The Animal Doctor

DEAR DR. FOX: I respect your opinions on most all issues, and greatly appreciate your care and concern for animals. Here in south Florida, we have a tremendous problem with Bufo toads, which are highly toxic to dogs, cats and even small children. Many, many dogs are killed by interaction with these creatures. What is your advice on this very serious matter? -- D.W., Jupiter, Florida

DEAR D.W.: I have no quick and simple answers to offer, primarily because most solutions involving poisonous sprays or attractive baits laced with poisons often harm non-target species. Avoidance is the best preventive measure, and we must hope that expanding populations of noxious species will ultimately "crash" due to competition and limitation of natural resources. This could well be the fate of our own noxious species!

Increased rainfall and rising temperatures associated with climate change create ideal conditions for the proliferation of these toxic toads. Cane toads do well in central and south Florida's urban environments, with hundreds of human-made lakes and canals and plenty of bugs year-round. When the rains come, there are even more bugs, and the toads then breed and multiply to cover roads, trails and yards. With no natural predators, they are out-competing indigenous amphibians and small reptiles for food. And like the human-released exotic boas and pythons in the Everglades, in particular, these toads are disrupting the health and biodiversity of ecosystems.

We can blame ourselves, in part, for the proliferation of some species over others by our negative impact on biodiversity and natural habitats, along with our contribution to the climate crisis.

My advice is to prevent companion animals and infants from making contact with these amphibians. This calls for people to be hypervigilant and take every precaution: Never allow unsupervised ventures outdoors, and have yards cleared of dense vegetation that attracts toads. Keep dogs on the leash when out on walks, and keep cats indoors -- or outdoors only in enclosed, toad-proof enclosures or "catios."

D.W. REPLIES: Thanks for the reply, and I respect your opinion very much. However, I have to ask you about solving the problem of getting rid of these invasive creatures, which have no predators. Your reply does not solve the problem. I feel like something has to be done besides avoidance.

Florida Fish and Wildlife says to put Orajel on the toads and put them in your freezer. I think that is ridiculous, and I would appreciate your advice.

During the last year or so, I have had good success in reducing the number of toads in my neighborhood with the use of a pellet gun from very short range. I have since noticed an increased number of tree frogs and other small creatures. My neighbors and myself are still very careful with our dogs, but we have much more peace of mind with fewer Bufo toads.

DEAR D.W.: Catching these toxic cane toads, putting some gel on them and freezing them to death may actually be more humane than hit-or-miss shooting or smashing them to death.

I see no alternative to actual eradication of most invasive and nonindigenous species. This effort would have to employ trained volunteers and animal control and handling experts, depending on the species, by state and federal authorities. This is preferable to relying on local communities and property owners to deal with such matters, which could have negative, unforeseen consequences -- significant animal suffering, accidental human injury, killing of non-target species, etc. In some instances, military sharpshooters are called in, as with the control of feral pigs.

Sometimes making the environment less hospitable, such as removing undergrowth in yards, will reduce toad numbers, just like having secure garbage containers will help reduce raccoon numbers. These methods work community by community without having to apply lethal methods such as poisoned baits and inhumane trapping/relocation.

In other instances, as with coyotes moving to new territories, communities learn to accommodate the animals (as per the protocols of Project Coyote, projectcoyote.org) rather than exterminate. Extermination is not effective in preventing coyote incursion at any rate, and may actually encourage further incursion!

(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 DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

DEAR READERS: I have often raised the issue of how a One Health approach could have prevented the COVID-19 pandemic, and of how, if such an approach is not adopted internationally, future pandemics and declining quality of life will be inevitable.

I want to make readers aware of a newly published article in the medical journal Neuroepidemiology, written by three international leaders in neurology and epidemiology, entitled "Brain Health, One Health, and COVID-19." For the first time in medical literature, this article has linked human brain health to the interconnectedness of all life (humans, nonhumans and the Earth) and to animal-derived food sources. As I have documented in my article "A Reflection on Animals, Nature and the Human Condition: A One Health for One Earth Manifesto," pesticides and other agrichemicals contribute to brain and other diseases. These harmful chemicals must be prohibited in food production.

Authors David Wiebers, M.D. (Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation); Valery Feigin, M.D. (Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand); and Andrea Winkler, M.D. (Technical University of Munich, Germany) state in the article: "For the sake of humans, nonhumans and the Earth, there is a fundamental and urgent need for us to rapidly evolve toward eating forms of protein that are safer for humans, including a wide range of time-honored fundamental plant-derived food sources as well as the more recently developed plant-based meat, dairy and egg alternatives and cultured meat (produced by culturing animal cells)."

The authors further call for an end to factory farming and live-wildlife markets worldwide, calling them "two activities which are among the most threatening to human health and among the most debasing to our species." They also point out that "the emergence of novel and concerning COVID-19 variants on mink farms that can easily be transmitted to humans or other wild or domesticated animals raises the prospect that a global pandemic put in motion by exploiting animals in live-animal markets may be extended and reinvigorated by our exploitation of animals on mink farms."

The authors offer this concluding statement: "We call on decision-makers to seriously think about making One Health the new norm across the various sectors while inventing and implementing equitable economic systems that have human, animal and environmental health at their cores. Our failure to heed the wake-up call of COVID-19 and rethink our relationship with all life on this planet will not only impact negatively on brain health but may ultimately result in the unwitting extermination of all or a good part of our species."

DEAR DR. FOX: Of course there's climate change, as a previous reader wrote, and the cause of it is probably not known. What gets to me, though, is your infatuation with Trump, which I find distasteful. I don't believe Trump bungled the COVID response. Try saying Andrew Cuomo bungled it. I can tell you personally, being a New Yorker, we watched him and saw ineptitude in action. He let my friend's father die as well as possibly thousands of others.

