DEAR READERS: After reading a cover story in Variety magazine that singer Barbra Streisand has had one of her dogs cloned, I wondered how sentimentality and unbridled consumerism in this brave new world of genetic engineering have blindsided our ethical sensibility, as well as our ability to consider the consequences of our actions and consumer choices.

Of Streisand’s three Coton de Tulear dogs, two were cloned from cells taken from the mouth and stomach of her beloved 14-year-old dog Samantha, who died in 2017. The third dog is Samantha’s distant cousin. “They have different personalities,” Streisand says. “I’m waiting for them to get older so I can see if they have her brown eyes and her seriousness.”

In an excellent follow-up article in Time magazine, Sarah Gray reports that the Texas-based company ViaGen has cloned “over a hundred” dogs and cats and is the only U.S. company performing pet cloning. The price is $50,000 to clone a dog and $25,000 to clone a cat. Pet owners can also choose “genetic preservation,” a process that stores tissue biopsies in case they want to clone the pet down the road. That option costs $1,600.

There are those who might consider spending such money on having one or more “replicas” made of a pet, rather than adopting a homeless animal, donating to a legitimate animal-protection organization or improving local animal shelter services. But they should know that clones are not identical Xerox copies. Epigenetic factors play a powerful role in development and temperament. There is no guarantee, therefore, that their personalities will be anything like the original animal’s.

Prospective cloned-pet owners should also know that kennels of dogs are kept for this purpose as a source of eggs, hormonally forced to come into heat, while others serve as surrogate mothers for the implanted clone-cell-containing eggs, many of which fail to develop normally. So many dogs are needed for this ethically questionable business enterprise; the whole situation only exploits our relationships with companion animals, rather than improving their well-being.

DEAR DR. FOX: I just read your article on mourning pets and wanted to share my story.

My dog died about two years ago. My cat, who was raised with him since a kitten, went into such mourning that I thought she was going to die. She would sit in a large walk-in closet that the dog would sleep in a lot, and meow in such a loud, sad way. She didn’t eat much, lost weight and has never really been the same.

Also, my parents had a parakeet that was never caged, and slept on a perch next to my father’s bed. My father was bedridden for a month before his death, and the bird never left his side. The bird could talk very well and even sounded like my father. The bird died the day after my father passed. -- J.L.F., Lake Worth, Florida

DEAR J.L.F.: Thanks for confirming that cats can, indeed, suffer from grief and go through a long mourning process -- from which some never fully recover -- after the trauma of losing a close companion. When we forget or deny such animal sentience (their capacity to suffer and experience a range of emotions shared by us), we are really disconnected from a dimension of reality that can lead to animal neglect and abuse.

I am touched by the death of your father’s uncaged parakeet the day after he died, and by the bird’s long vigil at his bedside. Animals can die suddenly from a broken heart, instances being documented over centuries, from elephants to horses. And certainly many species have been shown to develop depression with the loss of a loved one, which can put their health at risk. We have doubted for too long how other animals think and feel. It is better to give them the benefit of the doubt, rather than descend into the disconnected realm of inhumanity toward them -- and even toward our own kind -- for lack of respect and empathy.

MORE ON ASIAN DOG-MEAT TRADE

Olympian Gus Kenworthy, who competed for the U.S. in slopestyle skiing during the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, might not have won a medal, but he didn’t leave Korea empty-handed. After his competition, Kenworthy and his partner, Matt Wilkas, decided to visit a Korean dog-meat farm, seizing the opportunity to raise awareness for the dog-meat trade and inspire others to help dogs in need. The meaningful visit also resulted in a new little member of their household.

