Are third-party pet subscription companies worth it?
From Petco to Allivet and onward: Should dog prescriptions be vet-only purchases?
When my dog Junee’s regular veterinarian sent out an email notifying clients that their office would no longer respond to third-party pet suppliers, my first thought was, “Why you blocking?” I didn’t understand why a vet would avoid helping pet owners find pet prescriptions at cheaper rates, and from companies that ship the pet prescriptions quicker and assist in maintaining the dog’s health. It wasn’t until I tried doing business with a third-party pet prescription company that I understood the unnecessary complications involved.
Over the past year, I’ve come to realize that pet owners may be better off just paying for all medication and supplies at their vet’s office. Companies like Walmart PetRx (now Allivet) and PetCo may excel at shipping pet meds, but the administrative end is so disorganized that it’s not even worth it.
Recommended Read: “Allivet is repeating the reason Walmart PetRx failed ~ Think twice before agreeing to auto-ship agreements, especially pet prescriptions”
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As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage from purchases with my referral links. I know some consumers are choosing to boycott Amazon for its DEI removal. However, after thinking about this thoroughly, I choose to continue promoting intriguing products from small businesses, women-owned businesses and (specifically) Black-owned businesses who still feature their items on Amazon. All five of my Substack publications now include a MINIMUM of one product sold by a Black-owned business. (I have visited the seller’s official site, not just the Amazon Black-owned logo, to verify this.) If you still choose to boycott, I 100% respect that decision.
First, the backstory
Independent contractors are a little bit like actors. No matter how many “acting jobs” we have, there’s a pretty sizable chance that we’re looking at the next “movie or TV” script. Why? The worst feeling is for a major client to separate ties with you, and that was your primary bread and butter. Independent contractors must always have a Plan B, Plan C and Plan D, regardless of how well Plan A is working. I transitioned from part-time freelancer in 2005 to full-time freelancer in the fall of 2018, and I am no stranger to “auditions” for new publishing work — even while maintaining relationships with multi-year clients.
Why is this relevant? One well-known company clearly sold my contact info to a flood of other people. The mass amount of fake job posts and fake projects I was contacted about via email and text was out of control from February until April. It got so bad that I almost went to a suburb for a made-up law firm assignment. (Two of my longtime clients are lawyers, so this seemed highly believable until I noticed the business email address was one letter off.)
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As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn a percentage from purchases with my referral links.
After an exhaustive amount of fact-checking job scams, and almost losing a real client who I thought was one of the fake ones, I finally gave up and changed both my phone number and email addresses.
Unfortunately, some companies can be a nuisance when it comes to changing an email address or phone number. Banks, mortgage companies, IRA and stock investment companies, and bill collectors are always a breeze for me. I can change my contact information in a matter of minutes. Meanwhile, e-commerce companies and shopping memberships ask for damn near everything but a blood sample.
Enter the nightmare of PetCo prescriptions and the Better Business Bureau.