DEAR DR. FOX: I just read a column of yours from last year on health concerns about the product Seresto.

My dog died today. I had loosely fitted a Seresto collar on my sweet boy on July 9, and noticed his neck lymph nodes were swollen in August. Today is Oct. 3, and my dog is dead.

How would I investigate? -- A.H., Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

DEAR A.H.: Your veterinarian should report this to the manufacturers, as well as to the FDA and EPA, even if she or he believes that it is mere coincidence.

In my opinion, it is very telling evidence. Many similar cases have been reported, and cannot be discounted just because only a few animals show such immediate adverse reactions. The “benefits” of these products do not outweigh the risks.

You may want to explore online and link up with, or start, a website to gather more evidence from other pet owners. There are several online reports that suggest that Seresto collars can cause lymphoma and/or seizures in some dogs. Keep me posted.

DEAR DR. FOX: I am asking for your help with a nasty problem. My neighbors and I, and our dogs, live in doggy paradise! It’s a small development with our own fenced dog park, just about a full acre. Shade trees, running water, picnic tables, etc. All of us keep it clean. The development requires that owners pay a small monthly “pet rent,” and every dog is required to be vaccinated and registered with the community office.

But sure enough, somebody broke the rules! Two dogs --untrained, unregistered and unvaccinated -- were recently on the property.

These two dogs used the dog park as their private potty. It is now filthy. Our property manager gave the owner seven days to remove them from the property, and thankfully, both of them have now been rehomed.

We need to know how to make our dog park safe for use by our dogs again! Aside from picking up all the droppings, what do we have to do? Are our little dogs at greater risk than the bigger ones?

The Boynton Bay Canines are really looking forward to playing in the park again, but only if they are safe! -- M.W., Boynton Bay, Florida

DEAR M.W.: You have my sympathy and support concerning this evident dog-owner irresponsibility.

We have had a comparable problem where I live: Dogs recently adopted from a local shelter have tested positive for hookworm, whipworm and giardia, and have visited our local dog park and pooped around our neighborhood.

Appropriate action was taken in your case to prohibit these neglected dogs from returning to your dog park, but the possibility of parasite eggs in these dogs’ feces remains, and you have no freezing winter to eliminate them. I would therefore advise all dog owners who use this park have their dogs’ stool samples checked for parasites and be treated as needed.

FARMED ANIMAL SUFFERING

Considering our growing numbers and appetite for meat and other animal products, it is time to reassess our engagement as consumers with this industry.

For instance, on pig factory farms, the breeding sows are being selected to birth many piglets at such an early age that many die from a prolapsed uterus. (See the article “Why are sows in factory farms dying in surprising numbers?” on civileats.com.) Pigs and poultry in particular, raised in factories called CAFOs -- confined animal feeding operations -- are a constant source of influenza virus epidemics and other diseases transmissible to humans.

Animals raised for their produce under free-range conditions can fare terribly in other ways. Foot-and-mouth disease in livestock in East Africa costs around $2.3 billion in annual production losses, never mind the creatures’ suffering. This highly contagious disease, which can also infect elephants and other wildlife, causes the hooves of cows, goats and sheep to rot off, eaten away by maggots. And that’s only in those animals that survive thirst and starvation, since the virus that invades their mouths makes it too painful to eat.

In countries rich and poor, the veterinary profession is challenged to keep farmed/food animals healthy and minimize their public health and environmental risks. Their success will only come when fewer animals are raised for human consumption and alternative sources of essential nutrients from plants and microorganisms are successfully incorporated into the food chain and markets. This includes the diets of dogs and cats, who are currently the recipients of recycled waste from the livestock and seafood industries, especially in developing countries.

The good news is that the urgent need to reduce meat consumption for the good of the planet is being more widely recognized. (See the article “Huge reduction in meat-eating ‘essential’ to avoid climate breakdown” on theguardian.com.)

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxVet.net.)

DEAR READERS: If we do not feel for animals, how can we accept that they, like us, have feelings? In many species, these range from terror to joy. Many mourn the loss of a mate or offspring.

Naturalist Joseph Wood Krutch conjectured that “perhaps certain of the animals can be both more joyful and more utterly desolate than any man ever was.” He also opined that “whoever listens to a bird’s song and says, ‘I do not believe there is any joy in it,’ has not proved anything about birds. But he has revealed a good deal about himself.”

For documentation of animals’ emotionality, including their ability to empathize, see Frans de Waal’s book “The Age of Empathy: Nature’s Lessons for a Kinder Society,” Carl Safina’s “Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel,” and Marc Bekoff’s “The Smile of a Dolphin: Remarkable Accounts of Animal Emotions.” The time has surely come when we must reassess how we treat other sentient beings. For the sake of our own humanity, we should strive to end all forms of cruel exploitation through education and rule of law.

DEAR DR. FOX: I am writing to you about our dog Buddy, who has ear infection issues. He is an 11-year-old Shih Tzu.

We have had him since he was 7 months old. We have spent many trips to the vet and many dollars (probably in the thousands) that we can’t afford. We cannot pay the prices for his treatments anymore.

We have tried everything that everyone tells us, and nothing works. We fear he might lose his hearing. Even the vet we take him to doesn’t seem to know what else to do, and we can’t continue spending up to $200 for each visit to have his ears treated.