I will ask you this, did you know Biden's quick escape from Afghanistan left many Contractor Working Dogs behind?

Do what you do best -- stick to being a vet, not a pundit. -- T.D., Poughkeepsie, New York

DEAR T.D.: I think you are using the wrong word regarding an "infatuation" with Trump, which means a feeling of foolish or very strong love or admiration for someone or something. See my documented review of his response to the COVID-19 pandemic, "Pandemics: Past, Present and Future Prevention," on my website (drfoxonehealth.com).

All my published conclusions and opinions are supported by facts -- which I can document, since I am fully aware of the current epidemic of disinformation. I am a veterinarian who, now with many more health care professionals, is an advocate of the One Health and One Earth/One Economy perspective. Hopefully this will help make political decisions more fact-based and science-supported in the future. I consider it my duty as a veterinarian to speak truth to power when that power is being abused by politicians and corporations at the expense of environmental health, public health and human and nonhuman animal rights.

As for the Contractor Working Dogs left behind in Afghanistan: The U.S. seems to make a habit of this, as with most of the military service dogs in Vietnam that were abandoned when the U.S. withdrew. American soldiers often have great difficulties bringing back local "camp mascot" and working dogs from various foreign postings. At least the Brits have more evident compassion-in-action, as per the ex-British Marine whose saga I detailed in an earlier column. He was able to airlift some 200 cats and dogs from the rescue shelter he had established in Kabul.

(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 DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

DEAR DR. FOX: I thought I'd ask you what you think about the Bureau of Land Management's roundups of wild horses. While I've always adored all animals (even worms as a young child), I never had a "thing" for horses, but recently started following Skydog Sanctuary on Instagram. It's a rescue group that works tirelessly to reunite mustang families after their brutal captures, and they post amazing stories, pleas and videos. I would like to know your thoughts about these brutal and tragic roundups. -- G.C., West Palm Beach, Florida

DEAR G.C.: Roundups and horse auctions have resulted in thousands of these beautiful animals being transported to Mexico for slaughter, after slaughtering in the U.S. was prohibited following petitions by horse-protection associations. This is an instance of good intentions having worse consequences.

This entire issue is a mess and has been mishandled by state and federal agencies for decades. These groups put the interests of cattle ranchers before the humane treatment of equines and the sound management of ranges -- including the provision of feed and water, especially during periods of extended drought.

Horses, sheep and cattle all graze differently; with good rangeland management, overgrazing and habitat degradation can be prevented and all three species can sustainably coexist. But democracy is dead in these cattle baron-ravaged wildlands, as most cattle ranchers see sheep, and now mustangs, as competitors to be exterminated. Ranchers' war on wolves and other predators is another contributing factor to the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem health.

It is the cattle, and not the wild horses, that are a blight on rangelands. Humans have taken over the role of predator and, therefore, some reduction of horse numbers may be indicated. But many captured horses can be adopted out to responsible owners. Stallions can be vasectomized, and mares given long-acting hormone implants to inhibit ovulation, before being released back into the wild to help with population control.

There are a few nonprofit organizations doing good work to provide sanctuary for wild horses/mustangs. For example, my wife and I donate to Equine Voices Rescue and Sanctuary in Arizona.

DEAR DR. FOX: What is your opinion of dog parks: Do the benefits of leash-free exercise and social interaction outweigh the drawbacks? Also, we were always told to keep puppies away from other animals until they were fully vaccinated, but now we're hearing that it's more important to socialize them, even before that fully vaccinated date. The thinking is that there is less risk of illness than of problems from not being socialized, which could set them up for behavioral issues throughout their lives. What are your thoughts? -- G.F., San Diego

DEAR G.F.: I am all in favor of off-leash dog parks and large community enclosures for dogs to interact. But there must be rules for all entrants to follow. No "bully" dogs should be allowed, for instance, nor any unspayed females in heat.

All dogs must be under close monitoring by owners/handlers at all times. Only too often I have seen a circle of people gabbing together, with no one watching the dogs to intervene if a fight begins (or even if one or more dogs have pooped). Owners should always clean up after their dogs, who should have annual fecal tests to rule out internal parasites. Dog parks can easily become contaminated with such parasites and spread infections to other dogs.

All dogs should also be up-to-date on their core vaccinations, and should wear collars with ID and anti-rabies tags. Ideally, they would all be microchipped, just in case one or more get out of the enclosure (such as when someone leaves a gate open, or when a dog rushes past a person entering or leaving).

Regarding puppies: They can be allowed to mingle, ideally with small and/or gentle dogs, after 16 weeks of age if the basic vaccination protocol -- as practiced by most veterinarians -- has been followed.

DEAR DR. FOX: My 3-year-old rescue dog just had bladder stone surgery and had struvite stones removed. She had a UTI, also. She was placed on Hill's Prescription Diet c/d, but she hates this food.

The vet said she's to stay on a prescription diet for life. I would like your opinion on what else I can feed her. -- L.M., Tulsa, Oklahoma

DEAR L.M.: Many of these costly (and profitable) "prescription" diets are very unpalatable for dogs and cats. A good source for more palatable, veterinary-formulated special diets is a company called Balance IT (balanceit.com).

Cats and dogs seem more prone to develop urinary crystals (also called calculi or stones) when fed only dry kibble. Moist canned, freeze-dried or frozen food formulations often produce less concentrated urine, less bladder inflammation and fewer bacterial infections. The likelihood of struvite or calcium oxalate crystals forming in the urine also declines.

For details about your dog's problem, which is partly genetic and partly induced by diet (and possibly by bladder infections), see the article "Urinary Tract Stones and Cystitis in Cats and Dogs" on drfoxonehealth.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 DrFoxOneHealth.com.)