DEAR READERS: I would like to share some words from Christian thinkers and leaders on our collective stewardship of nature and all its creatures.

The late James Morton, Dean of the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Harlem, New York, saw ecology "as the body of Christ, through which we of the Earth community learn our sacred connections."

For Catholics, the 2015 environmental encyclical "Laudato Si" by Pope Francis is an antidote to what he calls "the tyranny of anthropocentrism." It ends with the closing prayer: "Awaken our praise and thankfulness for every being that you have made. Give us the grace to feel profoundly joined to everything that is." In this encyclical letter, Pope Francis has incorporated much of the philosophy and terms of the animal liberation and deep ecology movements to which I and others contributed.

He asserts:

-- "The misuse of creation begins when we no longer recognize any higher instance than ourselves, when we see nothing else but ourselves.

-- "Because all creatures are connected, each must be cherished with love and respect, for all of us as living creatures are dependent on one another.

-- "It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly."

According to a 2015 Pew research survey, views about climate change vary by religious affiliation and level of religious observance. Hispanic Catholics (77%), like Hispanics overall (70%), are particularly likely to say the Earth is warming due to human activity. Most of the religiously unaffiliated (64%) and 56% of Black Protestants say climate change is mostly due to human activity. By comparison, fewer white mainline Protestants (41%) view climate change as primarily due to human activity. White evangelical Protestants are least likely to hold this view; 28% among this group say the Earth is warming primarily due to human activity, 33% say the Earth's warming is mostly due to natural patterns, and 37% say there is no solid evidence that climate change is occurring (pewresearch.org/science/2015/10/22/religion-and-views-on-climate-and-energy-issues).

Now it seems evangelical Protestants are seeing the light. In a September interview on PBS' "Amanpour and Company," Walter Kim, president of the National Association of Evangelists, urged Christians to combat climate change as a spiritual challenge that especially harms the poor with floods, droughts, pollution, disease and famine, creating millions of environmental refugees.

It is evident that the climate crisis is awakening environmental awareness, with ecocentrism beginning to transcend anthropocentrism. Some might call this a significant step in our evolution at both religious and secular levels. We must increase our efforts to influence public policy and how we chose to live as our numbers and appetites increase on a planet of finite resources.

My friend the late Father Thomas Berry called this awakening the opening of the Ecozoic era -- a time when humans live in a mutually enhancing relationship with Earth and the Earth community. That community includes all sentient beings, which we should hold in reverential respect because. As German theologian Meister Eckhart observed, "Every creature is a word of God and is a book about God."

DEAR DR. FOX: Our 8-year-old dog, Porky, was given an otic suspension BNT for a presumed ear infection. We were told that it could cause temporary hearing loss for a few days. Porky had exquisite hearing prior to the visit, but since this treatment she has lost almost ALL her hearing. She sleeps all the time and has become insecure being left alone.

It has been three weeks without improvement; washing out her ears has had no effect. We are devastated about this. We would like to know if you had experienced anything like this before. -- K.R., Fairfield, Connecticut

DEAR K.R.: BNT contains an antibiotic (enrofloxacin), an antifungal (ketoconazole), and an anti-inflammatory (triamcinolone) and is widely used as an effective treatment for ear infections in dogs. There can be an underlying food allergy/intolerance in some instances, or simply increased susceptibility because of pendulous ears or a lot of fur in and around the external ear canal.

If there is a hole in the animal's eardrum, such medications can cause deafness, which may be permanent. One must always keep on top of animals' regular health with wellness examinations to help identify potential ear and other problems.

According to the Merck Veterinary Manual, dogs or cats undergoing general anesthesia for teeth or ear cleaning occasionally awaken bilaterally deaf, but the mechanisms, are unknown. One veterinary posting (at vcahospitals.com) makes it very clear that enrofloxacin should not be used in dogs who already have perforated ear drums.

