of years ago, they sent him home with a laundry list of medications. By going to his Doctors, we were able to dwindle them down. I kept the left overs/bottles in a plastic bag in a drawer not knowing what to do with them. I finally threw them out. I’ll be sure to check with our Vet. to see if in the future, we can do this. Thanks for the info.!

Receiving many b-mails and QT’s about this. 99.9% of vets do accept human medication as ‘donations’ for pets. Hope you all will think about this when you receive a prescription you can’t use/tolerate. Please,please check with your vet to see if they can use your medicines to donate to those who otherwise might not be able to afford.

I know that there are definitely people medicines that cats can take, because we have had those prescriptions filled by our local pharmacy and the medication was exactly the same as the medications people take.

One word of [URL removed] do NOT try to self-medicate your cat or dog with your medications without getting prior advice from your vet. Remember, your cat may only weigh 10 or 15 pounds, so a “person” dose could kill him/her!

This sounds like a great idea, but I’m sure there’s a commission or board somewhere that would probably prohibit it.

When I ran the Health Center at a boarding school, I wouldn’t accept medications from the parents because I was putting my license on the line if they gave me something that was not what it said it was on the bottle.

You can’t always be sure things are in their original container. Generic drugs have all different shapes and colors and our pharmacist agreed that you can’t ID drugs 100% by sight only.

I had a parent bring me malaria pills in a bottle that said it was a diet medication.

The State Inspector backed me up 100% and said she wished that all School Health Centers were as diligent as mine.

Someone mentioned flushing. Please don’t flush your old medications. They get into the ecosystem and pollute our ground water and eventually find their way into public water supplies.

There are now PSA’s on TV showing you the proper disposition of unwanted or expired medication.

If you have any doubt, please call your local Health Department or pharmacy for advice.

Great to know. It is so much better than just disposing of them. I doubt many people know about that. I will tell all of my friends.

my vet won’t take them afraid something may have been put in them.he will treat your pet free if you can’t pay.

I will definitely ask our local vet if he accepts any leftover medications. As for flushing-Any leftover meds Should not be flushed-they do get into the local water system. The water people do not check for meds in the water-They check for bacteria, lead and a few other chemical compounds. Our community does have a once a year drop off place to dispose of unused medications.

I think this is a great idea and am all for it. My parents always have all kinds of meds that they don’t use all up as they are often switching them. I’ll see if my vet can use some of them. Thanks for sharing this valuable information!

well I want to share we bring my extra bottles of nitroglycerin to our vet in town he love the idea when I ask one of the nurse saw us as we said something ridiculous but the doc come our from inside and ask me Id I said nitroglycerin and I said yes, so he keep the bottles for cats and dogs of seniors can not cover for their companions medication

thanks pink you are a angel

This is a good idea…and very handy to know for the future…maybe somebody next to you has the need for those medicines….Nice Gesture..

Thanks for the great post.I will surely check with my vet.I have a chest full of meds,as they are always changing mine.I also rescue animals,so it would make me feel good to know I help some one else pet,that may not be able to afford their meds.I know how costly sick animals are.
Thanks again for the great post.

cool idea will look into this very soon

I know that animals can take the same stuff as we do as my Dads dog was taking the same blood pressure meds as I was, and a dog that is now gone, was taking the same kind of diabetes meds as one of us did.

I am so glad to see this and will be donating to my vets office from now on.

And I’m going to place this in my household tip thread as well

Yes, there are many similarities. For example, the same probiotics to take. I’m taking them myself now, because I’ve been having digestive problems for quite some time. My doctor told me that it is necessary to take a whole course. But I didn’t know what brand to take. Then I found and read some reviews about “dr danielle” [URL removed] and then I ordered this probiotic because most people were quite positive about its effect. That’s why I’m using it now. I hope it works for me in the future.