DEAR DR. FOX: I have two miniature dachshunds and a little Chihuahua.

Petie is my eldest: 16 years old with a heart murmur, and I fear that I may have to put him down in the not-too-distant future. I had thought that when that sad time came, I would hold him in my arms when the doctor gave him the injection, and that the other two dogs would be there too, as the three are tightly bonded. I don’t want them to wonder if Petie deserted them. I’m certain that they will recognize he has passed.

But I read in an article recently that when a dog is put down, it badly distresses other dogs who witness the death. Is that true? If so, I don’t want to put them through any more pain then necessary, as they will grieve when he is gone, anyway.

What would you recommend? Just taking him myself, or allowing his buddies to be there, too? I also informed my family that when I pass, I want my doggies to smell my body, as I understand that they can smell death and they will understand that I didn’t desert them.

All my dogs are (and any future dogs will be) rescues, and they have gone through enough emotional pain. Please advise me. -- G.B., Owasso, Oklahoma

DEAR G.B.: I sympathize with what you and your dogs have to go through, and applaud your concern for them.

In-home euthanasia with an experienced veterinarian is the best option. The dogs will react to a stranger in the home, so it may be preferable to put them in another room, ideally with someone whom they know and trust, so that Petie is not upset by their reaction.

The attending animal doctor may bring an assistant, since the dog must be properly held and restrained for the intravenous injection of the euthanasia solution. Many veterinarians will give an injection of tranquilizer first, to make the dog comfortable and to make it easier to inject the subsequent solution into the vein.

Once the euthanasia has been accomplished and the veterinarian has left, lay Petie’s body on a towel on the floor, and allow the other dogs to examine him and have some quiet time together. Some dogs are indifferent, while others clearly understand. Then wrap up his body and let the dogs see you take his remains out of the house for cremation or burial. Give the dogs extra attention, and be mindful that they may search the house for Petie and show signs of mourning. Stick to their daily routines; outdoor physical activity will be the best therapy for all.

DEAR DR. FOX: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has posted a notice concerning salmonella infections in people, children especially, from backyard chickens raised for their eggs.

What is your opinion on homeowners keeping a few layers to produce their own eggs? -- L.H., Cincinnati, Ohio

DEAR L.H.: There have been some discussions and concerns expressed in veterinary journals over the past several years about the animal- and public-health risks of backyard laying hens, and also about their welfare. The related issue is lack of people’s experience in caring for hens properly and providing safe, adequate housing for them.

Most children do not have sufficient exposure to bacteria, especially if there is not a dog in the house, and they do not get outdoors much, preferring to stay indoors with their smartphones and computer games. Their immune systems are therefore not well-developed and they, along with the elderly and already immunocompromised adults, can be prone to a number of bacterial infections from being in or around a backyard hen enclosure, or from eggshells not being properly sanitized prior to going into the home.

It is for these reasons that I am opposed to backyard hen-keeping in cities and suburbs with high population densities, unless operated by experienced people with the inspection and approval of the local state board of animal health.

Certainly, from all documentation, consumers are more at risk from bacterial infection when handling poultry and meat from factory farms and feedlots. I advise all people to eat less animal produce in general, and only from organically certified and humane sources, if they are unable to become vegetarians or vegans.

(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 DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

DEAR READERS: It is evident from the United Nations’ 2019 IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services that we have yet to learn to share this planet with other intelligent life-forms and consciousnesses.

This would be for our own good, which is bound to that of other beings in the life community, even if we do not respect and care for the least of them. Without the ethics of respect and care, we are less than human, and have become the most dangerous species on Earth. Inhumanity has no bounds -- ecologically, spiritually or ethically.

I did not foresee, in my 1980 book “One Earth, One Mind,” how rapidly dystopias and planetary dysbiosis, signaled by climate change and a plethora of new pests and diseases, would arrive. Now, almost four decades later, we are well into the Anthropocene (human-centered) age, and we are awakening to the tragedy of our current reality and the challenge to either evolve or perish.

Respect and care can awaken compassion and empathy, which can extend into bioethics and efforts like the One Health movement, now endorsed by the U.S. government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The British Veterinary Association is now promoting the benefits of sustainable consumption and the concept of “less and better” farmed animal produce for animal-welfare and sustainability reasons. In other words, consumers are encouraged to eat less produce from animals, and only from those raised humanely.

Governments under corporate control and corrupted by vested interests cannot be blindly relied upon, and must be held responsible when they resist initiatives driven by reason, sound science, ethics and justice.

DEAR DR. FOX: My bulldog mix has had diarrhea on and off since December. We brought a fecal sample to our vet, and it tested positive for Giardia. He’s been treated with a bland diet (boiled chicken and rice), along with Metronidazole every 12 hours.

After he finished the meds and bland diet, I took another sample in, and it was negative, but the bouts of diarrhea continue.

I don’t know what to do. He is a happy dog and looks healthy, too. -- A.A., Gaylordsville, Connecticut

DEAR A.A.: Giardia can seriously debilitate dogs -- as well as humans -- and can cause serious damage to the intestinal wall, which can lead to other problems.

