A Chance Encounter That Changed Everything

When I was 21 years old, while shopping for food for my brother’s dog, I saw the most adorable little white furball and decided to adopt him. As getting a pet was not in my immediate life-plan, I was ill-prepared and had a lot to learn. I purchased a couple of books on owning a dog and started to bond with my new puppy. I named him Ralph Macchio (Ralphie for short) and he came everywhere with me, even inside the convenience store next to my apartment (the owners said he was cuter than most of their customers). Ralphie was with me through my last 2 years of pharmacy school, my move across the country (and back), getting married, the purchase of my house, and through 6 months of my first son’s life. The first 7 years of his life were easy. The next 7 years tested my abilities as a caregiver and spawned the admiration I have for the people who will do anything they can for their pet’s health and happiness.

Ralphie’s Diagnosis and My Journey Into Veterinary Pharmacy

On Ralphie’s 7th birthday, he started showing symptoms of granulomatous meningoencephalitis (GME), which is an inflammatory disease involving the brain and/or spinal cord. Within an hour of symptom onset, his hind legs were paralyzed, and he couldn’t control his bladder. He was hospitalized and underwent numerous tests and treatments. After 5 days, he was discharged with an unknown prognosis and on a long list of medication. As a pharmacist, I handled his medications fairly well, but I quickly learned that there are stark differences between medication for animals and medication for humans. I started completing continuing education relating to veterinary medication so that I could help my dogs and the few pets I filled prescriptions for at my pharmacy. It is not uncommon for pharmacists to know very little about medication use in animals. There are not required courses in pharmacy school related to veterinary medicine, so we need to seek out this knowledge on our own.

Bringing Veterinary Care to Oswald’s Pharmacy

When I came to Oswald’s Pharmacy one and a half years ago, though it had been years since Ralphie passed away, my desire to help both people and animals remains. We currently fill prescriptions for some local pets but have been limited in what we could stock. Recently, we were able to contract with a company who has a pet-meds program and can now procure both medications made for humans and medications made solely for animals. With this new ability, we will be able to care for the humans in our community and their whole families, even the furriest members.