This man is a vet, but he's also allergic to animals

Veterinarian Dr Dominic Dallago has suffered from pet allergies and asthma since childhood. Would his allergies get in the way of his career? Photo: TNS

Veterinarian Dominic Dallago pets his patient, a domestic short-haired cat with diarrhoea, as though she can’t harm him.

But lurking in the dense black fur of the purring 10-year-old feline (Dallago won’t name her for privacy reasons) are allergens that don’t pussyfoot around – microscopic proteins poised to attack like throat-choking commandos, to lay the allergic doctor low by triggering his asthma.