My name is Dr. Michael Anderson.
I am 42 years old, a veterinary dermatologist – and I'm no longer ashamed to tell this story.
At 38, I sat in my clinic wondering what had happened to veterinary medicine.
I was treating the same dogs over and over. Hot spots that came back every few weeks. Owners spending thousands on antibiotics and steroids that changed nothing long-term.
I prescribed them medications that helped short-term and failed long-term. And then my own dog – a 7-year-old Labrador – developed the same chronic hot spots I was treating in my patients.
I tried everything I recommended to clients.
Antibiotics. Steroids.
Medicated shampoos.
Special diets.
Nothing worked.
One evening I called my oldest colleague: Dr. Jennifer Martinez. We've known each other since veterinary school. She's a dermatology specialist, 45, owns her own practice.
I told her the truth. And she said: "Michael, I'm seeing the same thing in my clinic every single day."
That was the moment we decided we would no longer accept this. Not as veterinarians. Not as pet owners.
We began to research – not for clients, but for our own dogs. We knew antibiotics weren't the answer. Short-term effect, side effects, no real healing. We knew topical treatments were too weak – they don't repair the barrier from within.
So we asked ourselves: What if the solution doesn't go on the skin, but targets the problem directly where it originates – in barrier repair at the cellular level?
We came across collagen peptides. Studies on barrier restoration. The connection between collagen production and lasting healing of chronic skin conditions.
We developed the first version in Jennifer's practice. Tested it on our own dogs. After 3 weeks, Jennifer called me.
"Michael, my dog's hot spots are healing. For the first time in two years, they're actually closing up and staying healed. Her scratching stopped."
Two weeks later I experienced the same thing. My Lab's paws went from raw and bleeding to pink and healthy. His coat grew back. He stopped the constant licking.
That was the moment we knew: This isn't just for our dogs.
Today we stand behind Derma Paws – not as businesspeople, but as two veterinarians who went through the same thing you have. We know what it feels like to watch your dog suffer. We know what it feels like to spend thousands on treatments that fail. We know what it feels like to ask yourself: Will my dog ever be comfortable again?
Yes. They can be.
Derma Paws isn't a company. It's what we would have wished for when we were watching our own dogs suffer.
Healed skin. Stopped scratching. Comfort. And the feeling of having your happy, healthy dog back.
We made it. Your dog can heal too.
– Dr. Michael Anderson & Dr. Jennifer Martinez, Veterinary Dermatologists