In my opinion this should have been determined after thoroughly cleaning of the ears. But I do wonder how long the ear problem had progressed prior to you seeking veterinary attention. In many instances, after professional cleaning of secretions and fur in the external ear canal, the twice-daily applications of warm, organically certified olive oil can do wonders. This may be less of a risk if either or both ear drums are perforated. Olive oil has many beneficial properties -- antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory -- and is not expensive!

In some instances, ear medications can also interfere with animals' balance. Some degree of hearing may be restored with time, but your "washing out her ears" may not have helped recovery.

Many dogs lose their hearing with age. Provided their vision is good, they can adapt very well with caregivers substituting hand signals and body gestures for verbal cues when communicating.

(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: The U.S. government is against concentration of ownership in the veterinary industry by large players. The following is an excerpt from an article published in June by the Veterinary Information Network, written by reporter Ross Kelly.

"Regulator orders NVA to sell still more veterinary hospitals

"The Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C., is intervening in mergers involving veterinary hospitals due to competition concerns. National Veterinary Associates has been ordered to sell more hospitals in the United States, in a further sign that regulators are increasingly uncomfortable about the concentration of ownership in the profession, particularly in emergency and specialty practice. The Federal Trade Commission said today it told the corporate consolidator, owned by German private-equity investor JAB, to sell five clinics -- two near Washington, D.C.; one in Richmond, Virginia; one near Denver; and one near San Francisco." (Full story: news.vin.com)

Mars Inc., also a major owner of veterinary hospitals, may come under FTC scrutiny because of concerns over the pitfalls of monopolistic control: fixing prices, limiting services to set treatment protocols, and promoting specific pet foods that may not be ideal for all animal patients.

This same issue is being addressed in the U.K. as per the article "Are corporate practices frustrating knowledge flow and clinical freedom?" by veterinarian Dr. Mike Davies (Veterinary Record, September 2022).

Dr. Davies tells me that he is an advocate of properly formulated vegan diets for dogs, since so many of his patients are allergic to various animal proteins. I will address this issue in a future column.

DEAR DR. FOX: A friend of mine recently had a very tragic situation where their dog got into his wife's medications and was on life support for many days; thankfully he is improving, but may have permanent heart and liver damage. Plus my friends have sky-high vet bills.

The dog ingested 400 mg of baclofen, a muscle relaxant. Have you done any articles on how very toxic so many human meds are for dogs? -- B.K., Washington, D.C.

DEAR B.K.: I have often raised this issue, especially with dogs eating marijuana left out by their owners, which can be very harmful, as can various prescription drugs.

When an animal is ill, caregivers should consult with a veterinarian and not use any in-home human medications. Tylenol (acetaminophen), for instance, can cause fatal liver damage in dogs.

The FDA has received reports of dogs dying after inadvertent exposure to human medications containing fluorouracil, which is used to treat actinic keratosis (which can progress to skin cancer), warts and other conditions. Pets can ingest fluorouracil if they chew on tubes of topical creams or lick skin where fluorouracil has been applied. Anyone whose pet has been exposed to the drug should seek immediate veterinary care. (Full story: FDA.gov)

RURAL COMMUNITIES SHORT ON VETERINARIANS

In 202, less than 2% of private veterinary practices in the U.S. exclusively handled large animals, and fewer than 6% handled at least some large animals, according to the AVMA. The combination of high student debt and low wages in rural areas is a driving force, says Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Daniel Grooms. The USDA offers up to $75,000 in student loan forgiveness for veterinarians practicing in rural areas, but this is not a panacea: The average debt load is around $200,000; applicants must submit a resume and seven different forms, plus supporting documents; only one veterinarian per designated shortage area is eligible; and the assistance is taxable. (Full story: KCUR-FM, Kansas City, Missouri, Sept. 8)

On the agricultural front, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has committed up to $300 million to help recruit more farmers to adopt organically certified practices. The demand for organically certified foods currently far exceeds the supply, with only 1% of farmlands in organic production.

