DEAR DR. FOX: Some animal organizations have jumped on the bandwagon and are promoting free adoptions, just to empty out the kennels and to keep the killing (euthanasia) rate to a minimum. This will look good on paper: Increased adoptions equal decreased killings. What more could the humane public ask for?

However, the crucial part missing from this happy equation is a concern for the quality of life for the animal. This is the responsibility of the adoption agency as well as the adopting person/family, and calls for concern and empathy -- the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

To those facilities that give away animals without any concern for the animals’ safety and well-being, I would like to pose this question: “Where is your humanity?” One would hope that over time, we would have made more progress on the empathy scale. In fact, I thought we had grown way beyond attitudes from the past that animals are disposable commodities.

Free adoptions are only part of the solution. The second part is to formulate a different approach to adoptions. In my opinion, such a plan would include the following steps:

1. Arrange for home visits, both pre- and post-adoption.

2. Educate the public about ”breed-specific legislation,” which prohibits some breeds in certain areas. These laws are often, basically, pit bull bans, and are determined by individual municipalities. But not all dogs are the same! In many communities, there are experts who can help with temperament testing and provide classes in dog handling/training at the shelter or another facility.

3. Form a respectful partnership with volunteers, and work in tandem with them. Their help is priceless. It is also free of charge. Volunteers are not only loving caretakers, but they can help educate by developing a rapport with the public via community outreach.

These are just a few suggestions. Many more options are available if we only open ourselves to the possibilities. In my opinion, animals should never be offered “free.” There are worse fates than euthanasia -- for example, being used as a “bait dog” and suffering a protracted, slow and painful death. Another is winding up in a neglectful or abusive home.

The animals depend on us! -- H.S., St. Louis, Missouri

DEAR H.S.: Your excellent synopsis of one of the dark sides of the “no kill” animal shelter movement will be appreciated by many as a wake-up call to communities where this practice of animal shelter giveaways is going on. I would stress that those engaging in this periodic activity should be closely watched by local media and humane investigators. I also invite other readers to share their concerns about animal welfare and protection issues.

PRECAUTIONS FOR DOG WALKERS

Whether you’re walking a friend’s dog, are employed as a dog walker, or are starting your own dog walking business, there are disease and injury risks that should be addressed and measures that can be taken to prevent problems. To help dog walkers navigate these potential hazards, the American Veterinary Medical Association has compiled resources on dog walking preparation, injury prevention, disease risks and more. To view these tips, go to AVMA.org and search “dog walkers.”

(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 want to encourage you to write a column about snakes. All they want is to be left alone! Also, while I completely agree with your statement that ownership of non-domesticated animals should be banned, I want to tell you the story of our little special-needs rescue rat snake. I hope you’ll see that exceptions must sometimes be made.

Orion is our fella’s name, and his mother was killed with a shovel. She gave birth anyway, as snakes do, and all of his siblings who survived were releasable. However, Orion suffered some sort of brain damage in the attack. His sensory perception seems to be lessened and he loses his balance if he turns too fast. In the wild, he’d starve to death if some predator bird didn’t snatch him up first.

Someone with compassion brought his mom to the rescue center, and they saved Orion and as many siblings as they could. The rescue is very focused on returning injured animals to the wild, especially snakes, but Orion was obviously not a candidate.

Long story short, we met this sweet, docile little guy and took the leap, adding him to our family of six other dog/cat rescues. Orion is safe in his terrarium and the balance problems bother him very infrequently. He can’t hunt very well, but if we help him a little, he can track a frozen mouse and eats fine. We keep him in a stress-free environment and consider that our main priority, as that is the best way to keep him healthy.

Right or wrong, he needed someone’s help, and I’m grateful to have the chance to provide it. He’s a 20-year commitment, but his life is worth the same as any other animal out there. We’d never buy another, and would only take on another rescue in the same circumstances.

Anyway, snakes help this planet immensely and people need to be reminded of that, by a respected voice like yours. Snakes will leave people alone and have no interest in hurting any human, ever. They’re just scared because we’re big. There is no animal that has suffered as much blind, ignorant mistreatment as snakes.

Thanks for listening and thanks for sticking up for snakes. I’m interested in your thoughts on Orion (although I’m committed to caring for him for his whole life, so please don’t talk me out of it). -- A.B. (address withheld)

DEAR A.B.: Some people will ridicule your snake-saving life commitment, while others, like me, see your compassionate response as quite normal.

Obviously, this neurologically impaired little snake could not be released into his natural habitat except as food for some predator. Since there was no evident suffering and you were available to provide food and a safe environment, euthanasia was not an option.

State authorities could come and confiscate Orion if it is illegal in your state to keep wild animals that are regarded as state property, and if you do not have a wildlife keeper’s or rehabilitator’s permit. So we will not publish your city and state of residence.

The uninformed and ecologically illiterate who organize rattlesnake roundups and kill any and all snakes on sight are an abomination -- one more venomous and depraved than the most poisonous of snakes. The public health role of snakes is but one of their gifts to us, and the balance of nature helps regulate rodent populations that can carry plague, hantavirus and other diseases.

