DEAR DR. FOX: I have two 11-year-old Labrador-mix dogs. One is diabetic and requires insulin shots twice daily. The other recently broke his ankle. The vet took X-rays and referred me to a surgeon, telling me that my dog may have bone cancer. After more X-rays, the surgeon told us that cancer in that area is extremely rare, and he put in a metal plate to hold his ankle together, which cost $3,500. The surgeon told me the only way to keep him out of pain was to amputate his leg for another $2,200.

Two other vets I have since taken him to have told me that the surgeon should have put a boot on him and waited for the prognosis. I called the surgeon and asked that he do the right thing and either refund me for the surgery or do the amputation for free -- he refused.

Is there a medical board for vets that oversees their ethics (or lack of them)? Is there anything else I can do? I only work part time since I lost my full-time job two years ago. -- P.J., Virginia Beach, Virginia

DEAR P.J.: Every state has a Board of Veterinary Examiners that licenses veterinarians and ostensibly deals with alleged cases of malpractice, just as medical doctors are monitored. The same goes for conflicts of interest where doctors (human and animal) may put vested interests before those of their patients by using some new drug or medical procedure.

I find it astounding that you were clearly "gouged" by the surgeon, who does not have a proverbial leg to stand on. Filing a complaint with your state veterinary licensing and regulatory board and regional Better Business Bureau might help future pet owners and their animal companions. We all make mistakes, but documentation by people filing complaints against service providers is the best way forward for all involved to prevent repetition.

DEAR DR. FOX: When I read the letter from M.M. in Kansas City, I was reminded of my oldest cat, “Oliver.” Oliver appeared in the neighborhood in August one year, but it was November before I realized he didn’t have a home. He would wander through, disappear then come back. I took Oliver into the house and got him to a veterinarian within a couple of days. He had blood work done, a parasite check, a physical and started his shots. The vet determined that Oliver was about 9 months old.

Oliver ate and ate and ate; he gained 3 pounds the first three months I had him. I realized I had to watch the quantity of food I gave him, and he had to be fed in a room away from my other two cats so he wouldn’t eat their food, too. His weight evened out, and he was on a restricted quantity of food until January, when he developed what we decided was intolerance for certain foods. He lost weight during this spell, but is back to his normal weight now, and is 15 years old.

I’ve taken in stray cats before. They always seem to be constantly hungry and usually gain weight the first three months I have them. Then they seem to realize that food comes on a regular basis, and their eating (or wanting to eat) settles down. Oliver was different: He had on a collar when I took him in so I assume someone had him, but then turned him out for whatever reason. I think some cats are like some people -- when they are deprived of food, they can’t seem to get enough. Other cats adjust to regular feedings and don’t seem to have this constant urge to eat. -- K.M., Springfield, Virginia

DEAR K.M.: Your observations and conclusions will interest other cat owners and those veterinarians and others involved in feline nutrition, eating, appetite behavior and addressing the obesity epidemic in cats.

There are many factors involved to account for individual differences, as with two of our rescued feral cats, one of whom, after leveling to a normal weight continued to gain weight and live to eat; the other just enjoyed four small meals a day, never cried for food or put on excess weight. Similarly, some cats given free access to a food dispenser all day will self-regulate, while others eat more than they need and become overweight.

Most cats do best when fed four small meals a day, many eating too quickly and often vomiting their food when fed larger meals twice a day. Think mouse-sized portions of food for a small cat.

I certainly believe there is a strong emotional component to food addiction in cats -- and other animals -- associated with early deprivation of food and overall security. Eating provides a sense of security. Other oral cravings may develop, including pica (eating non-food materials) and nursing behaviors, where the cat sucks on a tail, blanket or the owner's arm or ear. This is especially evident in kittens weaned too soon.

(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 DrFoxVet.net.)

DEAR DR. FOX: I have a 3-year-old boxer name Mattie. She is smart and beautiful.

Eight months ago, we were both in a hit-and-run accident, and ever since then, I can’t get her into the car. I hate leaving her home alone in nice weather, and she always loved riding in the car before the accident, but now she won’t even walk by it.

Can you help me get my dog back to normal? -- G.B., Poughkeepsie, New York

DEAR G.B.: Poor Mattie! I hope neither of you sustained physical injuries. The car phobia is understandable.

Try coaxing her into a different car or easy-access van. Have the interior sprayed with diluted lavender oil, and put a couple of drops of this essential oil on a bandana around her neck. Lavender is calming and has been shown to help dogs who don’t like being in a car.

If this fails, get a prescription of alpralozam (Xanax) from your veterinarian, and give Mattie about 0.5 grams 30 minutes before coaxing her into a vehicle, offering her favorite treats and lots of verbal reassurance every step of the way.

Alternatively, have someone help get her in the vehicle after she has been medicated, and sit quietly with her, repeating the "total immersion" every other day until she shows improvement. Then give her half the dose of Xanax, and taper off completely.

DEAR DR. FOX: When we first got our tiny poodle, Cinnamon, 18 years ago, her weight was 7.2 pounds, which was overweight for her frame. After suffering from pancreatitis about five years ago and being on a basically fat-free diet, she got down to 4.6 pounds. She was slowly starving to death, and I finally made the decision to euthanize her.

My daughter has a friend who is a vet, and her day off was last Friday, so she came over to euthanize my dog. I wanted to be sure it would be a peaceful death, but, unfortunately, it wasn’t. As the medicine went in, Cinnamon started yipping and arching her back and trying to get out of my daughter’s arms for too many seconds before she collapsed.

