Here at FLAVORx for Pets, we love having the chance to highlight the great things our partners do for animals. This month, we’re featuring Golden Gate Veterinary Compounding Pharmacy.
Located in Novato, California, Golden Gate compounds medicine for pets to make medication administration easier for both pets and their owners. We spoke with Golden Gate's Sales & Marketing Coordinator Kate Schlentz who told us what makes this pharmacy so special.
Since Golden Gate opened for business in 2000, their team has spent the past eleven years ensuring animals get the medicine they need. Schlentz explained, “As a veterinary compounding pharmacy, we are able to customize medications to ensure compliance. We do this by creating unique forms, flavors and delivery methods.”
Golden Gate doesn’t just help pets in their immediate area; they’re able to ship compounded medications to 14 states around the country. Their clients include dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, guinea pigs, turtles and even wild animals like monkeys, bears, penguins, and otters housed at zoos and aquariums.
If an owner is unable to medicate a reluctant pet, this can prevent the pet from getting a necessary medication needed to maintain or improve their health. The process can also be traumatic for a pet and extremely stressful for their owner. Schlentz told us, “The stress involved with trying to force
administration can be detrimental to both the pet and the pet owner.” She added, “Compounding allows us to take into account individual behavior traits, flavor preferences, allergies or other dietary restrictions, owner ability, etc. and create a medication that is readily (and happily) accepted.”
Golden Gate has been a FLAVORx partner since the pharmacy opened back in 2000. Schlentz explained how the pharmacy uses the FLAVORx program: "One of our most popular medication forms is flavored oral suspension. Almost all medications are able to be suspended in liquid and then flavored based on an animal’s individual preference. We utilize FLAVORx to create these suspensions." She told us that while their dog patients prefer the chicken, bacon, and molasses flavors, cats, who are notoriously difficult to medicate, often prefer fish chowder, especially for bitter medications.
Animals and pet owners in both the San Francisco area and around the country are fortunate to have a team like the one at Golden Gate Veterinary Compounding Pharmacy on their side. Besides the work they do compounding medicine, they also happily work with shelters and rescues to ensure animals thrive and have their best chance for adoption.
Whether it's their philanthropic work or compounding to help improve pets' health, their team is glad to have the chance to help animals. Schlentz told us, "We love what we do! We are animal people, so it is the greatest reward to hear how our compounded medications improve the lives of animals all over the country."
We'd like to thank the Golden Gate Veterinary Compounding Pharmacy team for sharing their story with us and for all that they do for their patients! If you'd like to share your practice's story and be our next FLAVORx for Pets Practice of the Month, send an email to ctaylor@flavorx.com.
