Could Human-Sheep Hybrids Pave Way For Organ Transplants?

by Dr. Michael W. Fox

The Animal Doctor | April 1st, 2018

Genetic engineers have generated mouse pancreases in rats, and then transplanted them into diabetic mice. They were then able to show almost a complete cure in the diabetic mice, without using any immunosuppressant drugs. The next step is to implant human stem cells into sheep embryos that have been genetically modified so they cannot grow a pancreas, in the hope that human DNA will fill in the missing code. If successful, a human pancreas should appear inside the animal’s body. The Stanford University team, led by Dr. Hiro Nakauchi, is about to apply for permission from regulators to lengthen their experiment to 70 days to see if the human cells really can create an organ. He estimates that organs grown in animals will be available for transplant into humans within the next five to 10 years. -- The Telegraph, Feb. 17

From a bioethical perspective, I would question the wisdom of investing in this kind of biotechnology to save human lives in the future. Certainly there will always be people needing replacement organs, their own having been damaged by our environmental toxins, petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals. Others have suffered from genetic mutations, birth defects and childhood cancer. But we would be better off investing in preventive medicine rather than profit-driven treatments, and that calls for greater international effort to improve the quality of our air and water, along with the safety, security and nutritive value of our food -- all of which climate change is compromising.

There is only false hope in harvesting human organs from future animal farms, because they will supply only an affluent few, some currently served by the illicit trade in human organs. There is nothing to celebrate in such biotechnological prowess, because we should not be applying it to keeping some humans alive in an increasingly poisoned world while millions are currently malnourished, diseased, at war and dying.

DEAR DR. FOX: I read with interest the article regarding wound-healing and aloe gel.

Our terrier Abbey had a lot of trouble with healing a wound from cancer surgery. With no clear answer from our vet, I got some local honey and applied it several times a day on the wound. Within several days, it seemed to be improving. Very soon after that, it was completely healed! The vet seemed very surprised.

I also used the honey on a bad hand wound my doctor-averse husband had, and it healed remarkably quickly. It seems this old-time remedy helped. Perhaps this information may be useful to others. -- C.R., Freehold, New Jersey

DEAR C.R.: You are one of several readers confirming the healing powers of honey.

It was also used in the old days for maggot-infested wounds and bedsores in humans; when not available, refined sugar was used, which was nowhere near as effective in healing and preventing infection. Honey can also be used in an emergency to alleviate inflammatory eye conditions.

I learned from readers decades ago that locally produced honey and bee pollen can help alleviate seasonal allergies in dogs. With such safe, naturopathic remedies, finding out what an effective dose is often becomes a matter of trial and error. Start by giving an allergy-prone dog 1 teaspoon per 30 pounds of body weight daily, with food, for five to seven days. If there are no signs of improvement, try doubling that amount for another five to seven days. Then stop and repeat at weekly intervals as needed. Often one to two weeks of treatment with a local honey product will suffice. Animals who are diabetic would be better off with the lower sugar content of bee pollen.

We owe so much to the insect kingdom, and in particular the bees, who have helped us put food on our tables since the beginning of time by pollinating our crops and orchards, as well as the wild plants whose fruits and nuts we harvest. These insects are now being destroyed by toxic chemical-addicted industrial agriculture with its armament of insecticides and insect-killing genetically engineered crops, which we should all oppose, choosing instead to support insect-friendly, organically certified producers. These include our local beekeepers, whose bees can help us -- and our dogs -- cope with seasonal allergies with their pollen and honey.

EASTER WARING

Easter was once a pagan celebration of the renewal of life with the advent of spring. Now, Easter’s deep cultural roots and Christian traditions have been commercialized and debased by the wholesale marketing of “Easter” bunnies, chicks and ducklings. Most die, in a total inversion of the spirit of Easter. They often carry salmonella and other infectious organisms, and pose a heal risk for families, leading some responsible municipal authorities to ban such seasonal sales. My appeal is to go to your local shelter at this time of year and save a life by adopting an animal you know how to care for. This is a much better option than encouraging more commercial breeding by purchasing an animal that could endanger your health, die soon after purchase or have to be given away.

(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.)

pets

Dog With Fear and Biting Issues

by Dr. Michael W. Fox

The Animal Doctor | March 26th, 2018

DEAR DR. FOX: I read your advice regarding the rescued 3-year-old German shepherd with a traumatic prior life. I’m dealing with some issues also related to a prior owner, although we inherited those issues at only 8 weeks old.

Our Rottweiler mix is very loyal and friendly to our immediate and extended family, and has no real health issues. But there have been times when she sees someone she doesn’t know and goes berserk, and in some cases it’s caused her to bite. She cannot be trusted with other dogs and sometimes with other people.

Sometimes she’ll be with other dogs in an open play area, and when they run from her, instead of playing, she’ll run them down and start a fight. Or if another dog nearby is feisty (such as many small terriers), she’ll retaliate. Occasionally she’s overly protective of her area, and won’t let another dog pass without her “body checking” them.

We have also had incidents where she has growled or bitten a person who is too close, thinking she’s being protective. So we’ve resorted to keeping her carefully under control and not letting her socialize -- very frustrating, but necessary.

She’s only 5, is big and a great athlete and companion, but a handful! Giving her away isn’t an option. -- P.M., Trenton, New Jersey

DEAR P.M.: From my early research into dog brain and behavior development, I would say your dog’s behavioral issue is more likely to be genetic than associated with some environmental/experiential trauma. I say this because you first got the dog at the early age of 8 weeks, which is in the middle of the socialization period.

This is not so much a nature-versus-nurture argument, but rather an illustration of how an innate predisposition to certain behavior becomes self-reinforcing if not nipped in the bud at an early age.

I doubt very much that your dog has PTSD, since she was adopted during the best age for developing a close bond with humans, and I am sure you never abused her. However, one of my research studies showed that there is a sensitive period around that age at which pups will learn to avoid human contact if it is associated with discomfort rather than reward. This is why I have advised avoiding stress and any kind of physical or psychological trauma to pups at this age in particular, especially long-distance transportation and ear cropping (the latter of which should be prohibited).

I have visited with experienced Rottweiler rescue people, and have seen dogs like yours: difficult to train not to be protective, and often aggressive when restrained. Your task will be a combination of changing the dog’s cognitive processing, and of altering her virtually automatic aggressive response -- whether defensive or offensive -- in certain situations.

This is worth trying, provided you can accomplish the first step: having your dog sit and stay on command, at all times and in all situations. Until that time, you need to treat your dog responsibly as a potentially dangerous animal, while giving her all the love and security she needs, along with consistent daily training sessions to develop internal inhibition/self-control.

Feeding her more turkey meat -- rich in tryptophan, a precursor of brain serotonin -- to see if that changes her disposition, is worth a try, along with tryptophan supplements or another precursor of serotonin, L-theanine. This can be found in PetzLife’s dog-calming natural herbal product. A trial prescription of Prozac to elevate brain serotonin may be worth discussing with your veterinarian.

PET FOOD AND PRODUCTS SALES UP

Research firm Euromonitor found that sales of pet foods expanded at three times the pace of packaged human foods last year. Americans spent nearly $70 billion on pet products in 2017, up from $55.7 billion in 2013, according to the American Pet Products Association. -- CNBC, Feb. 23

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxVet.net.)

pets

Cloning Pets Expensive, Ethically Questionable

by Dr. Michael W. Fox

The Animal Doctor | March 25th, 2018

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.

Next up: More trusted advice from...