DEAR DR. FOX: We first wrote to you about our dog Loki in 2008 after we had rescued him from the Animal Care & Control of NYC shelter. He was described as a 5-year-old collie mix. He was actually more like an 8-year-old Lab/pit bull mix, according to our vet. He was very anxious and seemed to be longing for a lost owner. Your response to us helped immensely.

Our reason for writing now is to ask how we can determine Loki's current quality of life. From our vantage point, he seems happy -- but he is blind, often confused and has been diagnosed with Cushing's disease. He is now probably about 13 years old. He weighs 90 pounds, but should weigh 80 pounds.

In 2010, Loki had a benign mast cell tumor removed. In February 2011, he was diagnosed with Cushing's. The next August, he went blind. After a thorough exam by our vet and a canine ophthalmologist, no cause could be found, but the condition -- bilateral optic neuritis and chorioretinitis -- was deemed irreversible and not treatable. It was surmised the pituitary tumor may have grown to impact the retinal nerves.

We do not want to give up on Loki. He responds to us with vigorous tail wags and eats your recipe for homemade food well. He knows his way around the house, but is totally disoriented outside. He is loved and pampered by the entire extended family.

Our vet prescribed tramadol tablets if it seems he has pain, but we really don't know. We have been mildly criticized for keeping Loki alive this long.

What is your opinion? Our vet is noncommittal. We value your suggestions and always appreciate your compassion for animals. -- J. & M.H., Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

DEAR J. & M.H.: Yes, I remember your earlier letter concerning Loki because that happens to be the name of an elephant with whom my wife, Deanna Krantz, became involved in India, resulting in an international controversy.

I regret that your veterinarian is behaving in a noncommittal way. I have had some bad experiences with dogs on tramadol, which can make them more anxious/agitated. Three or four drops of lavender oil on a bandanna may relieve some of your dog's anxiety. A daily full-body massage, like in my book "The Healing Touch for Dogs," an occasional buffered aspirin (with food) and a daily teaspoon of fish oil in his food may help alleviate inflammation-associated pain.

As long as he enjoys life, continues to cope with his loss of vision, feels secure and responds to all the TLC you can give him, I feel euthanasia may be premature. In some communities, there are veterinarians who do in-home hospice care supervision. Perhaps you can find one.

PRIORITY TOTAL PET CARE TREAT RECALL

Carolina Prime Pet Inc. is voluntarily recalling its Priority Total Pet Care All Natural Bullstrips in five-count packaging. This product has yielded a positive result for salmonella when tested by the Colorado Agriculture Department. No reported cases of illness have been related to this product. Priority Total Pet Care All Natural Bullstrips, which are made from bulls' penises, are sold in Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Pak N Save, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Genuardi's and Dominicks stores.

Customers who purchased the recalled dog treats should discontinue use immediately, and return the items to the purchase location.

For further information, please call Carolina Prime Pet Inc. at 888-370-2360.

(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 an 8-year-old Tibetan terrier, Jesse; a 4-year-old Maltese, Sophie; and a 2-year-old Maltese, Dylan.

My vet believes that monthly heartworm prevention is necessary. All dogs get Heartgard Plus every month. Even though I've never missed a month, when it gets close to a year, the vet requires blood work for a negative reading before she will approve more medication. The blood work is $45 per dog. The medication is also quite costly. She requires that I sign a waiver for the meds if I do not buy them from her and get them on the Internet.

According to Dr. David Knight and Dr. James Lok of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, addressing recommendations for year-round meds, "The practice of some veterinarians to continuously prescribe monthly chemoprophylaxis exaggerates the actual risk of heartworm transmission in most parts of the country and unnecessarily increases the cost of protection to their clients."

What do you think? -- C.Z., Naples, Fla.

DEAR C.Z.: In most states, there are flea/tick and mosquito seasons that justify intermittent use of preventive drugs. But in areas like Florida, it can be a year-round battle. Check my website, DrFoxVet.com, for safer methods of flea and tick control.

If you are confident that you can keep mosquitoes away indoors and out, your dogs may stop taking heartworm medication. But since the Heartgard Plus also keeps other parasites at bay and the low dose is safe for most breeds, it may be wise to continue with the monthly preventive medication.

Use botanical insect repellents such as Organic Orange TKO Natural Cleaner (diluted in water) or a water/eucalyptus oil or lemon oil spritz to keep mosquitoes and other biting insects away from you and your dogs.

We must adopt precautionary principles such as keeping dogs off chemically sprayed sidewalks and lawns and fight the use of such poisons in our communities.

Lymphoma and other cancers, even in young dogs, are the main causes of death in our canine companion animals. I attribute much of this to the toxic environments we have created in our homes and outdoors, where insecticides and herbicides are used routinely and by and large unnecessarily for cosmetic purposes. Also, agrichemical contaminants of human food and pet food play a significant, but impossible to quantify, role in the genesis of cancer, some types being especially prevalent in farmers and agricultural workers.

