"Time goes quickly when you're doing something you enjoy" is the message from a Kenilworth veterinary dermatologist who has launched a new business in town. 

Husband and wife team Simon and Louise Want launched Advanced Veterinary Dermatology this autumn, offering a huge range of services to help pets suffering with skin, ear and nail conditions. 

Simon, who first qualified as a vet in 1996, has started the new venture after selling the practice he has owned and run for 25 years. 

"Dermatology is my passion, it's what I love doing," he told Nub News.  

"Time goes quickly when you're doing something you enjoy.  

"We launched three months ago and we're probably already three quarters full. 

Advanced Veterinary Dermatology was founded by husband and wife team Simon and Louise Want (image supplied)

"Veterinary dermatology is, of all the disciplines in veterinary medicine, probably one of the youngest.  

"We deal with everything that's related to skin disease, and I mainly see dogs and cats.   

"There are only a few ways the skin can respond but there are numerous different diseases. 

"We're there to help find out what's wrong and serve both the pet owning community and referring vets."  

Discovering Dermatology

Having grown up in a rural farming community in north-east Scotland, Simon said he was always destined to become a vet, never losing his love for animals. 

After qualifying, Simon worked in a practice in Stoke-on-Trent for four years before buying practices in Leamington and Kenilworth, aged 27, with partners Hugh Hawkins and Vivan Alemi. 

As the practice grew and expanded so did Simon's interest in dermatology, culminating in him completing his certification in 2009. 

"I realised there was a gap in our knowledge and the service we were offering our clients, so I started getting interested in dermatology," the father of three said.  

"All our kids had allergies, so I was already interested from the children's point of view and then started being more interested in the dogs and cats who I was seeing with skin disease and allergies.  

"A friend of mine, who was the lead dermatologist at Guide Dogs, said I should do my certificate, so I did!" 

Allergies and More

Advanced Veterinary Dermatology - which operates from Medivet on Station Road - is one of just a handful of referral dermatology practices in the country. 

While the team treat a huge variety of conditions, Simon says the majority of cases he deals with have allergies, with around 20 per cent of dogs and six per cent of cats now suffering with them. This includes three of his own five dogs! 

"Many allergies are caused by little mites living in our homes, called house dust mites. That is very, very common," he explained. 

"Then we get some dogs who will peak with their allergies in the spring, summer, autumn - they're likely to be pollen allergies. 

"And with pollen, it's grass pollen, crop pollen, weed pollen, tree pollen, the whole lot.

Advanced Veterinary Dermatology offers a huge range of services to help pets suffering with skin, ear and nail conditions (image supplied)

"So just like hay fever sufferers they'll get runny eyes and sneezing, but they also get itchy skin. They'll be biting their feet, scratching their ears, their tummies and legs, rubbing their eyes, rubbing their lips.  

"Pets regularly come in with recurrent ear disease - itchy ears that then get secondary infections.  

As well as allergies, Simon sees pets with autoimmune skin diseases, hormonal skin diseases, crusting and scaling diseases, hair loss, animals shedding nails and more. 

A recent case also involved a pet with a case of ringworm where the owner had also caught it! 

New Technology

Most recently Advanced Veterinary Dermatology has also unveiled a new CO2 laser - one of only three in England. 

The new high-tech piece of kit will allow Simon to tackle an even wider range of conditions. 

He explained: "We get a lot of animals with skin tumours and excessive tissue growth that we can safely remove with the laser. 

"And we get a lot of animals with chronic, thickened feet and they get like a toothpaste material forming in their feet. It's really painful and can be distressing.  

"You can't really cut it out because they bleed too much and the results are poor.  

"But with the laser, you can literally evaporate it away and it seals the vessels and nerves at the same time. It's really the only way to treat them." 

Communication is Key

With a wealth of experience, Simon now helps train young vets within Medivet and has also recently written a course on treating allergies in pets. 

And while he noted there are a number of skills needed to make a good vet, he said communication was the most important. 

"It's all about the people and the animals," he said.  

"If we think about allergy, it is easy to diagnose but it is really hard to treat. 

"You have got to manage the pet's condition and help the people that come with the pet.  

"It's no good setting up a treatment plan that's so complicated no one can do it. 

"It's that human connection that makes you better as a person, but it makes you better as a vet." 

'You have got to manage the pet's condition and help the people that come with the pet' (image supplied)

And with Advanced Veterinary Dermatology now fully off the ground - with the help of Ada Digital getting the new website launched - Simon says his love for treating animals is as strong as it has ever been. 

"I still love seeing people, talking to people, helping people," he said. 

"If I can make the quality of life better for their animals and their pets, that's great. 

"One of the number one reasons people leave their vets is because of chronic skin disease and ear disease. It is hard to fix and people get frustrated. 

"So, when they come to you and you say you can help and you do, that is a great feeling to be able to help and alleviate their worry. It also helps the referring vets keep that bond of trust with their clients." 

To find out more about Simon's practice, or to book a consultation, visit the Advanced Veterinary Dermatology website.