Veterinary dermatology has a long history in Asia. The Japanese Society of Veterinary Dermatology has the distinction of being one of the earliest groups ever formed for our discipline. Shodobutsu Hifuka Kenkyukai, formed in 1972, was the predecessor of the current Japanese Society, which was officially registered in 1998.

Meanwhile, in Taiwan, Dr Charles Chen founded the Association of Veterinary Dermatology in 1994, which was later to become the Taiwan Academy of Veterinary Dermatology.

In November 2002, the first Asian Veterinary Dermatology Meeting was held in Taipei, with 49 delegates hailing from Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The second Asian Veterinary Dermatology meeting was held in Seoul, Korea in November 2003, and following a meeting of many of the opinion leaders in dermatology in Asia, the Asian Society of Veterinary Dermatology (AiSVD) was established, with Professor Munetsu Ogata as our first president. Our objectives were to unify veterinarians across Asia with an interest in the study of animal skin, in disease and in health, and to improve the standards of veterinary dermatology across the region for both undergraduate and post graduate veterinarians.

AiSVD holds biannual scientific meetings at different locations throughout Asia, which always feature continuing education lectures for local veterinarians. In 2009, we partnered with the newly formed Asian societies of Surgery and Internal Medicine to organize the Asian Meeting of Animal medical Specialties (AMAMS), giving general practitioners attending the conference increased choice of continuing education lectures across disciplines.

In 2004, the AiSVD started to explore the possibility of forming a specialty college, based on the model used for the formation of the European College of Veterinary Dermatology. Inviting Dr Peter Ihrke, Dr David Lloyd, Dr Danny Scott and Dr Ton Willemse to act as 'grandfathers', founding members were invited to submit their curriculum vitae. Professor Toshiroh Iwasaki, Dr Masahiko Nagata and Dr Charles Chen were selected to become the founding members of the new Asian College of Veterinary Dermatology (AiCVD), and this was announced by Dr David Lloyd at the AiSVD meeting in Tokyo in 2005. With Professor Iwasaki as President, full members of the AiSVD were asked to apply for membership of the AiCVD, using a strict set of criteria, and in 2008, five 'de facto' members of AiCVD were appointed, having met the relevant criteria specified by the invited specialists. The AiCVD have established credentials for residency training programmes and certification as Dipolmates of the college.

In 2008, we were honoured to host the 6th World Congress of Veterinary Dermatology in Hong Kong– the first time that event had taken place outside of Europe or the US. Under the guidance of Professor Toshiroh Iwasaki as President of the Organising Committee, we hosted 1200 delegates from 50 countries around the world who attended five days of lectures and workshops led by renowned international speakers, and a full and exciting social programme showcasing Asian food and entertainment.

The AiSVD has continued involvement with the global veterinary dermatology community through its membership of the World Association for Veterinary Dermatology, which was officially achieved in 2009.