DEAR DR. FOX: Everywhere I look, I see rabbits as impulse purchases or adoptions, quickly discarded outside or imprisoned in a wooden box and left to languish in a garage or backyard until they die of loneliness and lack of care. If I put a dog or cat outside to live its life in a small cage, I could and should be cited for animal cruelty.

In my community in the metro D.C. area, we have a domestic bunny who was abandoned after Easter 2009 when the family moved away. Amazingly, he is still alive; yet the residents of the homes he frequents will neither bring him inside and provide vet care, nor allow anyone on their property to trap him because they want him "to have his freedom." (We have a community email list where this has been discussed.)

How well-intentioned, animal-loving people can think that domestic rabbits can survive outside 24/7 without medical care, nutritious food or integration into the social fabric of their lives and homes baffles me. It's beyond my ability to comprehend that the general public thinks that confining a house rabbit in a "hutch" somewhere is OK.

House rabbits are not wild rabbits or chipmunks or squirrels who can live outside in all kinds of weather. They also are not hamsters or gerbils who can and should live their lives in a cage.

Please help educate the American public about house rabbits so people will understand that they are not a novelty or wild animal, but a companion animal, deserving of the same love and care as our cats and dogs. -- D.A., Falls Church, Virginia

DEAR D.A.: Thanks for this important reminder. Too many rabbits are treated like disposable toys or commodities, and many are kept inhumanely, condemned to a solitary life in a small cage. They are wonderful, intelligent and sociable creatures whose essential needs and rights need to be more widely respected and upheld.

BIRD PROTECTION SOCIETIES OPPOSE CAT TNR, BUT ONE ENDORSES FERAL PARROT RESCUE, REHABILITATION & RELEASE

I was dismayed seeing the summer cover story of Audubon Society magazine about the rescue, rehabilitation and release of feral parrots in Southern California, under municipal permit! How can the National Audubon Society endorse such practices while another bird protection society, the American Bird Conservancy, vehemently opposes cat trap-neuter-release for many of the reasons that I share? Namely, all released, non-native species have ecological, environmental and potential public health consequences. Parrot disease (Psittacosis) is one that can be deadly for humans.

Clearly some bird lovers and rescuers are like some cat lovers and rescuers, evidently blind to the well-being of other species and in need of wider vision and ethical consistency in their passions and actions. Having been with parrots in their jungle habitat in South India, I, too, am enthralled by their spirit of being, their joyful chatter, their beauty and intelligence.

Let's all strive to help save parrots and other "exotic" nonindigenous wild species in the places where they belong. I discourage people from purchasing "exotic" animals as pets so that the international trade in wildlife can come to an end. The American government should prohibit the importation of wild species for the pet industry, and commercial breeding in captivity in the U.S. should be similarly prohibited. The deliberate and accidental release of nonindigenous plants, which can have serious wildlife habitat and agricultural consequences, is a related issue too long overlooked.

BOOK REVIEW: "UNSPOKEN MESSAGES" BY RICHARD D. ROWLAND

Animals often play an unrecognized and unappreciated role in our growth and transformation into more humane being, making us more compassionate and empathic and less self-involved and unaware. U.S. Army Vietnam veteran and retired Kentucky state police officer Richard D. Rowland has written a memoir of his transformative experiences with horses, dogs and other animals. He describes his metaphysical explorations and his confrontation of the challenge of healing himself from a highly invasive cancer.

He makes it clear how conventional Western medicine nearly killed him with treatments while declaring he had a fatal disease, and how his enjoyment of and enjoinment with other animals helped him deal with such a devastating diagnosis. I was riveted by the first chapter describing how stabled horses at his facility reacted at exactly the same time when the veterinarian euthanized a beloved mare, sight unseen from most of the other horses.

The five people witnessing this were amazed that the horses all knew. This is affirmation of what I call the empathosphere, which I first documented in my book "The Boundless Circle: Caring for Creatures and Creation." Rowland describes this event as "Something spiritual, something older than time, some transfer of wisdom or spirit took place through the communication that we witnessed."

Rowland's memoir, "Unspoken Messages: Spiritual Lessons I Leaned From Horses and Other Earthbound Souls," will be an enjoyable and encouraging, if not inspiring, read for all who have been close to another being other than human.

(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.net.)

DEAR DR. FOX: I was reading about the problem of seniors wanting but not being able to afford animals in your column, and two thoughts came to mind:

1. Many animal shelters offer low-cost veterinary services to the public beyond spay/neuter clinics and rabies shots. It is worth calling yours to inquire if it offers such services.

2. Rather than own your own pet, why not foster? Shelters are always in need, and they may pick up the cost of the animal's care and feeding. You get wonderful companions, albeit short-term, and animals in need get out of cages and experience human companionship. Win-win! -- M.D., Rockville, Maryland

DEAR M.D.: Thanks for your simple and sensible solutions. This is a great option for many seniors instead of just sending a check to support a big animal protection organization they see advertised on TV. I would also urge interested seniors to volunteer at their local humane society or animal shelter. Petting and grooming caged cats for a morning or taking dogs for a walk can do wonders, reducing animals' stress and enhancing their adoptability as well as providing companionship for seniors.

DEAR DR. FOX: In reading your article about the killing of Cecil the lion, I wonder: Where do you stand on the killing of unborn babies, babies with heartbeats and brainwaves? Obviously sensing your compassion for animals and being a medical person, I hope you are also on the side of life, or as Albert Schweitzer said, "Until he extends his circle of compassion to include all living things, man will not himself find peace."

