Addressing Allergies and Skin Conditions: Griffey’s Story at L&L Animal Urgent Care

When most families think about urgent care for themselves or their pets, they may only think of injuries such as an injured stifle (knee) or sudden illnesses like a urinary tract infection. Whilethis is true, here at L&L Animal Urgent Care, we also help manage flare-ups of chronic conditions such as allergic skin disease when a pet may not be able to be seen by their regular veterinarians.

One such case is Griffey, a 5-year-old, 95lb German Shepherd who we first met in July of 2023. Much like other German Shepherds, Griffey loves his family and is an excellent protector. Thismeans that when Griffey comes in for veterinary visits, he worries a lot and wants to protect his family from the “strangers” (veterinary staff) entering through the door. This protective behavior can make it a little trickier to ensure that Griffey gets the comprehensive care he deserves, as sometimes it can escalate to aggression. Griffey’s family has done an excellent job in preparing him for his visits; he gets medication ahead of time to ease his anxiety and they have trained him to calmly and comfortably wear a basket muzzle for his visits. When Griffey needs to be closely examined or receive medical treatments, in order to help minimize his stress, he receives injectable medications for sedation. Once he is safely and comfortably asleep, he can receive a comprehensive exam, and any needed diagnostics can be performed.

Griffey was seen here at L&L Animal Urgent Care several times for skin, nail, and ear infections that are commonly seen in pets with allergic skin disease. The doctors here at L&L AnimalUrgent Care consulted with an amazing local veterinary dermatologist, Dr. Gould at PetDermatology Partners, and a diet trial was performed to see if Griffey’s skin issues responded to a diet change. When a new diet didn’t help him to the extent we had hoped, the decision was made to perform intradermal skin testing to assess Griffey for environmental allergies such as pollen and dust mites. This specialized testing is normally done at the dermatologist’s office, but the special combination of medications necessary to safely and comfortably sedate Griffey were not available at Dr. Gould’s practice. As our team was aware of the individualized care thatGriffey required for veterinary visits, Dr. Gould graciously offered to travel here to L&L Animal Urgent care for intradermal allergy testing.

We coordinated with Dr. Gould and Griffey’s family and arranged a day for him to come in while our team waited, thrilled to be able to watch the process of intradermal skin testing in action.Griffey was tested for 51 local allergens and had customized “allergy shots” or hyposensitization injections made exactly for his specific sensitivities. With time, this treatment should help Griffey’s immune system to a decreased response to allergens and his itching and secondary infections will be significantly reduced. We were so excited to help Griffey and his family and are immensely grateful that Dr. Gould was able to come to our practice to help.

Here at L&L Animal Urgent Care, we offer a variety of therapies to help pets with acute itching and allergies, including Apoquel, Cytopoint, Douxo Shampoo and Mousse, along with antifungal and antibiotic treatments for secondary infections. Our team can perform skin cultures to identify bacterial infections and assess for antibiotic resistance, providing a comprehensive approach to your pet's immediate needs. However, for pets with chronic or recurrent skin conditions such as ear infections, hot spots, or persistent paw licking, we recommend consulting a board-certified veterinary dermatologist for long-term management and care to prevent secondary infections in the future. While we can help with acute flare-ups, a specialist’s guidance is ideal for ongoing care.

If your pet is itching or experiencing chronic skin or ear infections, please don’t hesitate to seek care with your regular veterinarian, the experienced team here at L&L Animal Urgent Care, or with one of the amazing local veterinary dermatologists.

Author: Dr. Cathy Pierce