The parasite may not show up in fecal samples. Infective cysts can be present in standing water and the feces of other animals, notably deer. My own dog had a persistent Giardia infection, even after the local humane society released her as “parasite-free” after treatment with Metronidazole. Effective treatment was achieved using a combination of Metronidazole and Fenbendazole (Panacur). You should discuss this treatment regimen with your veterinarian.

In addition, I would give your dog digestive enzymes and probiotics (available from drug stores). Give him half the human dose, twice daily before meals. Also consider transitioning him to my home-prepared diet, adding a tablespoon of canned pumpkin to his twice-daily meals.

CALIFORNIA LAWMAKERS TO CONSIDER FUNDING PET CARE AT HOMELESS SHELTERS

A bill proposed in the California Senate would allocate $5 million to homeless shelters to pay for basic veterinary care, food, shelter and supplies for pets whose owners have no home.

“If we can have more pet-friendly housing, and housing that supports the needs of pets, we will actually bridge the gap between social services and animal health care so we can find a larger solution to help those in need,” said Geraldine D’Silva, director of the San Diego Humane Society’s PAWS program. (KPBS-TV/KPBS-FM, San Diego, 5/21)

(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 DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

DEAR DR. FOX: My beloved Rosie, a female Shih-Tzu, died in January. She would have been 15 in February. We were very close. For example, after I returned home from knee-replacement surgery, for the first two weeks, she stayed by my side 24/7. After that, she would periodically check to make sure I was OK.

Two weeks ago, our vet asked if we would consider adopting an 8-year-old male Maltese who needed a home after his human “mom” died, and his human “dad” no longer wanted him. We met Dickens and his human dad at a park to see if we would consider adopting him. I was sitting on a park bench when Dickens came up to me, stood up on his hind legs, and looked straight at me. I swear I saw recognition in his eyes.

We agreed to adopt him. When we brought him home, he ran into the house and straight up the stairs to the second floor. It was like he knew the house. Upstairs, we have a TV room with two recliners and a wedge between them. Rosie liked to sit and sleep on the wedge. The first thing Dickens did was ask to be in my lap, then he jumped up on the wedge with no hesitation and settled down.

From the time we brought him home, he has followed me around and is always with me. He has also exhibited other “Rosie” behaviors.

Am I crazy? Is all of this coincidence, or is it reincarnation, or some kind of “group soul”? -- M.N., St. Louis, Missouri

DEAR M.N.: I think this is all coincidence, but reflective of the collective intelligence of dogs, which makes them behave and respond in the same ways in the same situations. I do not take this as evidence that animals have a “group soul,” as some Theosophists and others contend. It is more akin to Carl Jung’s collective unconscious in the human race.

We can mystify reality and wax spiritual, but existential reality is surely a wonder in itself. Every living being is a miracle of creation and survival, most animals having a far more ancient, if not more noble, lineage than we more recently evolved primates with the arrogance to name ourselves “man the wise” (Homo sapiens).

Our lives are often changed by the love of an animal, and also by the way we treat them when we give them equal consideration and respect. In doing so, we may earn the “Homo sapiens” title.

Australian aborigines have long known this, and proclaim of Australia’s indigenous feral dog, “Dingo makes us human.”

When your new dog first met you and you made eye contact, he saw trust and love in your eyes and in your body language. And as you entered his heart or spirit, he entered yours.

I SEE YOU-FEEL YOU

“Facial mimicry” is the term given to the empathic communication seen in the facial expressions of humans interacting face-to-face. One person smiles, and the other smiles. It is one of the pillars of human communication and intimacy.

Such mimicry is indicative of a high degree of social and emotional cognition and awareness, which are attributes of being human. But this behavior is not exclusive to our own species. Ethologists and comparative psychologists studying other animals’ behavior have documented this ability in other primates, as well as in dogs and wolves (as per my book “The Soul of the Wolf”).

Now, ethologists from the University of Plymouth, England, confirm that facial mimicry has been seen in sun bears. An article to that effect, “Facial Complexity in Sun Bears: Exact Facial Mimicry and Social Sensitivity,” was written by Dr. Marina Davila-Ross and associates and recently published in the journal Scientific Reports.

These Asiatic bears continue to be subjected to extreme cruelty as in the bear bile farms in China, where they are confined in coffin-like cages; the dancing bears of India, which are defanged, declawed and kept in chains; and bear-baiting with dogs in public arenas in Pakistan. These examples are all a sad reflection of our evident lack of empathy and the insensitivity and ignorance of unquestioned cultural traditions.

WHAT’S THE MOST DOG-FRIENDLY CITY IN THE U.S.?

Long Beach, California, was judged the most dog-friendly city in the United States, based on the availability of veterinarians, kennels, groomers, obedience classes and dog parks. Mesa, Arizona took the second spot, followed by Atlanta; Sacramento, California; and Seattle. (Newsweek, May 22)

(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 DrFoxOneHealth.com.)