DEAR READERS: You may enjoy this rather rambling interview of me on YouTube with musician Chris Jeffries, wherein I discuss companion animal health, nutrition and environmental issues: https://youtu.be/APEXmQoSeqI

(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: Our forests are in peril from fires, high winds and droughts. An estimated 11% to 16% of U.S. tree species are threatened with extinction, with the most common threat being invasive and problematic pests and diseases.

We need the trees to hold the hills and mountainsides to prevent erosion; to sequester carbon emissions, thereby reducing global warming and mitigating climate change; and to produce the oxygen we and most other life forms need to live. Regardless, trees are still seen primarily as a resource to be harvested.

What is utterly absurd is that taxpayer subsidies for the federal logging program ranged from $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion annually in fiscal years 2013 through 2017 (source: the Center for Sustainable Economy). A report on TennesseeHeartwood.org states, "The Forest Service attempts to justify these losses by hiding commercial timber sale projects within larger ecological restoration projects -- a move that consistently lands the agency in court. Selling timber from federal lands below cost is a form of environmentally harmful subsidy that runs afoul of international agreements."

If the Biden administration is serious about climate change, a significant initiative would be to end the timber industry subsidies, which should be diverted to reforestation and conservation.

Aside from economic issues, the country's trees are plagued by insects that have been given free range thanks to the spraying of insecticides and the wholesale applications of pesticides by the agricultural and agroforestry industries. In the process, beneficial pollinators are killed and insectivorous reptiles, amphibians and birds are either poisoned or starve to death.

The loss of America's trees, and those of other nations, may indeed culminate in the ancient prophetic warning that when the trees are gone, the sky will fall. As Franklin Roosevelt said, "A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people."

I have the greatest sympathy for the many residents and animals of Florida now recovering from Hurricane Ida. Such devastating and costly events are predicted to become more frequent and intense. Deforestation, in part a contributing factor to this climate crisis, will intensify with the escalating demand for timber to restore damaged buildings and construct new homes.

Part of the Florida tragedy can be attributed to the Army Corps of Engineers and other groups, which altered watersheds and drained wetlands and coastal marshlands for real estate and agricultural development. In eliminating these natural water-catchment and containment sinks, they made residents and farmers -- along with their crops and animals -- more vulnerable to flooding.

Massive quantities of precipitation, punctuated by periods of drought, are predicted for the coming years, due to the additional moisture in our warming atmosphere from the melting of polar ice. More hurricanes and cyclones will be energized by warming oceans. Rebuilding without first restoring the woodlands, wetlands and coastal marshlands would be imprudent.

There is good news for wildlife and biodiversity in some towns along the Mississippi River, where acres of corn and soy fields, once flood-plain wetlands and prairie grasslands, are being returned to nature as an effective method of community flood control. With increased rainfall caused by climate change, the locks, dams and levees are no longer effective, so nature-based solutions are being initiated. This is an example of enlightened ecological thinking and restoration.

On the homefront, those who are able should plant indigenous trees and native grasses. The practice of "rewilding" is preferable to wasting water and energy mowing monoculture grass lawns, and applying harmful chemicals to both lawns and golf courses. Many neighborhoods and cities are creating or restoring tree canopies to provide shade, reducing residents' utility bills for air conditioning and creating a healthier environment.

If we had all respected and empathized with the wildlife in the forests and wetlands, we would have protected them. How many mourn the silence of the frogs? All of us who do must rise up, voice our concerns and vote for political leadership dedicated to eco-justice.

Democratic principles of justice, the rule of law and the common good are ill-served when there is no ethical basis for the practice of law by attorneys who put winning over the morality of right and wrong. Every law student should have to read Christopher D. Stone's 1972 book "Should Trees Have Standing? Toward Legal Rights for Natural Objects." We might then, eventually, have a Supreme Court that better serves the collective good.

(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.)