My Bahamian Dog Has A Florida Spot

The camera did not pick up the entire spot, but you can see the cloudy star-shaped area under her pupil. 

I took the ginger sisters to the vet on Saturday for wellness exams and their DHPP (distemper-parvo) vaccines. Boca also got an oral bordetella vaccine since it is a requirement for the obedience class we have registered for in July. Next week they will get their rabies vaccines, and Boca will have her dental work (cleaning and a bad tooth extracted). I prefer to split the vaccines up if possible, and after this year they will be on a staggered 3-year schedule for DHPP and rabies. 

After I had scheduled the wellness appointment a few weeks ago, I noticed a spot of opacity in Boca's right eye, like a smudge on a window. I Googled a few things and tried not to worry about it until I could point it out to our vet, since it didn't seem to be changing or causing her any discomfort or vision impairment. 

The vet had a look and determined that it is most likely a "Florida spot" or tropical keratopathy, something seen only in dogs from the southeastern U.S. and tropical and sub-tropical climates. Since Boca came from The Bahamas, this diagnosis makes sense. There are no other symptoms and the condition does not respond to treatment, so the vet said at this point the condition is just cosmetic, which was great news. 

There is not much information to be found online about Florida spots, and what I did find was in line with what the vet said: no other complications, no treatment. There is one published research paper from a study done on dogs and cats in Sao Paolo, Brazil supposing that it is caused by a mycobacterial infection. The Wikipedia article suggests that fire ant stings are a possible cause. True to her carefree and optimistic nature, Boca seems untroubled by the smudge on her eye, and continues to view life through her rose-colored doggie goggles.

Update: As of Boca's eye issues in 2015, the veterinary ophthalmologists do not believe Boca has Florida Spots.