DEAR READERS: Please see the below story from Reuters about a promising development.

"SANTIAGO, CHILE -- Findley is a lucky dog. The small white and brown Chilean terrier is one of the first dogs in the world to get neutered without having to go under the knife. The procedure happened in his home in Santiago while he was being held by his owner, receiving treats during and after, and he later scampered off like nothing had happened.

"There was no sedation or surgical procedure, just a simple injection that the developers say is an immunocastration vaccine called Egalitte. Leonardo Saenz, a veterinarian and professor at the University of Chile who developed the vaccine, says it works by blocking the hormone in charge of reproduction and is reversible.

"'If we have (that hormone) blocked, we don’t release gonadotropin and therefore don’t release sexual hormones and the animal is in a state of castration,' he explained.

"The vaccine can be used for both males and females and costs about $54 U.S. It requires a veterinarian’s prescription and evaluation to ensure the dog is a suitable candidate. Saenz said the product could also help neuter animals on a wider scale since it’s less invasive and complicated than surgical castration." (Full story: Reuters.com, Oct. 4)

This development -- and I wonder why it took so long -- is a welcome alternative to the often high-risk neutering of street dogs in poor neighborhoods, and countries, where spay/neuter and anti-rabies vaccination efforts continue to founder. Worldwide, an estimated 59,000 human deaths are caused by rabies annually, with approximately 20,000 of those occurring in India. India has the highest rate of human rabies in the world, primarily due to the number of stray dogs. For details, go to apps.who.int/neglected_diseases/ntddata/rabies/rabies.html.

DEAR DR. FOX: Our 14-year-old cat, Henry, is having a hard time getting along with our 10-month-old Australian cattle dog/Chihuahua mix named Rusty. It is usually Henry who starts hissing, but now that Rusty's been with us a while, he's started to bark and defend himself.

Our other cat, Willie, gets along with Rusty fine, except for occasionally swatting at him. Henry is an active indoor cat. What can we do to help him get along with Rusty? -- J.C., Sandy River Plantation, Maine

DEAR J.C.: You have a situation that calls for the “tincture of time” to resolve. Your old cat is afraid of your young dog, who must learn to leave Henry alone. Training the pup to sit and stay, using food rewards, will help, plus plenty of outdoor physical activity.

He will not mature until around 2 years of age, and it will take time for him to learn to respect the distance that Henry needs. The swatting from your other cat is all part of his education!

ILLICIT WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING CRISIS

According to the Wildlife Conservation Society, illicit wildlife trafficking is estimated to generate billions of dollars for criminals each year. It is also tied to sex- and drug-trafficking cartels.

U.S. Reps. Andrew Garbarino and Mike Quigley have introduced The Wildlife Rescue, Rehabilitation and Reintroduction Act of 2024 (H.R. 7999) to codify all aspects of the various Wildlife Confiscations Networks and to fund animal rescue and rehabilitation. This is a long-overdue initiative that all should support.

(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 possibility of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. overseeing the nation’s health under the Trump administration caused a media stir, as did his stated intention to get fluoride removed from drinking water.

I agree with him on removing sodium fluoride -- an upcycled industrial byproduct -- from drinking water, so long as children brush their teeth with a fluoride toothpaste. Alternative sources for fluoride include foods like oatmeal, potatoes and raisins. This beneficial trace mineral can be toxic in excess, like sodium, selenium and potassium. (See nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/fluoride.) Studies on the subject are not considered definitive, but excess fluoride intake might be associated with bone cancer (cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/chemicals/water-fluoridation-and-cancer-risk.html).

I recommend removing fluoride from drinking water for our own health and for that of our animal companions. For details, see my post here: drfoxonehealth.com/post/pure-water-for-cats-and-dogs-and-all. In 2009, the Environmental Working Group posted a study of the fluoride content in 10 brands of manufactured dog foods. Eight brands had levels that could put dogs at risk from developing bone cancer, thyroid disease and other health problems. (See www.ewg.org/pethealthreport/fluoride-in-dog-food.)

I have closely followed Kennedy’s postings on health issues for several years, and initially, I found them to be science-based, well-reasoned and often supported by reference citations. But more recently, I find many of his posted opinions unsubstantiated and extremist -- possibly out of frustration with the lack of progress in preventive medicine.

Even so, I have voiced concerns about some of the same issues Kennedy has raised. For example, I agree with his broad statement, which he has made in many interviews, that "Our kids are swimming around in a toxic soup." He often lists various elements of that "soup," such as glyphosate (the chemical in Roundup), neonicotinoid pesticides, atrazine and other herbicides, PFAS (forever chemicals), high-fructose corn syrup, fluoride, radiation from cellphones and Wi-Fi, and others. But I assure readers that I am not an antivaccination zealot! All pups, and children, need core vaccinations.

Progress in public health calls for pure water, clean air, better waste management, pollution prevention (including electropollution) and health care education. Healthful diets -- from a food production system not dependent on pesticides and pharmaceuticals to enhance animal productivity under the stressful, inhumane conditions of factory farms -- are imperative. These issues, and what we can all do about them, are detailed in my forthcoming book, “One Health: Veterinary, Ethical and Environmental Perspectives.”

I wish Kennedy well in his still-undetermined role in the Trump administration. I hope he can recapture the clarity and vision of his earlier advocacy and become a staunch advocate of One Health.

MICROBIOME HEALTH IN BABIES

According to a report in Nature, feeding babies born by cesarean section milk containing a suspension of their mothers’ feces can boost their gut microbiomes. Babies typically receive bacteria from their mother during birth, but delivery method may affect this transfer. Babies lacking a healthful diversity of beneficial bacteria and other microorganisms in their digestive systems may be developmentally and immunologically impaired if not provided with microbiome restorative therapy. (See nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03449-4?utm.)

A UK study of the microbes found in fecal samples from over 1,200 newborn babies revealed three different types of "pioneer" bacteria responsible for colonizing the neonatal gut. Two of them were types of Bifidobacteria, which help babies digest milk. But the third type was the harmful Enterococcus faecalis, and it was more likely to be found in babies whose mothers were given antibiotics in labor. (See the study "Primary succession of Bifidobacteria drives pathogen resistance in neonatal microbiota assembly" by Yan Shao et al., published in Nature Microbiology, 2024.)

I find all this a stunning confirmation of the risks of antibiotics, which should only be given in conjunction with probiotics and prebiotics, and only when there have been lapses in access to proper care, hygiene and nutrition. The CDC reported that in 2022, 236.4 million antibiotic prescriptions were written in the U.S., which equates to roughly 709 prescriptions per 1,000 people. According to The Lancet, in 2021, 4.7 million deaths were associated with bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR), with 1.1 million of those deaths directly attributable to AMR.

An analogy can be found in agriculture: Once the microbiomes in our soils are restored, organic farming and regenerative agriculture become highly profitable, and chemical fertilizers and pesticides will no longer be needed (at least not to the degree documented today). Similarly, the keystone of our own health lies in restoring the gut microbiome.

Gut dysbiosis -- an unhealthy intestinal microbiome -- can be associated with allergies, autoimmune diseases, depression and other maladies. These “diseases of civilization,” as I call them, are generating billions of dollars of remedial pharmaceutical sales for drug companies. Governments around the world are bending to the demand for continued antibiotic use by the factory farm sector.

Simply giving free meals to children at school will not suffice. Educating them about the benefits of caring for their own microbiomes, through knowing how to select and prepare the right foods, is long overdue. Nutritional scientists, physicians and other health care experts not aligned with the processed and fast-food industries (and derivative pet food industries) will all agree with the above assertions.

(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: 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.)