Working in the veterinary field, we refer a lot of clients to Stark Edler for custom compounding. Up until last week, I'd never needed to use their services.
Then one of my own got sick.
I already have a dog on phenobarbital for limbic epilepsy, and you get enough raised eyebrows going into Target or CVS for dog medications, but try calling them and telling them you need liquid medication in a small enough dose for a pet rat. My little Bowie had a terrible respiratory infection and needed a liquid form of the antibiotic doxycycline, which isn't apparently widely carried by pharmacists.
I called everyone I could think of in Lawrence who'd still be open when I got back into town that night, and nobody had the medication I needed. I even had one pharmacy technician tell me doxycycline didn't come in liquid form. I then asked her to please look it up and verify that they didn't carry it, and she had to put her foot in her mouth. It WAS available, just not through them.
After exhausting all of the options close to home, I found one of the many Stark Edler magnets hanging around my clinic and gave them a call.
You can tell the people there like animals a lot. Not only were they not surprised that I was calling for meds for a rat, they were very sympathetic about Bowie's condition and understanding about my stress. The technician I talked to on the phone, Jennifer, answered all my questions and helped me decide on the best way to compound the meds, offering to alter the strength of the medication so I could give him less at a time, suggesting an oil-based formula over a water-based one so the meds would last longer, and offering to add a special flavor to the mixture to make him more likely to take it without protesting.
Within a few hours, Bowie's medication was ready to be picked up. I was pleasantly surprised at how reasonable the price was, especially considering the fact that it was compounded specifically for me and not just a bottle they could pull off the shelf and hand to me.
After three days on the new medication, Bowie is starting to feel much better, and I cannot thank Stark Edler enough for what they do. For so many pets across the Kansas City area, their apothecary has truly been a lifesaver. read more