The Animal Doctor

I have been a longtime advocate of using nutraceutical dietary supplements and natural herbs, such as cannabis, in veterinary practices, and have called for more research and evidence-based clinical studies in this area.

Cannabis helps animals in many ways, such as with chronic pain, nausea, loss of appetite, anxiety and depression -- as it does with humans with similar conditions. The tried-and-true complex of phyto-pharmaceuticals in cannabis can provide relief from other maladies, including epilepsy and early dementia. Government opposition on behalf of the multinational synthetic drug industry -- with its patented monopolies and, especially in the U.S., price-gouging and putting profits before ethics -- is criminal. Fortunately, many natural phyto-pharmaceuticals, such as cumin, turmeric, ginger and aloe vera, are immune from such control because they are available in grocery stores.

In my opinion, if medical cannabis were available and consumption legalized, we would not have our current synthetic opioid epidemic, and would also see less crime. Visit greenmedinfo.com for more insights, specifically the article by Dr. Jeffrey Dach entitled “Medical Marijuana and Cannabis Research Suppressed.”

“Although cannabis was a medicinal plant for thousands of years, its medical use was suppressed and banned throughout most of the 20th century,” writes Dach. “Banned in England, Canada and the U.S. in the 1930s, medical cannabis represents the first casualty in a war against natural medicine waged by the pharmaceutical industry.”

It should be a misdemeanor for anyone to give cannabis to their animal companions without veterinary sanction, especially in the states where recreational use is now legalized.

DEAR DR. FOX: Pursuant to your advice to an older couple to seek out an older dog for adoption, we searched many shelters for an older dog that met our desires, but were not successful.

With the guidance of the local SPCA counselor, my wife and I adopted a 32-pound, 1½-year-old terrier mix (possibly with a little pit bull) from a highly reputable local ASPCA four weeks ago. He developed a “kennel cough” a few days after we adopted him. After several vet visits, he seems to be fine now, healthwise. With the cough, we kept him isolated from other people and dogs, with a few exceptions. A neighbor and a friend came into the house at different times, and he was as affectionate and playful with them as with us.

We finally took him to the park last week and he seemed very comfortable with passersby, both adults and children. However, he became extremely excited when seeing other dogs. He pulled very hard on the leash while strenuously barking at any and all dogs. He actually barks when he hears barking, even on the TV.

Last night, we brought him to an ASPCA training session, but he would only bark and strain the leash around the other dogs. One of the trainers started to work with him, but could not distract him effectively during this first session. This is a challenge, since we want to take him for long walks at the park and beach. We’ve never had this experience before. Any suggestions? -- S.C., Ocean Township, New Jersey

DEAR S.C.: You adopted an adolescent, who is just maturing enough to start defending/declaring his territory by barking, but also desperately wanting to play with other dogs.

Barking at dogs and other animals he sees on TV is part of this behavior that you can reward with a pat on the head, reassuring him that it’s OK. Then tell him, “sit, quiet” and give him a treat when he complies. Alternatively, give him a squeaky toy to chase after you throw it. Redirecting is another form of behavior modification.

His barking when he sees other dogs while on the leash, I interpret as excitement. If you pull on the leash and discipline him, he may overexcite and misinterpret your behavior as inciting him to be aggressive, or he may develop a negative association to seeing other dogs when on the leash.

I think it essential at this time that he gets into a playgroup: off-leash, with other friendly dogs, and of course closely supervised. Many dogs on the leash feel restrained and therefore vulnerable, so time off-leash with another friendly dog or two is what this young dog needs. He needs to be a dog and engage in play-fighting, chasing and other interactive games, such socialization being critical for his well-being.

It may be wise to keep the leash attached to his collar initially, since you may need to pull him away if things get too rough before he learns the art of playing with other dogs.

(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 DR. FOX: In some earlier columns, you have spoken about animals’ spirits and souls, but I am still confused, having been raised as a Christian. What is your opinion concerning animals having souls? Are theirs immortal like ours? -- R.M., Washington, D.C.

DEAR R.M.: I like this formula for soul-making: body plus mind plus spirit.

Theosophists contend animals have a group soul while ours are individuated, other animals achieving such individuation through our affection for them. I find that rather anthropocentric, and believe there is no clear distinction between spirit and soul.

The question of immortality for human and nonhuman spirits is in part answered by human instances of reincarnation, with some individuals recalling details of past lives. And some religious traditions embrace reincarnation, or the transmigration of the soul or spirit.

I embrace the Rev. Matthew Fox’s (no relation) view that it is by way of our empathic connections with other sentient beings -- human and nonhuman -- that we, like God, suffer and love. Sometimes we must “play God” and euthanize animals, a role I never find easy as a veterinarian, to stop intractable suffering in the terminally ill or injured.

