Community Animal HospitalsGuided by AAHA standards · St. Petersburg, FL
Community Animal HospitalsGuided by AAHA standards · St. Petersburg, FL
Itching, ear infections, paw licking, hot spots, hair loss. In Florida the season never really ends, and the pets we see have usually been uncomfortable for months. Itching has several different causes — infection, parasites, allergy, sometimes something else entirely — so we work out which one is driving it before we treat it. Most skin disease is managed rather than cured, but some of it can clear up for good.
Tell us what you’re seeing and we’ll confirm a time the way you asked.
Skin disease rarely presents the same way twice. Any of these is worth a visit.
Cats often hide it. Overgrooming, bald patches on the belly or legs, or scabs around the neck and head are the feline version of the same problem.
A $49 doctor’s exam, then it depends on what the doctor finds — which is the honest answer, because a dog licking its paws and a dog with infected ears need different tests.
What we look for first is what’s actually on the skin right now. Yeast and bacteria are the usual reason a pet is miserable, and they’re treatable straight away. Mites, fleas and food are ruled in or out from there. Underneath most chronic cases is an allergy — environmental, flea, or food — and that’s the part that gets managed long term.
Cytology and skin testing are done here, so you generally leave with an answer and a plan on the same visit rather than waiting on an outside laboratory.
If we need formal allergy testing, the sample is taken here and sent to a specialist allergy laboratory. Immunotherapy follows from what it shows.
What happens next depends on what the exam finds. If there’s an infection, that is generally treated directly — and some infections clear up for good. If there’s an underlying allergy, that is the part that usually needs managing rather than curing, and it may involve Apoquel (a daily tablet), Cytopoint (an injection lasting roughly four to eight weeks), or something else suited to your pet. Parasites, and the less common causes, are handled differently again.
Which is why the exam comes first. Treating the wrong thing costs you money and leaves your pet still itchy.
Where an allergy is driving it, that is a condition you manage rather than a problem you fix once — and pets do best with a veterinarian who knows the history: what worked last spring, what didn’t, what the ears looked like in August.
Most cases are managed here. Between our two hospitals we see a great deal of skin disease, and referral to a veterinary dermatologist is uncommon.
The veterinarians across our two hospitals include two former owners of 24-hour primary care and emergency hospitals, and doctors with more than 25 years in practice ownership.
Many of our clients find that financing part or all of their pet’s care through Cherry works best for them.
According to Cherry, the application takes under 35 seconds from start to finish, and “Cherry performs a soft credit check which does not affect your credit score.”
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5895 54th Ave N, St. Petersburg, FL 33709
Serving St. Petersburg · Gulfport · Pinellas Park · Seminole · Bardmoor · Tyrone Square · South Pasadena · Kenneth City · Lealman · Open 7:30am–6:30pm, six days a week
Not always an allergy, and that matters. Infection, mites, fleas, and less common causes all produce itching, and a few of them are curable outright. In Florida most chronic cases do have allergy at the root, but we confirm rather than assume. Often it is both: An allergy is usually what starts it, but by the time a pet is really uncomfortable there’s frequently a yeast or bacterial infection on top. Treating the infection is what brings quick relief; identifying the allergy is what keeps it from coming straight back.
Sometimes, but less often than people expect. Environmental allergies — grasses, moulds, dust mites — are more common here, and fleas can drive severe itching even when you never see one. A food trial is one of the tools we use, but it isn’t the first thing we reach for in every case.
Because the ear infection is usually a symptom, not the disease. Clearing the infection without addressing what caused it means it returns — often within weeks. Recurring ear problems are one of the most reliable signs of an underlying allergy.
If your pet’s itching turns out to be allergy-driven, these are two of the options. Apoquel is a daily tablet. Cytopoint is an injection given here that lasts roughly four to eight weeks. Neither cures the allergy; both control the itch. Which suits your pet — or whether either is the right choice at all — depends on the diagnosis, how severe it is, and what’s practical for you.
Yes. The sample is taken here and sent to a specialist allergy laboratory, and immunotherapy follows from what it shows. Not every pet needs it — many do well on management alone.
Rarely. Skin disease is a very large part of veterinary practice in Florida, and most cases are worked up and managed here. If a case genuinely needs a specialist we’ll tell you.
Not really, which is the difficulty. Elsewhere allergy season starts and stops; here it spikes rather than ends. Fleas, grass and yeast are year-round, so most pets need managing through the whole year rather than for a few months.