Chris Stefanos owns four pharmacies in Melbourne, Victoria and in the 30 years that he has been working in the medical field, the day that he received a prescription for a dog stands out.
In an interview with The Advertiser, Chris said that over the last five to eight years he has noticed the use of antidepressants for pets has skyrocketed.
“It kind of mimics humans,” Stefanos told The Advertiser.
The chemist had to adjust to Australian regulations when he started dispensing medicine for pets. Since then, he dispenses about 50 prescriptions for animals a month.
“We’ve got scripts that people keep on file for us where they’re just regularly getting things for their pets. It’s far more common than I imagined,” he said.
This increased humanisation of pets has seen companies rush to take advantage of the situation. The market is said to be worth more than $10 billion and growing. Woolworths, Blackmores, Mars and Nestle are only some of the names which have joined the market.
Source: The Advertiser
