The Animal Doctor

DEAR DR.FOX: Our dog is a rescue from a county shelter. We got him when he was 7 months old, and he has just turned 3 years old. He is a wonderful pet but is very anxious. We believe him to be a combination of dachshund, beagle and other breeds. He is short-haired and 52 pounds.

He has had a constant rash under his front arms and in his groin. This would get very red -- like a severe irritation. He has also had this on the tops of his paws and around his paw pads.

We have a fine vet who has been very attentive to him and his needs. We are using the Cytopoint injections every two months, and a Neo-Predef powder 15g once a day in the evenings. These have worked well on the underarms and groin. Because he would lick it off, we have not used the powder on his paws.

I have two questions: Are the Cytopoint injections safe to use long-term, and is the Neo-Predef powder safe to use once a day long-term?

His paws and around his paw pads concern me all the time. I simply do not know what to do to help those areas. We want him to be well and healthy, and we don’t want him to have any side effects from the use of current medicines. -- B.M., Tampa, Florida

DEAR B.M.: Skin problems are common in dogs and can have multiple causes. Some are related to endocrine and immune system disorders and call for a veterinary dermatologist's or other specialist's determination. Brachycephalic dogs like pugs and French bulldogs with skin folds around their faces and elsewhere are especially prone to chronic skin diseases.

Your dog must be very thoroughly skin-tested (scraping and culture) for parasitic “red” mange or a fungal or bacterial infection. Another possibility to look into after your vet rules these out is a food allergy. For starters, I would transition your dog onto the home-prepared diet posted on my website (drfoxonehealth.com). Alternatively, add a few drops of fish oil or one canned sardine (in water) daily to your dog's regular food, plus 1 teaspoon of Bragg's Nutritional Yeast Flakes and a good-quality probiotic that your veterinarian should supply -- or get one for humans and give daily with food.

Supplementing cautiously with zinc, under veterinary supervision, may be down the line, but do avoid drugs that suppress symptoms but do not eradicate causes, like Cytopoint and Apoquel, especially long-term. These can have iatrogenic consequences, especially suppression of the immune system. The Zoetis Neo-Predef powder cocktail of antibiotic, anti-inflammatory and anesthetic will not help if your dog has mange or just one flea and is allergic to flea bites. You must get rid of the fleas! For details, check my website.

There could be an inhaled or contact allergy in outdoor vegetation and indoor materials -- even a wool blanket or especially dust mites. So put on a protective coat outdoors and keep out of long grasses; and indoors, put clean cotton sheets where the dog lies (detergent- and fragrance-free). A spritz of eucalyptus lemon to repel insects outdoors may be indicated, and in some instances like yours, oral antihistamines can help. In severe cases with scratching self-mutilation, sedation and restraining cone collars are called for. Since so many waters are polluted, if your dog goes into a lake or stream, hose him off when you get home and dry well.

ANTIBIOTIC USE IN FARMED ANIMALS -- CONTINUING PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE

Annual sales and distribution of medically important antimicrobials in the U.S. for use in food animals declined in 2016 and 2017 before leveling off, according to an FDA report, and 65.3% of medically important antibiotics sold in 2019 were for animal use, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy. Meanwhile, the use of antimicrobials in the E.U. agriculture sector has declined by 43% between 2011 and 2020, according to the European Medicines Agency, and prophylactic use of antibiotics in livestock will be banned next year. (Full story: Wired, 12/14/2021.) It's high time for America to follow suit and not put profits before public health and bioethics!

(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.)

As a veterinarian and advocate of One Health, I have regarded informing the public about environmental issues that can harm humans and other animals, wild and domesticated, as one of my professional responsibilities.

Bill Gates' and others' push of geoengineering -- introducing various particulate materials into the upper atmosphere to shade the Earth from the sun's rays in order to slow down global warming -- fails to address the fundamental issue of escalating carbon dioxide and methane emissions, which geoengineering will not rectify. Such shading will reduce plant growth/photosynthesis and therefore reduce the rate and quantity of much-needed carbon sequestration by plants and algae to reduce atmospheric CO2, which is now acidifying lakes and oceans.

Geoengineering will also reduce ultraviolet solar radiation, a natural viral and bacterial sanitizer, which would mean one less natural element preventing epidemics and pandemics. Also, low-level atmospheric pollution from burning fossil fuels for electricity and transportation blocks ultraviolet light and damages lungs and other internal organs, further increasing susceptibility to respiratory diseases such as COVID-19.

It is significant that Elon Musk was named 2021 Person of the Year on the cover of Time magazine. He is one of the innovators capitalizing on the financial benefits of electrifying the biosphere for telecommunications and associated technologies, from smartphones to self-driving cars. Many of the satellites circling Earth are his and are beaming nonionizing radiation to Earth, which I call the cybersphere component of the technosphere. It is enlightened self-interest to utilize the least harmful telecommunications radiofrequencies. But this is not being assured.

All involved are technophiles, the latest anthropocentric and profit-driven mindset of an elite class virtually beyond reproach through their media control. These people have the public believing that we can progress without respect or regard for all life on Earth.

The anthropogenic factors contributing to the COVID-19 pandemic have not yet been fully examined, but they are considerable, according to Beverly Rubik and Robert R. Brown, writing in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Research in September.

Some of the cybersphere's radiation frequencies being developed are harmful to life on Earth. The limited available safety data and environmental impact assessment determinations for Musk’s Starlink internet service are questionable considering the rush to invest and implement this technology. The escalating and predictably unsustainable energy demands for data storage and transmission and digital currency transactions are major concerns, especially in the face of climate change and global warming.

