DEAR READERS: The United States has just voted into office a president who has called climate change “a big hoax.” Researchers and activists across the world have reacted with dismay and anger.

Donald Trump is expected to increase investment in fossil fuel extraction, and his campaign promised to once more withdraw the U.S. from the 2015 Paris climate agreement, which the country had rejoined during the Biden administration.

The day after Trump’s win, the price of bitcoin cryptocurrency soared. This cybereconomy, which consumes energy from nonrenewable resources for each transaction, is a significant contributor to climate change. The collective energy consumption of all crypto assets is higher than all the world’s data centers combined. Per JustEnergy.com, "Current estimates suggest bitcoin mining spews about 65 megatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year."

To ignore the harmful consequences to vulnerable communities, and to wildlife and biodiversity, is a dereliction of duty by all involved. There will be continuous lawsuits to protect public health and the environment from the abuses of unconscionable dominion. This will continue until every nation bases its economy on cyclical ecological principles, stops subsidizing unsustainable and polluting industries, and supports socially just fair trade. Corporate hegemony must be transformed by international convention into free trade alliances.

Otherwise, to quote from W.B. Yeats’ 1919 poem, "The Second Coming": “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.”

DEAR DR. FOX: I wrote to you recently when my dog Max passed away. Thank you for being a ready ear in my time of need. I am doing well, and while I miss Max’s physical presence, he is now a treasured part of my soul. I no longer look at the world in the same way.

I can tell that the animals you have shared your life with have touched your soul, as well. You previously shared a short poem you wrote -- have you written other poems about animals and pets? If so, can you share them?

One final request for advice: My granddaughter is coming to visit, and I’ll have to explain that Max is no longer here in terms a 4-year-old will understand. -- B.C.S., Nassau, Bahamas

DEAR B.C.S.: With young children, I have found sharing photos of times spent with the now-deceased animal helpful. Doing so may briefly intensify their grief, but ultimately provides a smoother and faster resolution by recalling a good life well spent and loved. For older children, whatever suffering may have preceded the animal's death can be explained.

As for discussing where their spirits go, that depends on one’s religious or metaphysical beliefs. But rest assured, since deceased animals often return to "visit" their beloved human companions, there is life after life. For documentation, see my books "Dog Body, Dog Mind" and "Cat Body, Cat Mind."

I am glad that you enjoyed my poem. I have written many over the years, some of which will be published in the near future as a book.

Here is an excerpt from my latest one, entitled "When I Write -- and Why."

"Words pour out of me / In an endless thread / A dreamtime stream / Giving me a life sentence / In love, sorrow, outrage. / I do not know and dread and vent / Numb beyond the endless flow / Of words entangled in despair / That so many never care or see / Or feel for wildness in a cage ... I will continue to compose / With word after word to oppose / Cruel indifference, political corruption / To make a difference with disruption / With my appeals to conscience / For justice, respect for sentience / Before I decompose, or go to seed / And become a tumbleweed."

This poem references, and was inspired by, William Blake’s “Auguries of Innocence” and Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night," along with Father Thomas Berry's quotation, "The universe is a communion of subjects, not a collection of objects."

(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: 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.)