DEAR DR. FOX: We have a 7-year-old male Russian blue cat, Boris, who weighs 6 1/2 pounds. His weight has remained constant, and, apart from what I am about to describe, he has had no significant health problems.

Boris was adopted when he was a year old, and we noticed soon after he arrived that he periodically choked or gagged and threw up food he had recently eaten or bile. We took him to our veterinarian, who advised that the behavior might be genetic but was no cause for concern.

We feed Boris moist food (Friskies) in the form of shreds or flakes. He's a finicky eater, and he will turn up his nose at one form of food or another, even though he relished it the day before. He also gets treats in the afternoon (Temptations), and he doesn't let me forget to give them to him. He rarely gets tuna, but yesterday we gave him a few bits and some liquid from the can. He ate and drank everything and did not regurgitate it. I tend to believe the treats may be responsible for his problem, but he throws up his regular food too.

Lately, he has been throwing up more often, and he always gags or chokes beforehand. We are wondering whether or not we should discontinue the treats, change his food, provide some sort of medication or simply ignore the problem. -- R.F.T., Bonita Springs, Fla.

DEAR R.F.T.: I receive many letters from people whose cats share the same symptoms as yours and have posted many replies on my website.

I do not like the cavalier attitude of the veterinarian who saw your cat. The problem should not be dismissed as some kind of genetic behavioral quirk of no consequence. I would cut out the treats, consider fur balls in his stomach and urge you to transition him onto a raw food diet or one that is grain- and soy-free.

Your cat most likely has a food allergy or hypersensitivity. There are many other reasons why cats regurgitate their food, from eating too quickly and not being fed four to six small meals a day to having chronic renal failure or fatty liver disease. I would not ignore this problem.

NORTH DAKOTA STILL WITHOUT CRUELTY FELONY

In state elections this November, 65.4 percent of voters in North Dakota voted against Proposition 5, which would have made it a class C felony, punishable by incarceration, to maliciously and intentionally harm a living dog, cat or horse. This measure was aimed at domestic pets, and would have been enforced against instances akin to Michael Vick's dog fighting cruelties, but provided exceptions for veterinarians, hunters, scientists and agriculture workers. North Dakota joins South Dakota as the two states in the nation without animal cruelty felonies.

(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: My 11-year-old male cat will eat only dry Kitten Chow. He will sometimes eat cantaloupe when we have it in the summer.

He is a house cat who scratches up furniture and is timid. He has never been ill until lately, and he now has a sore left eye. Forget about changing food -- he tries to bury anything besides Kitten Chow. Is it OK if he continues eating this? I have plenty of fresh water around.

What can I do for the eye? The last cat I took to the vet was so afraid, he died of a heart attack. -- V.T., Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

DEAR V.T.: Considering your cat's age and evident addiction to dry food, try transitioning him onto a dry food that has no corn or soy ingredients. There are several improved brands on the market -- just read the labels. Visit my website, DrFoxVet.com, for names of brands that I recommend.

His eye condition does concern me. He may have an infection or a turned-in eyelash, which could lead to ulceration of the cornea or blindness.

There are veterinarians who make house calls, so check your local Yellow Pages to find one who will come to your home to examine your cat and provide appropriate treatment. Going to the veterinary hospital can be extremely stressful for some cats, and I sympathize with the loss of your other cat. Putting cats in a boarding facility can also be stressful and result in post-traumatic stress disorder. This is why I advise either an early-in-life boarding experience or in-home care for people going away on vacation without their cats.

DEAR DR. FOX: We are concerned about our 2-year-old female Maltese's diet. Last January, she started to vomit and have bloody diarrhea every day.

Our vet put her on Hill's Prescription Diet z/d Allergen Free dog food, and the problem stopped. I am a believer in holistic, healthy food for my Maltese and would like to get her off the Hill's and start a healthy diet for her, but every time I try to change her diet, she has the same problem. When I try to change her diet, it takes about 10 days before she starts the vomiting.

We adopted a Shih Tzu when she was 1 1/2 years old. She will be 3 years old in December, and she cannot digest grains. We think that is why people had to give her up. I have her on z/d as well. -- J.S., Bonita Springs, Fla.

DEAR J.S.: There are several dog food manufacturers such as Wellness, Merrick and Organix marketing grain-free dog foods, and you can try variations of my home-prepared diet posted on my website.

I agree with you that many prescription diets are far removed from organic, whole food dietary formulations, but some are better than others and have a place in holistic veterinary medicine. For special veterinary-formulated recipes for a variety of dog and cat health problems that you can prepare at home from known ingredients, visit balanceit.com.

Remember, when trying any dietary transition with your dog, take about 10 days, removing 10 percent of his regular food and replacing it with the same amount of the new food. Increase in 10 percent increments until it's all the new food. Give him digestive enzymes and probiotics with the food.

(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.)