The Olympian documented the “heart-wrenching visit” on Instagram, emphasizing that there are around 17,000 dog farms in South Korea and 2.5 million dogs are being raised for food “in some of the most disturbing conditions imaginable” across the country. Other Asian countries with dog farms for the meat trade include Indonesia, China, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Thankfully, the farm visited by Kenworthy and Wilkas is now being permanently shut down, thanks to Humane Society International and the cooperation of the farmer. All of the 90 dogs kept on the farm will be brought to the U.S. and Canada, where they will finally have a chance at a decent life. One of those dogs, a female puppy that Kenworthy named Beemo, is coming to live with the skier after her vaccinations are complete.

(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 been using kratom for pain in my almost 16-year-old shiba inu. Following a bout with vestibular disease, he slipped on a single stair and dislocated his hip. They were unable to put it back into place under light sedation, and an operation was considered very risky in a dog of his age. He was sent home with tramadol and Metacam to keep him comfortable. He was a cranky zombie dog, uninterested in his usual activities, and had liquid stools constantly.

I tried kratom; within hours of the first dose, he seemed a lot happier. I have been using 1/4 teaspoon of red strains of kratom twice a day for about eight months now. He is old and likes his sleep, but with the kratom, he is more like his old self: interested in dog things and engaging with his people, a great appetite and firm, regular stools. I know he is feeling a lot better, and he has nearly all of his mobility back (except stairs).

Also: When he was about 13, he started having seizures at the rate of one or two a month. I tried cannabidiol hemp oil (known as CBD oil) and since starting that, the dog has not had one single seizure. -- D.N., Londonderry, New Hampshire

DEAR D.N.: First, I must stress that a recently published clinical evaluation of the widely prescribed tramadol showed virtually no pain relief for dogs with osteoarthritis, while carprofen was of benefit. I hope that many veterinarians will read your confirmation of the benefits of kratom, as well as CBD from hemp, that you found so effective for your dog’s pain and discomfort. They seem to have significantly improved the quality of his life in old age.

There is increasing interest, also, in extract of dandelion root and thunder god root for a variety of conditions, including some forms of cancer, the latter holding particular promise for inflammatory conditions and autoimmune diseases.

Readers and veterinarians with experience with these and other potentially beneficial plant-based treatments, from aloe vera to thyme, are welcome to share their findings in my Animal Doctor column.

DEAR DR. FOX: I am wondering if you can help us with our rescue dog, Maggie. She gets all excited when she knows that she is going for a ride -- jumping around and running to the door. The problem starts when we actually get in the car. She gets extremely nervous, panting and whining. What can we do to help her get over this? It’s just so confusing because she really acts like she wants to go! -- Lisa H, Marionville, Missouri

DEAR L.H.: Good for you for adopting a rescue dog. She may have anxiety over confinement in the car and the motion and noise of the vehicle. The first step is to desensitize and habituate her.

Sit in the car with her for 10-15 minutes and give her treats. Put some calming music on the radio, then get out and take her for a walk. Repeat this until she is calmer in the car, then switch on the engine in your driveway and simply sit with the music on, giving her occasional treats, then take a short walk. Do this for another few days. Repeat this same ritual, but drive around a block or two, then come home and sit quietly in the car (with music and treats).

By this time, she should be more accepting of being in the vehicle. You may also improve the situation with a few spritzes of water containing essential oil of lavender, or a with few drops of the concentrate on a cloth in the car and on a bandanna around your dog’s neck.

DOG POSTHUMOUSLY AWARDED MEDAL FOR BRAVERY DURING WWII

The U.K. posthumously awarded the Dickin Medal to a German shepherd-husky mix named Chips, who ran into a machine-gun nest, grabbed an Axis soldier by his neck and pulled a weapon from its mount in World War II. Chips also served as a sentry at the Casablanca Conference in 1943, where he met Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt. Despite suffering scalp wounds and powder burns in battle, he eventually returned home to the Pleasantville, New York, family that donated his services to the U.S. Army. -- Boston Herald/Associated Press, Jan. 15

(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 been a forever reader of your newspaper column and all of your books, but my question is of a different nature.

