DEAR READERS: My forthcoming book, “One Health: Veterinary, Ethical and Environmental Perspectives,” provides a detailed review of what is known about the sentience of plants and animals. The universal nature of sentience has long been a core belief of Indigenous peoples and of our ancestors, and is often referred to as animism. Animism, believing that nonhuman beings can feel and think, was previously dismissed by the culture of objectification and rationalism of the modern mind.

But recent scientific documentation of the sentience and sapience of plants and animals has led some philosophers and others to extend the concept of animism to panpsychism -- the idea that the mind is a fundamental aspect of reality. But I would caution that self-consciousness is different from intelligence. For example, we are not conscious of all the intelligent physiological processes in our own bodies.

Sentience is the ability to feel and perceive, while sapience is the ability to apply knowledge and experience. Sapience and sentience are interwoven in individuated species and in self-organizing processes and systems -- cellular and cosmic, body and mind -- and in the relationships between species, as in symbiosis. Without the beneficial microorganisms in our guts, we would not exist.

Without sentience, there could be no stability in our universe and on our living planet. Nonliving objects, atoms and stars are responsive entities, their consciousness evolving with increasing complexity and individuation. Collectively, we have yet to find a way of life in balance with the rest of the life community on this beautiful planet, Earth.

DEAR DR. FOX: My dog went on a sequence of Apoquel for itching: twice daily for the first week, then one pill daily. She has now developed substantial gingival hyperplasia as well as some skin lesions.

Our vet says there is no scientific literature that indicates that these symptoms are related to the Apoquel. I kind of think they are. Do you have any articles that you could point me to?

My dog is 15 -- too advanced in age to undergo gum surgery. It is a shame she must live with this discomfort. -- C.S., Littlestown, Pennsylvania

DEAR C.S.: I am sorry to hear about your poor dog’s oral health issue, and agree that she is too old to risk surgery. Give her wet, soupy food to ingest easily, and try CORE brand oral-care gel, which will help reduce tartar buildup and gum inflammation. (See core-pet.com for details.) This contains a tried-and-true natural formulation of botanicals that is widely used to maintain healthy gums and oral cavities in dogs and cats.

I have voiced my concerns about Apoquel, which, in my opinion, is being overprescribed and suppresses the immune system. For details, go to: drfoxonehealth.com/post/apoquel-risks-and-alternatives-for-dogs-with-atopic-dermatitis.

GOOD NEWS FOR DEFORMED DOGS AND CATS

Please see the excerpt below from a PETA news release:

"The signing of the Companion Animal Protection Ordinance makes Ojai the first city in the U.S. to ban 'torture breeding.' The new law will help protect breathing-impaired breeds such as French bulldogs, English bulldogs, pugs, boxers, and Boston terriers, as well as Persian cats, all of whom have been intentionally bred to have extremely flat faces and deformed skulls. The ordinance will also protect other breeds with exaggerated features, such as dachshunds, cavalier King Charles spaniels, and Scottish Fold cats who suffer from a wide array of painful and debilitating health issues like intervertebral disc disease, syringomyelia, and osteochondrodysplasia, all for the sake of looking a certain way.

"The Federation of Veterinarians of Europe, the Federation of European Companion Animal Veterinary Associations, and Vets Against Brachycephalism, which collectively represent more than 25,000 veterinarians from 66 countries, have called on cities and countries to ban torture breeding, and many European nations -- including Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland -- have already passed similar legislation to protect dogs and cats." (Full story: PETA.org, Oct. 22)

(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 main issues in America’s presidential election, aside from women’s rights, were the state of the economy, the rising cost of living and the number of immigrants seeking refuge in the United States. All of these are connected to climate change, which should be the primary issue for every government and political leader to address. What will the new administration do about this issue?

Climate change is created by the burning of fossil fuels, which releases the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Another greenhouse gas, methane, comes from millions of abandoned oil wells, from now-melting permafrost tundra, from landfills and from cattle and other ruminants. Nitrous oxide is another factor, especially from fertilizers and factory-farmed animal waste from the petrochemical-dependent agricultural industry.

These gases trap solar radiation, leading to rising land and ocean temperatures that exacerbate forest fires; cause regional droughts; and feed tornadoes, hurricanes and other extreme climatic events. Water evaporation from warming oceans and melting polar ice caps leads to atmospheric rivers, resulting in decimating regional floods and landslides. Absorbed carbon dioxide in the ocean causes acidity that kills plankton and other marine life, which normally sequesters more atmospheric carbon than all the world's forests.

The escalating severity of climate change -- now a climate crisis -- impacts the global economy, public health and food security for ever-more people every year. We now face the tragedy of governments and industries failing to address the crisis, which was documented by scientists (those not aligned with the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries) over four decades ago. Without international coordination to adapt to, prepare for, and prevent further escalation of climate change, national security will founder, with predictable declines in the economy and public health.

We can all do something to reduce our carbon footprints, from traveling less to changing our diets, and businesses must assume greater responsibility and accountability for the “externalities” or hidden costs of their products and services. The adoption of a sustainable global economy based on the science and bioethics of ecology could herald the birth of the "Ecozoic Era" envisioned by the late Father Thomas Berry.