Looking forward to hearing from you. -- P.L., Danbury, Connecticut

DEAR P.L.: Yes, I embrace the Schweitzer ethic of reverence for all life. Part of practicing this ethical principle calls for restraint of human activities that harm other species and the natural environment. Reproductive restraint is a moral imperative, hence the wisdom of supporting more effective birth control and family planning for our species. This would greatly reduce the untold suffering, near-starvation and disease of millions of children who are born and survive to endure a lifetime of physical and cognitive impairment.

Concerning Cecil the lion, "Cecil hunt was legal" was the front-page headline from the big game trophy hunter, Walter J. Palmer, in the Minneapolis Star Tribune (my local paper) last month. Such a claim assumes that what is legal is therefore ethical. In ancient Rome, it was legal for husbands to kill their wives and children. While we have made some moral progress as a species and culture in recognizing human rights, we have yet to broaden the scope of rights and human responsibilities.

The worldwide outcry over this killing of a lion is a positive sign that the execution of other species for sporting or recreational pleasure and big-game trophy prestige is being questioned, be it "legal" or illegal poaching from a government or private preserve. For the rule of law and justice to prevail, politics, commerce and industries must all be in accord with the public will to respect and protect the rights of all members of the Earth community, both the human and the nonhuman. The greater good may then be better served.

DEAR DR. FOX: I live with a man who has two adult indoor cats. Two months ago, one of them started licking so much that he was thinning the fur on his back, stomach and hind legs and making his skin red and raw. The cat's owner (a 61-year-old man) insisted it was fleas and dunked the cat in the sink with water and Dawn dish soap to kill them. The cat started to look a little better after the bath, but I noticed he still licks a lot; the fur is still thin on his back by the base of the tail.

Is it boredom, a skin condition or food allergy? I buy 9Lives and store-brand cat food, mostly fish flavors. Also, the cat now acts likes he has not been fed in days. I open two cans a day -- one in the morning and one in the evening. He eats the whole thing in one sitting.

Can you tell me if he has something seriously wrong with him? -- R.B., Fargo, North Dakota

DEAR R.B.: Whenever a cat or other companion animal shows a sudden change in behavior, such as grooming more vigorously to the point of self-mutilation, the caregiver has a duty to have the animal examined by a veterinarian and not make uneducated guesses as to cause and treatment.

It could be emotional stress, though it's probably a dietary/ingredient allergy or hypersensitivity or hyperthyroid disease, all calling for different treatments after a proper diagnosis has been made. So please get the poor cat to the vet without further delay.

(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.net.)

DEAR DR. FOX: I have an 11-year-old Scottie who I adopted from the local shelter three years ago. I think he might have a problem -- it's something he has done ever since I've had him. I've taken him to the local vet a few times, and they have found nothing wrong with him -- he is in good health. They gave him meds to see if it would solve the problem; it did not.

He paws at both sides of his mouth, and he seems to enjoy it, making an "mmm" sound. When at rest, he constantly licks the tops of his front paws, but not to the point of losing hair. He also seems to be chewing his toenails. When I take him to the groomer, his toenails are always trimmed. Do you know what's going on? -- L.D., Scranton, Pennsylvania

DEAR L.D.: This may be perfectly normal self-grooming behavior. Our Indian pariah dogs often licked their paws and then wiped their faces with the moistened paws, like a cat. But the beard on a Scottie's muzzle, constantly getting wet from drinking and contaminated with food, is a prime environment for bacterial and fungal organisms to flourish.

Take him in for a whole-body shampoo, and have his beard trimmed and thinned. Make it an evening ritual to use disposable wipes infused with aloe and lavender or tea tree oil and a drying towel on his muzzle. Work the wipes in well with your fingers around his face, nose and especially around his lips and chin.

DEAR DR. FOX: I am writing to you about our dog Tubbs. He is a black pug who will be 11 years old soon. He is very active, but in the last year, has developed a phobia.

For example, our back porch stairs were cement, and he went up and down them with no problem. But the stairs were crumbling, and we replaced them with a white wooden structure. Tubbs wants nothing to do with going up and down these stairs.

Our kitchen floor is all wood with some throw rugs. We think he slid on the bare portions and is now reluctant to use the wooden porch stairs.

Is this his eyesight failing him or playing tricks on him? Have you ever heard of this before? He is a great guy and very healthy otherwise. -- L.J., Danbury, Connecticut

DEAR L.J.: Many dogs develop a stair phobia for various reasons. Young dogs can develop it because of fear, unfamiliarity or being forced up and down rather than gently assisted; older dogs are often scared because of a slip or fall due to failing eyesight, being overweight or because of painful arthritis.

Your dog associated pain with the stairs and developed a conditioned fear-and-pain reaction. Some dogs do better on stairs that have some slip-preventing carpeting and where there is no see-through gap between each step. Tacking down a runner of outdoor carpeting to make open stairs look closed with no evident gaps between them may help your dog regain his confidence.

A veterinary examination to rule out any underlying physical issue would be advisable. Never force your dog to go up or down the stairs -- carry him and sit on the stairs together as often as you can so he becomes desensitized.

LEGISLATORS SEEK TO IMPERIL WOLVES

Not only did the Senate Appropriations Committee underfund environmental programs by $2.2 billion, but some members are hoping their horrendous riders will slip in under the radar. One rider in the Senate and two in the House would strip protections from gray wolves. Section 110, from Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, would delist wolves in the Great Lakes region and Wyoming and forbid judicial review of the rider itself. Section 121, from California Rep. Ken Calvert, would do the same. And House Amendment No. 611, from Washington Rep. Dan Newhouse, would delist wolves in Washington, Oregon and Utah.

These riders will expose thousands of wolves to brutal hunting and trapping seasons and open the door to stripping protections from other imperiled species whenever politicians or their industry backers find them inconvenient. We can't let the riders pass. Visit biologicaldiversity.org to voice your appeal to President Obama to veto this callous and backward step being taken by some members of Congress.

(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.net.)