It affirmed the risks of the cybersphere when the media reported that electropollution from 5G cell towers near airports interfered with altitude detection equipment needed to land safely in bad weather. United Airlines Chief Executive Scott Kirby said AT&T and Verizon Communications must delay their plans to roll out across the C-band spectrum for 5G wireless services, saying it could delay, divert or cancel about 4% of daily flights and impact hundreds of thousands of passengers.

Migratory birds are certainly not immune to such human-generated electrical interference of their geomagnetic and related neural pathways essential for navigation.

Whales and other marine mammals rely on sonar for communication and navigation, but they too are at risk from the disrupting consequences to marine life impacted by the military and commercial expansion of technology into the ocean via the Internet of Underwater Things (IoUT). (For details, go to stop5ginternational.org/smart-ocean-impacts-of-technology-on-marine-life)

Every living cell and being has its own bioelectrical frequency and intensity of field maintaining homeostasis. Human-generated electrical fields and radiation, ionizing and nonionizing, can disrupt this homoeostasis. This anthropogenic electropollution is contributing to the demise of insects and other creatures, as well as affecting plant growth, according to several research studies documented in my report on this major contemporary issue on my website: drfoxonehealth.com/post/electropollution-existential-threat-to-public-health-and-life-on-earth.

For more documentation, visit:

-- ehtrust.org/science/bees-butterflies-wildlife-research-electromagnetic-fields-environment/

-- The American Cancer Society’s posting (cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/radiation-exposure.html), noting that the International Agency for Research on Cancer has identified RF exposure as a possible carcinogen.

-- Physicians for Safe Technology (mdsafetech.org/environmental-and-wildlife-effects) and World Health Organization Electrohypersensitivity Fact Sheet (who.int/peh-emf/publications/facts/fs296/en)

In December 2020, NBC News reported, “‘Havana Syndrome’ likely caused by pulsed microwave energy, government study finds.” Recently nonprofit groups petitioned the U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to declare wireless radiation an “imminent” health hazard and start warning the public.

To close, I wish all readers a safe and sane 2022!

(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: A new book addresses the travesty of flat-faced (so-called brachycephalic) companion animals from a clinical perspective.

Entitled "Health and Welfare of Brachycephalic (Flat-faced) Companion Animals: A Complete Guide for Veterinary and Animal Professionals" and edited by doctors Rowena Packer and Dan O'Neill, it contains chapters written by 29 internationally recognized experts, all addressing the serious health problems associated with selectively breeding dogs, cats, rabbits and now even horses to have flat faces. Their appearance is appealing to many people, but appalling to the informed.

Per the publisher's promotional statement: "This book will equip veterinary professionals, animal welfare scientists, breeders and owners with the fuller story about brachycephalic health and welfare. The first half of the book provides the context of how and why we are in this crisis, offering in-depth historical, social, ethical, communication, nursing, welfare, epidemiological, genetics and international perspectives. The second half shifts toward the clinical arena, with chapters that cover the background, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of the many unique healthcare needs of brachycephalic animals. Cutting-edge knowledge is shared on a range of disciplines including respiratory disease, ophthalmology, dermatology, dentistry, neurology, obesity, reproduction and anesthesia."

Years ago, I was on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to talk about dogs. One of her guests, a dog breeder, brought her 6-month-old bulldog, who could barely get up the low steps to reach us on the stage. I politely asked how she could deliberately breed an animal who had such difficulty breathing and walking. While Oprah visibly stiffened at my question, which took away from the cuteness of the episode (which included a parade of various breeds wearing designer dog clothes), the breeder's answer was immediate: "I love them."

Now, flat-faced dogs are the rage, especially French bulldogs and pugs. One-fifth of all dogs in the U.K. are brachycephalic. It is my hope that this new book will help rectify this tragic deforming of companion animals.

DEAR DR. FOX: I read your column faithfully, and I think we owe all animals a great deal for all the harm and injuries we have inflicted upon them. They are sentient beings with feelings, just like we are. They mourn, feel joy, fear, etc. We are all created by God, whoever we conceive him or her to be. We could learn a lot from animals if only we'd listen.

I help out at a local no-kill animal shelter, and have had my eyes opened more than I'd like. Some of the things people do to these poor, helpless animals make me sick. I'd like to do to the perpetrators what they do to these animals. Just this past week, we took in some kittens that someone threw out of their moving car. Luckily someone else saw it happen, caught the kittens and brought them to us. They are now in foster care and are doing well.

Please, Dr. Fox, keep preaching and keep pounding away at the way animals are treated. Maybe someday people will realize that the animals we share this planet with are not there just for our use or abuse, but for us to take care of. -- D.L.B., Erie, Pennsylvania

DEAR D.L.B.: Good for you for what you are doing to help the animals. Many involved in animal care and rescue come to feel as you do. Our rampant inhumanity and outright cruelty seem to have no bounds. What is wrong with our educational system and culture are all connected; the more disconnected we become from each other and other sentient beings (the empathy connection), the worse life gets for us and for all creatures, great and small.

NEW LAW SHOWS EMPATHY FOR DOGS IN TEXAS

A Texas law effective Jan. 18, 2022, makes it a Class C misdemeanor to restrain a dog with a chain, a weighted or short restraint, or a restraint attached to an improperly fitted collar or harness. Animals left outdoors must have access to potable water, shelter and shade. The new law is viewed as a "win" local animal advocates. (Full story: DailyTrib, Marble Falls, Texas, 11/9)

(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.)