I can’t get that scene out of my mind, and I am absolutely devastated and heartbroken -- my dog was so sweet and precious and didn’t deserve to die like that.

What went wrong? Our other two dogs just peacefully closed their eyes and stopped breathing. How common is this reaction? I have a friend who went through the same situation with his cat, and he, too, cannot get that image out of his mind. -- J.K., St. Louis

DEAR J.K.: My sympathies to you and to the veterinarian who came to euthanize your dog.

Old dogs with poor circulation often have adverse reactions to the euthanasia solution that normally reaches the brain swiftly and smoothly, bringing unconsciousness in seconds. But poor circulation can delay this process, so the animal is semi-conscious and may struggle and cry out. It is advisable to give an injection of a strong sedative into the muscle tissue 10 to 20 minute before giving the intravenous euthanasia solution that is essentially an overdose of barbiturate anesthetic.

Heavily sedated animals are less aware of the euthanasia drug’s effects, which, when delayed by poor circulation to the brain, can make animals fearful because they become disoriented and have increasing difficulty moving and breathing.

(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 DrFoxVet.net.)

DEAR READERS: We no longer take our gentle, playful 40-pound dog, Kota, to our local enclosed dog park after an altercation with a young woman regarding her 60- or 70-pound young neutered male dog, who was an intimidating bully. He would engage in playful, high-speed chasing with other dogs, body slam the dog at the head of the pack with his tail up and hackles raised, and then he and the other dogs would pile on top of whichever dog went down. This dog displayed this dominance behavior, which could result in injury and over-excited dogs turning the melee into an aggressive altercation, while a dozen other dog owners stood by as though they were watching a football game.

There was a sign in the enclosure that dog owners should have their dogs under control at all times, but this assertive dog was clearly out of control. When I asked the owner to leash her dog and let the others run and play without her dog constantly interfering and turning it into a violent scrum, she turned on me, proclaiming that I knew nothing about dog behavior and that this was a dog park for dogs to be dogs. She threatened to call the police if I caused her further harassment.

So we left, and Kota was very sore that night from her two body slams by this assertive young dog. What also disturbed me was that the other dog owners standing around said nothing to support my concerns and seemed oblivious to the body language and sequences of behavior this dog was manifesting. In my professional opinion as someone with a doctoral degree in animal behavior, this dog should have been under more control or not allowed into the dog park.

This event has left me wondering how illiterate many dog owners and keepers of other animals are about body language, the signals of emotion, intention, temperament and character displayed in various social situations. This may in part account for the high incidence of people, including uninstructed children, being harmed by animals in their own homes.

I also wonder, given so much exposure on television, how certain individuals whose body language does not lie about their temperaments and character -- but which many people evidently are incapable of reading -- have been recently elected to political office.

DEAR DR. FOX: I am a new pet owner of a 7-month-old Shih Tzu named Oreo. She is smart, energetic and very entertaining. However, I have two problems.

The first problem: As soon as she sees a person, she starts nipping them.

And the other problem: After she had her last shot -- about four months ago -- I started trying to walk her. She refuses to walk on a leash. She runs around anywhere and everywhere so long as there is no leash, but as soon as I put on the leash, she lies down and won’t budge.

Any advice you may have on either of these issues would be greatly appreciated. -- D.C., Brooklyn, New York

DEAR D.C.: Your dog is young, playful and attention-seeking, which is what all the nipping is most probably about. Set up regular play sessions -- chasing a ball or stuffed toy and pulling on a rubber or rope tug-of-war toy -- to give her the attention she desires.

Teach her self-control by learning to sit and stay on command. This can easily be done with patience and tasty food rewards. When visitors come, have her sit and stay, and give her lots of verbal praise and treats. She may also respond well to a squeaky toy that you squeeze to distract and re-motivate her whenever she starts getting nippy.

MORE FOOD WITH POSSIBLE FATAL AMOUNTS OF PENTOBARBITOL

Evanger’s Pet Food is recalling additional lots of pet food. Here are excerpts from the statement sent to retailers on Feb. 28:

"We are aware that these recalls have caused a great deal of justified concern, mistrust and anger among pet owners and pet food retailers. The Evanger’s family, like many families, is also incredibly angry and upset by these recalls. We’re angry not only because we let you down; but we’re furious that we allowed ourselves to be lied to and deceived by the supplier responsible for introducing pentobarbital into our meat supply. Sadly, this company was once one of our most trusted meat suppliers. But they are solely responsible for the pentobarbital-tainted meat found in some cans of Evanger’s Hunk of Beef and Against the Grain Pulled Beef. We of course immediately fired this unscrupulous supplier, and have undertaken steps to address this matter in a lawsuit on behalf of our customers and retailers. ... Out of an abundance of caution we have decided to issue an immediate recall of the products in which this supplier’s meat may have been used."

Suppliers of the various ingredients that go into manufactured cat and dog foods are ultimately the responsibility of the manufacturers, since it is unrealistic and costly to expect the government to effectively monitor the quality and safety of the byproducts from the human food and beverage industries that are used in most pet foods and livestock and poultry feed. This includes a significant quantity of imported from abroad, including countries like India, where I have worked with my wife and where the humane and sanitary treatment of animals in slaughterhouses are generally extremely deficient. For further details, see our recent book, "India’s Animals: Helping the Sacred and the Suffering."

Since corruption and malfeasance are commonplace in the global marketplace, I urge pet owners to either make their own pet food or seek those brands using human-quality food ingredients, ideally certified organic and produced in the U.S. For more details, visit truthaboutpetfood.com.

(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 DrFoxVet.net.)