DEAR READERS: I am happy to let you know that I have a new website for my writings and archives of this column, DrFoxVet.com. Be sure to visit and "like" my Facebook page at Facebook.com/drfoxvet, where you can join our growing community of pet parents to share news, information and products to improve the health and well-being of our animal companions.

DEAR DR. FOX: My "grandbaby," a 12-year-old female German shepherd/husky-mix, has been diagnosed with renal/kidney failure.

She was losing weight, her fur was clumping in mats and she was generally being cranky for at least six months before my daughter took her to the vet last month. I just found out from another family member that Kachina has about three weeks to live because her kidneys are giving out.

I had been living with my daughter and all the grandbabies until several months ago. We parted on unfriendly terms. Kachina was crated most of the time -- except when I was there or my daughter was home -- sometimes with very little or no water. She was let out several times a day and night to do her business. But there were times when I was not there, and my daughter would come home late from work and then go out very late at night. The poor dog was crated for hours and hours.

The dog did not like dry food only. Dinner was usually dry and canned; for breakfast, I would try to fix it up by adding chicken broth, yogurt or small amounts of canned food. My daughter would angrily tell me, "You're spoiling her. If she won't eat, let her go hungry." For years, this dog has never had a bath, a car ride or a walk; she never even had her nails clipped.

I am convinced that going without water, being crated for such long periods of time and being forced to eat dry food that wasn't good for her all led to this sad diagnosis.

My heart is breaking. My daughter seems jealous and is constantly berating me for being kind and loving to Kachina. My daughter sprays her with a water bottle when annoyed.

Is there anything that can be done to help make my precious grandbaby more comfortable and maybe slow down or halt this disease? I'll do all I can. I hope there will some way that I can visit her. -- P.B., Fairfax, Va.

DEAR P.B.: I wonder, as you do, how a caring person such as yourself could have a daughter who mistreats a poor old dog as yours does. If the dog were a human child, you would call the state child protection services. But, regrettably, animal protection laws are inadequate and poorly enforced.

There is a man in Minnesota (where I live) who neglected several horses he owned or was boarding for other owners. Not until the horses were close to death from starvation were the local animal protection authorities able to seize them and put the poor animals into protective custody. After a trial on misdemeanor charges for this repeat offender -- who should have been prosecuted for felony animal cruelty -- the judge allowed this man to keep the horses. Animal protection laws are trumped generally by business interests.

In the case of your poor Kachina, is it possible for you to make peace with your daughter and convince her that the dog should be living with you? If that is not feasible and she refuses to provide the dog with appropriate veterinary care, I would call the police and animal control and file a complaint, or at least threaten her with this if you think it might lead to her giving you the dog.

I am sure that Kachina's saga is not unique, and in many instances there is no family member like you to intervene. So many dogs spend long and painful hours in crates or cages while their owners are out at work, then out again enjoying life with no regard for their neglected dogs who are simply kept to relieve the owners' loneliness.

DEAR DR. FOX: Here is our "empathosphere" sensitivity animal story about our collie, Taylor:

When I was hurt from being bucked by a horse, our collie ran to the house and barked relentlessly until my husband came out and found me disoriented and lying on the ground.

Two years later, he would not leave my husband's side. Wherever my husband went, Taylor wanted to be right next to him. He was constantly under my husband's feet.

About eight months later, my husband found out he had cancer. We feel Taylor could sense this and that might explain his clingy behavior. -- S.A., Moscow Mills, Mo.

DEAR S.A.: I very much appreciate your added support for the existence of what I call the "empathosphere," a term now gaining more recognition on the Internet. I first documented this extraordinary aspect of animal awareness in my book, "The Boundless Circle: Caring for Creatures and Creation" (Quest Books). Skeptics who cannot take the leap from the realm of rational materialism to this metaphysical dimension of emotion and awareness are missing out on the wonder and mystery of conscious life and what some call the power of universal love. Collies are a highly empathic, protective breed, so it is not surprising that Taylor recognized your need for help. Dogs have been shown to be able to identify certain forms of cancer in humans by the change in scent, which your husband may have had while the cancer was becoming established.

There is no need to conjure mystical or magical interpretations of your dog's sensitivity and behavior. But there is a need for our own species to recognize that we are not the only intelligent life in this universe -- other animals are our equals, if not our superiors, in many ways!

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Universal Uclick, 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 DrFoxVet.com.)

DEAR DR. FOX: I have a 4-year-old female shih tzu who has chronic ear infections. She weighs 15 pounds. Her problem is pretty much controlled with Royal Canin Hypoallergenic dry and moist dog food.

I would like to prepare moist food myself. I printed a copy of your recommended food recipe from the Internet, and I would like to know how much of my home-prepared food I should give her daily? How much dry food? She eats twice daily.

She is active and healthy, except for the chronic ear problem. -- R.W., Winston-Salem, N.C.

DEAR R.W.: Please visit my website, DrFoxVet.com, and search the column archives to find answers to questions concerning ear problems in dogs and effective treatments.

Changing the diet is not the only answer, but not addressing diet as a possible cause amounts to veterinary negligence, since so many dogs with chronic ear -- and anal gland -- problems have an underlying food allergy or intolerance. The proof is in the "evidence-based medicine," documenting improvement after changing to a basic, whole-food diet with known ingredients. It is often only then that treatments applied to the ears help the healing process.

After weighing your dog, feed her 1/2-cup home-prepared food plus 1/2-cup dry food twice daily. Weigh again after two to three weeks, and adjust the amount to maintain normal weight. If your dog is overweight, have the veterinarian help determine the optimal weight for her breed.