We all heard the hoopla surrounding the Olympic Games in South Korea, but we never heard of anything in the media about how dogs and cats there are tortured -- by being beaten, hanged, electrocuted and boiled alive before being skinned while semi-conscious. I was made aware of this practice on Koreandogs.org, as well as on Youtube and on change.org.

I guess my question is: Why aren’t the Olympians speaking out about the abuse so that the whole world knows about it and protests this barbaric suffering? I haven’t been able to sleep thinking about this horror. These people think that inflicting pain and suffering on the animals brings out the adrenaline and gives the meat more flavor. There is no scientific proof of this, yet it continues unabated.

These Olympians are in a unique position to blow the whistle on the dog meat trade and do some educating for those who are unaware of this horror show. Swedish skier Charlotte Kalla has spoken out, and she has become a hero of sorts to the rescue world. She was totally unaware of the dog meat trade before coming to South Korea.

How can we get more Olympians to speak out to try and save these poor souls and make the suffering stop? -- M.S., West Palm Beach, Florida

DEAR M.S.: There is no exaggeration about the documented fact that in some Asiatic countries, dogs are traditionally strung up and beaten alive before their throats are cut and they bleed out. This is done to tenderize the meat. Also, cats are skinned alive and thrown into boiling pots. All of this is many degrees worse than the way livestock are handled in the West, where bruising and stress during long-distance transport to slaughter lead to “slimy” pork and “dark cutter” beef.

It is risky to criticize the inhumanity of other cultures without acknowledging those of one’s own. But in this particular instance, with this extreme cruelty often witnessed by children -- who become desensitized and consider such animal abuse as normative -- more vocal outrage by high-profile people such as Olympians would be appropriate. This cross-cultural gathering, after all, should not only feature fair competition (no performance-enhancing drugs!) but also the civilizing ethos of the values and virtues that respect and protect the rights of humans and non-humans alike.

I would give a gold medal to Switzerland, whose government leads the world in considering the welfare of lobsters -- ruling that they cannot be transported live on ice or in icy water, and must be electrically stunned before being put into boiling water for cooking.

DEAR DR. FOX: I’m writing because I’ve noticed a phenomenon with one of my cats that I never thought of before: cats reacting to human pheromones.

There’s a legend about human pheromones that goes something like this: If you want a potential girlfriend to be attracted to you, get one of her father’s T-shirts to wear, and the pheromones on it will do the trick.

Well, I have a young female cat who goes a little bit crazy for catnip -- but when I come home wearing a bandanna, having worked up something of a sweat, this cat goes bonkers over that bandanna! I’m sure the dried perspiration has something to do with it, but I also think she’s in love with my pheromones.

Am I assuming too much? I never gave a lot of credence to pheromones, but this little cat has me believing they can have a strong impact -- she seems to be in seventh heaven. -- T.U., Minneapolis, Minnesota

DEAR T.U.: Your observations are intriguing, and cats are indeed profoundly affected emotionally and behaviorally by various scents. The classic example is one cat coming home from the veterinary hospital and being attacked as though he/she was an invading stranger by formerly friendly fellow resident cats.

When cats must be boarded, I advise people to include the cat’s bed/blanket and also a T-shirt that the owner has worn for a few days prior. I have also advised people who will be on vacation for any length of time, or in prison, to send a well-worn T-shirt or two to help affirm the bond and possibly alleviate separation anxiety (especially for their canine companions).

I would like to hear from other readers about their experiences similar to yours, concerning how their animals react to various body odors/pheromones. The most amusing one is the cat urinating on the clothes or shoes of a visitor or boyfriend staying for the night.

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (Feb. 20) -- Dozens of dogs destined to be eaten have been saved from the butcher’s knife by In Defense of Animals and Jindo Love. 47 puppies and dogs were among the survivors rescued from horrific conditions in slaughterhouses and backyard dog-meat farms across South Korea. The American-Korean partnership aims to save 200 dogs this year from the dog-meat trade in South Korea, and is calling for an outright ban on dog meat.

(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.)