The Animal Doctor

DEAR READERS: Wolves lived in nature for many generations before us. When the indigenous Anishinaabe peoples arrived in North America, they came to regard the wolf as a kindred spirit -- one that shared many human traits of kinship, cooperation and survival skills.

Now, the descendants of these wolves are being killed for sport, prized as trophies, trapped for their fur and poisoned for killing livestock. Their hunting ranges are depleted and fragmented, always shrinking with human encroachment -- especially under the impetus of the timber and commodity crop industries. The recent open season on wolf-killing in Wisconsin, Montana and Idaho -- as a purported "management" policy -- is reminiscent of the genocide of Indigenous peoples in America's recent past.

The Star Tribune's Outdoors reporter Dennis Anderson so downplayed the wolf hunt in Wisconsin ("Wolves weren't butchered after all," Star Tribune, Oct. 13) that one must wonder: What is at the root of his borderline-rabid antipathy toward this species? Anthropologically, one does not need to dig deeper than the European occupation of these wildlands, once rich in biodiversity, and the concerted extermination of wolves and other perceived threats to settlement and expansion. Anderson's outdated, though still widely shared, view of wolf management through the setting of annual kill-quotas is not science-based. Rather, it is born of cultish tradition and economy-driven support of the recreational hunting, commercial trapping and livestock industries.

Without human interference, wolf numbers are self-regulating through pack structure and prey availability in their territories. Wolves may well prey on livestock when their main food source, white-tailed deer, is reduced by some 15% annually by Minnesota hunters.

Those who call for an end to all forms of animal exploitation, and for wolf protection in particular, are variously ridiculed by those who deny justice for all. In 1920, Aldo Leopold, called the "father of wildlife management," called for the extermination of wolves and mountain lions throughout the West. He later wrote in his 1949 book, "A Sand County Almanac," about how wrong he had been: "We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes. I realized then and have known ever since that there was something new to me in those eyes, something known only to her and to the mountain. I was young then and full of trigger-itch; I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, that no wolves would mean a hunter's paradise. But after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view."

Leopold helped establish what today is called the Land Ethic, asserting, "We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect. ... All ethics so far evolved rest upon a single premise: that the individual is a member of a community of interdependent parts. The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants and animals -- or collectively, the land."

In sharp contrast, Anderson of the Star Tribune writes, "Knowledgeable wolf researchers weren't surprised by the Wisconsin wolves' resiliency, especially in the light of what occurred last year with wolves in Montana and Idaho." He elaborates, reporting that wolf-kills in these states were liberalized in the extended 2020-2021 season to reduce livestock depredation. Montana gave multiple permits to hunters and trappers and allowed baiting, night hunting and snaring, noting the wolf-kill total was "generally unchanged" in 2021-2022.

Clearly, from his perspective and others of like mind, wolves are a natural resource to be sustainably managed by killing/harvesting. There is no risk in reducing their numbers, the thinking goes, because the wolves will eventually "recover." But their "recovery" is all but impossible due to hunting quotas, illegal poaching, pack disruption, dispersal, starvation and injury, especially gut-shots.

But perhaps times are changing and Leopold's legacy of establishing a Land Ethic and respect for wildlife is becoming part of the democratic spirit of a more advanced and empathic U.S. civilization. Six endangered gray wolves found dead in northwest Washington were poisoned, according to the state Fish and Wildlife Department, and advocacy groups are offering a $51,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the parties responsible. (Full story: Associated Press, Oct. 10)

Compensating livestock owners who use nonlethal methods of predator control, as with guard dogs, for veterinary-verified wolf-kills would be preferable to wolf extermination, and a welcome step toward coexistence.

An amendment to the U.S. Constitution incorporating the essence of a bill of rights for animals, as codified in my 2011 book "Animals and Nature First," could establish the U.S. as a leader in this area. Ideally, we would then see the formation of a United Environmental Nations, working together to achieve the One Health imperatives of planetary conservation, protection and restoration.

We are surely not powerless to stop the wanton destruction, needless killing and endless suffering. In a restored ecological democracy, there would be justice for all.

(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 read your column weekly, and continue to learn about animal care from you. One recent article brought to mind the true story of Greyfriars Bobby, a Skye terrier born near Edinburgh, Scotland.

This wee dog was a faithful companion to his buddy, Auld Jock, a shepherd in the 1800s. They were together day and night, and when Jock eventually died, Bobby slept on his grave for the rest of his life. For 14 years after the death of his master in 1858, the dog guarded the grave in a cemetery, leaving only for an hour or two to visit the tavern keeper who fed him and the sexton who built him a shelter.

There is a memorial to Bobby outside Greyfriars churchyard, and Walt Disney made a film of Bobby's life 1961. I have a novel about Bobby, originally written by Eleanor Atkinson in 1912. The story is full of twists, turns and tears, but is a must-read for animal lovers. I've just talked myself into reading it again. -- I.L., West Palm Beach, Florida

DEAR I.L.: I appreciate you bringing up the story of this remarkable dog and how the local community respected and cared for this grieving animal. I included a photograph of his monument in my book "Dog Body, Dog Mind" in the chapter discussing grief in our canine companions.

There is a monument to a dog named Hachiko in Tokyo, which I visited while lecturing there some years ago on animal care and behavior.

From japantravel.com:

"Professor Eizaburo Ueno of Tokyo University adopted Hachiko in Akita prefecture in the early 1920s. The two were inseparable, with Hachiko accompanying his master to Shibuya Station each day when the professor would head off to work at Tokyo's Imperial University. The faithful dog would come back to the station each afternoon at 3 p.m. to greet Ueno upon his return. The professor died in 1925 while at the university and never returned for a final goodbye with his dog. But the loyal Hachiko continued to visit the station daily until his own death nearly 10 years later. His own death made headlines, and he was cremated and buried next to his beloved owner."

I find it appalling that there is not yet a memorial monument, along with all the memorials to soldiers killed in various wars, on the National Mall in Washington D.C. We should honor the dogs -- some of whom I helped in a military program to improve their stress-resistance and performance in combat during the Vietnam War -- along with the many equines, pigeons, trained dolphins and other animals who have served with us in times of conflict.

Many of us hold animals close to our hearts who have comforted, protected and stayed by us unflinchingly in times of crisis. And the wild ones, from soaring eagles to howling wolves, have inspired our spirits for millennia with what some experience as a sense of the sacred. Yet there are some who shoot wild animals for sport and treat companion animals in ways child protection agencies would call criminal.

I often wonder how much better this world would be if we all had the kind of loyalty, love and devotion so many dogs have given us over the centuries.

(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 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.)