We love him so much. My husband has cancer, and Buddy is a real comfort to him. We hate to see him in pain because of his ears. We are seniors (72 years old) and we don’t get much Social Security. I hope you can tell us how to treat Buddy at home. -- D.S., Walnut Cove, North Carolina

DEAR D.S.: Many people are in your kind of predicament, and those who can afford to do so are buying into various pet health insurance policies, some set up by local veterinary clinics. Pet health insurance is in its infancy in this country, and with rising pet health care costs, it is worth considering -- ideally in discussion with your veterinarian.

Another option with your dog needing constant treatment for a chronic ear condition is to ask the veterinarian to show you how to clean the ears and apply the medication prescribed. You will probably need a second person to help you hold your dog when you do this. With some breeds, there is often fur in the external ear canals, which must be plucked out regularly to keep the canals aerated and prevent fungal and bacterial infection.

Many dogs with ear problems show significant improvement when, instead of just dry dog kibble, they are fed good-quality canned and freeze-dried dog food with a few drops of fish oil added. Some dogs with ear problems have an underlying food allergy or intolerance, which calls for some detective work to find out which diet works best for them.

For routine, as-needed ear cleaning, use a mixture of equal parts of apple cider vinegar and warm water. Flush the mixture with a syringe into one ear canal and then the other. Dry the ears well, and after an hour or so, put a few drops of organic, cold-pressed olive oil into each external ear canal. Ideally, do this in a place where the dog will not make a mess with his head-shaking, getting the oil all over the place!

RAW CHICKEN MIGHT CAUSE DEBILITATING CONDITION IN DOGS

Research suggests Campylobacter bacteria in raw or undercooked chicken can cause a debilitating condition in dogs called acute polyradiculoneuritis. It starts as weakness in the hind legs that progresses through the body, resulting in paralysis and death, in some cases.

“We recommend owners choose regular dog food rather than chicken necks until we know more about this debilitating condition,” researchers wrote. The researchers reported their findings in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxVet.net.)

An article recently published in “Contingencies,” the American Academy of Actuaries’ journal, about pet health insurance in the United States provided some helpful information.

In descending order, here are the 10 most common health problems in dogs, based on Petplan Pet Insurance’s top claims by frequency. Average cost of treatment is in parentheses.

-- Nonspecific GI disease (vomiting/diarrhea ($1,016)

-- Cancer -- especially prevalent among the most common dog breeds, namely Labs/retrievers ($2,321)

-- Unspecified lameness ($1,084)

-- Allergies ($740)

-- Periodontal disease ($1,017)

-- Cardiac disease ($1,351)

-- Cruciate (knee) injuries ($3,583)

-- Skin infections ($538)

-- Foreign body ingestion ($2,091)

-- Ear infections ($413)

Most of these claims could be drastically reduced by investing in the preventive “health insurance” of a healthful diet and lifestyle, meaning good nutrition and physical activity. It is no irony that both the human and pet populations suffer from similar maladies, considering that many share a sedentary, relatively solitary existence on highly processed, manufactured foods, and are exposed to the same hazardous environmental chemicals of anthropogenic origin. One common consequence is the obesity epidemic, affecting 60 percent of North America’s cats and 56 percent of its dogs.

DEAR DR. FOX: I am a longtime skeptic, but after reading your entry about “Life After Life” on your website, I did some more research online. I found several books on this subject, and am now less of a skeptic.

I have had no such “visitations” after a long life shared with many much-loved animals. I guess there is no way science can prove it. We can only believe, or not, until we have such experiences ourselves. -- N.C.L., St. Louis, Missouri

DEAR N.C.L.: I am surprised how many books there are on this topic. Readers are welcome to share such experiences with me so that I can add to the many accounts sent already and posted on my website (drfoxvet.net) and in my recent book, “Animals & Nature First.”

As a scientist, I call for objectivity as well as impartiality to go along with an open and inquiring mind. The mind can play tricks on us, especially when we are grieving. Simple conditioning also plays a part, such as hearing one’s dead cat’s meow around feeding time, or one’s departed dog’s claws on the hardwood floor. I call these “memory echoes.” But there are instances of two or more people sensing, and even seeing, an image of their deceased cat or dog at the same time.

Such corroboration is difficult to refute. It suggests that the animal’s spirit does pass into another realm, but can also manifest/communicate on occasion in various sensory modalities, which are accessible to our perception of our physical reality.

It seems that dimensions of non-physical reality can be experienced existentially where there is an enduring bridge of love. Such experiences bring great comfort to many, and affirm that there is more to life and death than we fully understand as we continue on our own life-journeys. Readers who have had such experiences, please send me your stories to share with others.

HUMAN CASE OF GLANDULAR TULAREMIA LIKELY CAME FROM DOMESTIC CAT

A 68-year-old man who was presented to physicians with bulbous, red lesions on his face and neck was diagnosed with glandular tularemia acquired from his outdoor cat. The cat had died two days before the lesions arose, according to a case study in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Tularemia is caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis, and the cat may have picked up the pathogen from consumption of infected prey, later transmitting it to the man when he tried to administer medication. (Kansas City Star, Sept. 12)

This saga is a reminder to raise cats to enjoy life indoors and not let them roam free.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxVet.net.)