We should have a healthy fear of snakes, and translate that into respectful avoidance. I abhor other snake traditions, such as pitting a mongoose against a relatively helpless snake, and of course India’s snake “charmers,” who make a living while depriving another living spirit of its intrinsic right to be free. Snakes do more good for us than we for them.

DEAR DR. FOX: My little poodle, age 15 years, has warts and seems to get more and more as time goes on.

Is this a sign of an illness and what could cause them? She has a heart murmur and sneezes a lot. Is this a symptom of her heart condition? -- T.G., Phoenix

DEAR T.G.: Warts are not uncommon in dogs young and old. They are caused usually by a papilloma virus, similar to those causing warts in humans, but not contagious to us. Their presence can indicate a weakened immune system, but they do tend to disappear eventually without treatment. They do not turn cancerous and are best left alone, unless they start to cause the dog discomfort, as on an eyelid or when one or more becomes itchy and ulcerated from secondary infection.

Some veterinarians remove them for purely aesthetic reasons in older dogs, often under general anesthesia, but I do not concur with such treatment, considering the costs and risks.

(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: We just adopted another kitty from a nearby humane society. She is 8 years old and had been at the shelter for four months after being turned in with another 11 cats.

Dolly had diarrhea with blood, and was throwing up her food almost every time she ate. We feed her only grain-free wet food. After four weeks, she had a bowel movement and produced a hard, finger-length, gray piece of stool, which was like clay. She repeated another stool with the same substance a few days later.

Dolly is a very clean cat, and licks herself after eating and using the litter box. We’ve been using a corn-based litter for many years with all our cats, but at the shelter, they used a clay-type litter.

Since expelling this substance, she has not thrown up again and has no blood in her stool. She also had trouble with her eyes, which were full of debris from the old litter. We have told this to our vet and the shelter; neither seems to know about something like this.

Our hope is that, if this was caused by the gray claylike litter, that people will read this and think twice about using it. -- M.K. and D.K., Kansas City, Missouri

DEAR M.K and D.K.: Your letter is important for all cat owners and veterinarians not yet fully aware of the risk of some kinds of cat litters to cats’ health.

Cats with long fur, coupled with a clay-type litter material that clings to their fur, are especially at risk. As they groom themselves, cats pull out some loose fur -- and anything clinging to it -- with the lingual comb of backward-directed rasps on their tongues. They then swallow some of that material. This includes household dust, which is probably more toxic than clay, but of an insufficient amount to cause an intestinal obstruction like clay litter evidently does.

I, too, have used and recommend corn-based cat litter, with the warning that there will likely be some residual glyphosate herbicide -- a probable carcinogen.

DEAR DR. FOX: My dog Louie has allergies. He licks his paws till they’re red or bleeding.

He is on Benadryl and Apoquel from the vet, but nothing is helping. He also has dry eyes, which cause a thick substance over his eyes. Is there something simpler to deal with this allergy situation? -- L.I., St. Louis, Missouri

DEAR L.I.: Your dog and many others are suffering terribly, most probably from multiple chemical sensitivities at the root of this kind of immunological pathology.

Stop the Benadryl, which can cause dry eyes and other problems. Prednisolone can help bring relief and stability, but that is generally temporary if the allergens/triggers that disrupt the immune system are not removed from the patient’s environments. It can be difficult to identify them, in part because there are thousands to consider in the air, food, water, household dust and outdoor lawns and gardens. Various tests may identify specific allergens, but there can be cross-allergenicity and sensitivity to other similar compounds not covered in the allergy test.

Regardless, we must embrace the precautionary principle with regard to chemicals in our shared environments and get rid of most nonessential cleaners and disinfectants. Instead, use natural, biodegradable ones where possible (like vinegar and baking soda), and avoid all synthetic fragrances in products in the home. Avoid pesticides -- in and around the home, but also their topical and oral application to cats and dogs (such as year-round anti-flea pesticides).

Of course, an additive-free, Certified Organic ingredient-rich pet food may also help your dog, as per my recipe on my website, drfoxvet.net. I would use a different animal protein in weekly rotation and see which suits him best. To help reduce possible contact allergies, have him lie on clean cotton sheets, washed with unscented laundry detergent.

COLORADO VMA VOICES CONCERN ABOUT PROPOSED DENVER DECLAWING BAN

A Denver City Council panel advanced a proposal to ban cat declawing, except when medically necessary, over the objections of the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA).

“We support the principle that complex medical decisions belong in the domain of the owner and the veterinarian,” said CVMA President Dr. Will French. (Denver Post, Oct. 25)

In my opinion, the CVMA should move into the 21st century and consider veterinary bioethics when addressing “complex medical decisions.” This is the essential heart of veterinary practice, beyond running a business, as per my previous writings. The routine declawing of cats is outlawed in most other civilized countries.

(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.)