DEAR DR. FOX: I am full of feelings today. A month or so ago, I found out my dog, Max, had lymphoma. At first, he was listless, panted almost continuously and did not rest well at night. Soon, his vet found swollen lymph nodes all over his body. Finally, he stopped eating.

From there, he deteriorated quickly. There was little left to do but put him down. He went quietly; I was with him in his last moments.

I am a Baha’i, and Baha’i writings state that everything in this universe is put here for our training: We are here to develop the spiritual qualities that we will need in the next life. Max certainly trained me as much as, or more than, I trained him. Because of him, I developed qualities that will serve me well in the next life: the ability to love unconditionally, a deep empathy for all God’s creation, patience to teach and be taught, and a better ability to share and reciprocate.

I will carry these qualities and more into the next life, and because they were part of Max, he will accompany me to the next life, as well. Thanks for allowing me to share this. -- B.C.S., Nassau, Bahamas

DEAR B.C.S.: I send you my deepest condolences. I know only too well what it is like to experience a companion animal suffering from a terminal illness and then dying.

Glyphosate, the herbicide in Roundup, is implicated in lymphoma in humans, and since it is a common food and garden contaminant, I suspect it may also be a factor in the rising incidence of canine lymphoma.

I appreciate the eloquence of your sentiments about your dog, Max. Father Pierre Teilhard de Chardin wrote, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” By this token, then, dogs are spiritual beings having a "dog experience," and the better we can make it for them, the better we are as human beings.

Many people grieve more over this kind of animal companion loss than over the death of a human friend or family member. This is easily explained by the kind of trust and devotion our empathic animal companions so often provide.

Your statements from the Baha’i faith resonate with the Indigenous Australian declaration “Dingo (dog) makes us human.” To the North American Anishinaabe, it is the wolf. The sentiment remains the same.

(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: Many of you have lawns and gardens, and may be using pesticides and chemical fertilizers that are harmful to us, to our animal companions and to wildlife. Douglas W. Tallamy’s book "Nature’s Best Hope" will give you the inspiration to give back to nature by creating a wild space of native plants and trees to combat climate change and the species extinction crisis.

If every homeowner in the United States repurposed just half of their yards to make space for native species of plants, shrubs and trees, Tallamy argues, we would create a vast network of “homegrown national parks” that would provide more wildlife habitat than all the national parks combined.

To facilitate this, local municipalities will have to change any ordinances that restrict residents from rewilding all or part of their properties. In the community where I live in Minnesota, I had to provide information on the seed mix I was using to confirm all were native plant species -- and pay $100 for a permit! For more on this issue, see my post: drfoxonehealth.com/post/lawns-be-gone.

I found this Oct. 3 New York Times article on the topic encouraging: "Hidden in Midwestern Cornfields, Tiny Edens Bloom," by Cara Buckley. The writer describes a project initiated by Iowa State University professor Lisa Schulte Moore wherein farmers of corn, soy and alfalfa are converting roughly 10% of their farmland into "prairie strips" -- rewilded areas seeded with native grasses and plants. This increase in biodiversity encourages beneficial insects and other wildlife, enriches the soil, creates a carbon sink, and stanches emissions and fertilizer runoff.

Coupled with no-till and cover crop practices and supported under the federal Conservation Reserve Program, the prairie soils virtually killed by conventional agriculture’s overuse of pesticides and chemical fertilizers may eventually be restored.

CANCERS ARE RISING IN YOUNG PEOPLE

In findings presented in September, international researchers said that cancer in young adults is on the rise in 14 of the 50 countries studied. Rates in older adults were holding steady.

From a BBC story on the issue:

"'It’s not uncommon for me to see someone under the age of 40 with pancreatic cancer,' says Eileen O’Reilly, a gastrointestinal medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. 'It’s almost every week, which is a scary thought. These are people in the prime of life, who are starting families and have everything to live for. The implications for society are profound.'" (Full story: BBC.com, Oct. 5)

What is driving this change? Researchers are not sure, but factors may include stress, sleep deprivation, microplastics, ultra-processed foods, and antibiotic use, all of which have increased over the past few decades.

While genetics can play a role in cancer susceptibility in dogs, the rising incidence of various cancers in our canine companions parallels, in many ways, these trends in people. Both are probably associated with the same carcinogenic factors we have unwittingly released into the food chain and environment.

ADOPT A DOG OR CAT

If you have the time and resources -- especially if you are an active, healthy retiree, or know someone in that category -- please consider adopting a dog or cat from your local shelter. So many facilities are currently overcrowded.

Adopting an animal is a more rewarding experience than taking another costly vacation! If you already have a dog or cat, consider adopting another, following the advice posted here (drfoxonehealth.com/post/introducing-a-new-cat) and here (drfoxonehealth.com/post/introducing-a-dog-into-cats-home).

Alternatively, volunteer to provide pre-adoption foster care or to help at the shelter. Animals need gentle human contact for socialization under the stressful conditions of confinement in a cage or kennel, and dogs can be safely taken for walks by volunteers.

(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.)