DEAR DR. FOX: My Lab/chi-chi-mix dog, Marty, is 2 years old. He will not go outside to pee if it is raining, so he goes on the carpet of the laundry room. He doesn't poop, just tinkles.

What do you suggest we do to get him to not be afraid of the rainy weather? -- D.M., Virginia Beach, Va.

DEAR D.M.: Your rain-phobic dog may respond well to desensitization. Chose a nice day, but go out with a large umbrella over both of you so that he gets used to it. Repeat for a few days until he is accustomed to the umbrella -- and your neighbors think you are certifiably insane! During the next light rain, take him out on the leash for a walk with both of you under the umbrella. Give him treats and praise. After a few walks in the rain, move the umbrella away as you give him a treat so he gets some rain on him. Then get him used to a rubdown with a towel.

Many dogs do not enjoy getting soaked, but will put their ears and tails down and get on with their business, the rewards of a good toweling and a treat being enough incentive.

In the interim, purchase disposable pads from the pet store to protect your laundry room floor. Your dog may need treatment with an anti-anxiety medication like Xanax, especially if he has a fear of thunder and lightning, which he might associate with rain.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Universal Uclick, 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 DrFoxVet.com.)

DEAR DR. FOX: Our house was heavily damaged by a tornado on April 22. There was a lot of loud banging and glass breaking. Thank goodness we were all OK. Of our five doggies, two are senior citizens, two are youngsters and one is a puppy.

Since the tornado, we have noticed that two of our dogs are extremely sensitive to sudden loud noises. One is the puppy and the other is one of the youngsters. There is a lot of construction going on around us, and there are occasional loud noises. This produces the same kind of behavior as when we have thunderstorms. The youngster shivers, shakes and paces; the puppy runs and hides under the couch.

Is there anything we can do to help them when they are frightened or to make them less sensitive to the noise? This past July 4 was the first time we used tranquilizers, but it made them sleepy and groggy. I hated having to medicate them, but there were a lot of fireworks going off. -- G.G., Bridgeton, Mo.

DEAR G.G.: Dogs can suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder that is triggered by sudden loud noises.

Put on music or turn up the TV and close the curtains to keep out the construction sounds. Discuss with your veterinarian a short course of treatment with Xanax. This should not cause significant drowsiness at a low dose, and it is excellent for sound phobias -- especially thunder and fireworks -- in dogs.

Surprisingly, wrapping the dog in a tight T-shirt secured with Velcro strips or purchasing an "anxiety wrap" can calm the canine psyche. Try it!

DEAR DR. FOX: Now that it looks like horse slaughter will soon return to the U.S., what is your take on it? I've heard that horsemeat will be sold in the U.S.

I find this appalling. Horse slaughter is always cruel, and it is not humane euthanasia. -- P.E., Saint Ann, Mo.

DEAR P.E.: I have followed the U.S. horse slaughter issue closely. Unfortunately, horse protection organizations' best intentions in banning horse slaughter in the U.S. led to the stressful transportation of horses to Mexico for slaughter and export -- primarily to France and other horse-eating cultures, including China.

As an ethical vegetarian who has documented the suffering of animals raised for their meat and the negative environmental impact of the livestock and poultry industries -- see my website, DrFoxVet.com, for details -- I see a global reduction in meat consumption as enlightened self-interest and a vital contribution to wildlife protection.

Horses in the U.S. primarily come from the horse racing and rodeo industries and from people who keep them as pets. It is incumbent upon all involved to enforce the highest humane standards in the care and handling of all horses destined for slaughter in the U.S., which, in the final analysis, is a better fate that being sent to Mexico.

Private horse owners can have their veterinarians humanely euthanize their horses with an injection, though the owner will have to pay for the disposal of the animal, which cannot be used for human consumption or incorporated into livestock feed and manufactured pet foods because of drug residues.

DEAR DR. FOX: I am writing in regards to the lady whose cat became "unhousebroken."

We have six cats, and our oldest, Zoey, started soiling the beds recently. We have seven litter boxes, and we keep them clean. The boxes are in our workshop downstairs.

Our vet put Zoey on amitriptyline, and that sort of helped -- but she still soiled the beds every so often. The vet then suggested putting kitty litter upstairs and keeping the cat on the amitriptyline. We put one litter box in a bedroom off our living room. The other cats also use this one, but they do their business mainly downstairs. Zoey, however, uses only this upstairs box, and she no longer soils the beds.

It has been six months. I set the litter box inside a big plastic container so the cats can't kick litter everywhere.

This has been a miracle for our household. We don't even have to give her amitriptyline now. We have to clean that litter box several times a day, but it is worth it. I hope T.B. from Gates, N.C., reads this. -- C.S.U., Columbia, Mo.

DEAR C.S.U.: Your experience dealing with a house-soiling cat will be helpful for other cat owners facing this all-too-common problem, especially when they have several cats and when all medical reasons like cystitis and urinary calculi are ruled out.

Exploring the feline psyche takes time, patience and objectivity. Many cats prefer a quiet location for their litter box, with minimal human and animal traffic. As you have discovered, cleaning the box several times a day can help, along with trials with different kinds of litter. Many cats avoid not only soiled boxes but also those that have dusty and/or scented litter. Boxes that are covered, creating an ammoniated internal atmosphere, can lead to litter box aversion as well.

SOLID GOLD DOG FOOD RECALL

Solid Gold Health Products for Pets issued a voluntary recall of one batch of WolfCub Large Breed Puppy Food and one batch of WolfKing Large Breed Adult Food. These dog foods were co-manufactured at the Diamond facility that is linked to salmonella contamination and Diamond's extensive recall of pet foods. For more information, including the batch numbers, visit solidgoldhealth.com/recalls.php or call 1-800-364-4863.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Universal Uclick, 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 DrFoxVet.com.)