In the Hindu religion, such actions violate the principle of ahimsa (non-harming), which makes the perpetrator spiritually impure. So ahimsa trumps compassionate action, and animals are left to suffer -- especially “sacred” cows, as I learned working in India at my wife Deanna Krantz’s animal refuge. (See our book “India’s Animals: Helping the Sacred and the Suffering.”)

In my view, playing God in other ways, such as gene-editing and cloning of animals primarily for human benefit, is another turn of the screw of unbridled domination and exploitation. Therefore, I find these actions bioethically unacceptable when they are of no medical benefit to the animals.

What happens to souls and spirits with cloning? Identical human twins are “clones” in a way, and they are certainly individual souls.

There are more questions than answers on so many levels of inquiry. Some secularists decry any god who would make parasites, pathogens and predators, while materialists have no regard for the sanctity of life or for animals’ rights, and have created a reality devoid of anything sacred beyond the ethos of mammon.

DEAR DR. FOX: Upon reading your article on life after death for our pets, I feel compelled to share my story of my beloved cat, Coco.

Coco was a rescue from a local shelter. She was an adult tortoiseshell, and I got her as a companion to my calico, Versace. The two never got along, so when Versace passed, Coco was much happier and we got very close. She died of heart failure at age 15 and I was crushed. I still have her photo at my bedside.

I live alone, and the first time I felt Coco walking on my bed, I thought I must have been dreaming. But it happens regularly in the middle of the night. One evening, I actually felt her jump on my pillow above my head!

It makes me happy to know she likes to visit. -- D.M., West Palm Beach, Florida

DEAR D.M.: Some readers will think that you were hallucinating in bed, and that your experience of feeling your cat jump on the bed and come onto your pillow was simply a conditioned response from your brain’s memory of your cat doing this every evening when alive. But skeptics should be convinced by the many reports of this kind of metaphysical phenomenon posted on my website in the article “New Evidence of Life After Life.”

One dramatic clincher, detailed in my book “Cat Body, Cat Mind,” was about a couple who moved into a house and didn’t own any cats. But many evenings, they both felt something catlike jumping onto their bed. They made inquiries and found out that the previous owner did, indeed, have a cat who had passed on in the home they’d purchased. Having lived with and known cats before, they accepted and welcomed the unseen night visitor.

EARWAX REVEALS HOW HUMAN ACTIVITY AFFECTS WHALE HEALTH

Huge earwax plugs from dead whales are held in museum collections around the world, and scientists studying those plugs have pieced together a picture of how human activity has affected whales.

The research, published in Nature Communications, showed that cortisol levels fell after hunting restrictions were imposed, rose during World War II, and have risen rapidly since 1990. (National Geographic online, Nov. 15)

(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.)

PETCO announced on Nov. 13 that it is making a commitment not to sell dog and cat food and treats with artificial colors, flavors or preservatives -- making it the first and only major retailer of pet food to take a stand against such ingredients. The company will start removing products that don’t meet its new standards in January, and complete the process by May. Learn more at petco.com/betternutrition.

I agree with Susan Thixton, pet food industry monitor and advocate of good nutrition for companion animals, who says: “This is a long-overdue small step in the right direction. Hopefully it will encourage the pet food industry to take the next big step with manufactured cat and dog foods and treats, and use more human food-grade ingredients rather than those condemned for human consumption.”

DEAR DR. FOX: There is a subject that I would like to see you address: the declawing of cats.

I am a dog person who has been “adopted” by several cats through the years, and I’ve learned to live with my cat allergies. When they show up, I take them to the veterinarian to get them shots and neutered, then they return to my home. Some are inside, some are outside, etc.

I have a friend who wants a cat (for indoors) and I offered a sweet, young cat; but when she said she was going to have it declawed, I declined to offer it to her. I don’t think any piece of furniture is worth putting a little animal through that. I find it very inhumane. Am I wrong?

Scratching posts and the like, treated with spray catnip occasionally, work for me. -- V.N., Saluda, North Carolina

DEAR V.N.: Some readers think I do not love or respect cats because I am vehemently opposed to the widespread practice of trapping, neutering, vaccinating against rabies and releasing them (TNVR) to fend for themselves. But I have great affection and respect for cats, and that includes rescuing strays and opposing declawing at every opportunity. I am no less opposed to the routine declawing of cats by veterinarians who are pandering to clients, and who do not first insist on trying the kinds of alternatives that you suggest.

Many cats suffer their entire lives from various adverse consequences of this mutilation. People who truly love and respect their cats, and who understand their needs, would never dream of having their claws removed. Some indoor cats, like mine, do need to have their claws trimmed routinely if they overgrow, and it is a good practice when petting cats to get them used to having their paws massaged. They come to enjoy this, and in my experience, it makes nail-trimming a breeze. Fractious cats can simply be restrained on one’s lap wrapped in a towel.

(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.)