DEAR DR. FOX: I’ve lost two dogs in the last two years due to illness and age.

They were 40- to 50-pound mixed breeds. One died at 12 years old from probable liver cancer, considering blood test results, and the other at 16 from a weak heart (treated) and other age-related problems.

I’ve lived in a senior community for not quite three years. In that time, it has come to my attention that there have been what I would consider an abnormal number of dogs passing away, from age 8 and up, many due to cancers. It has also come to my attention that weed killers are routinely used around the community where many of us walk our dogs. Roundup was used regularly, until recently, when another brand replaced it due to the controversy about Roundup.

What is your opinion of my suspicion that the weed killer may have contributed to the loss of at least some of these dogs and/or shortened the dogs’ lives? In particular, I’m thinking of my 12-year-old dog with liver cancer. Could his year-and-a-half exposure to weed killer have done it?

All my dogs have lived to 15 or 16 until now. I know there are other factors that can contribute, such as food, vaccinations and flea treatments, etc. Honestly, I’m somewhat fearful of getting another. -- M.J.S., South Bend, Indiana

DEAR M.J.S.: I sympathize with you over the loss of your dogs. But do consider adopting an older one, regardless of the fact that many dogs are dying at a younger age than anticipated because they developed one form of cancer or another. They are like the canaries down in the mine, alerting us to environmental carcinogens also in our food and water, which they share with us.

The high incidence of cancer in young children today is in large part due to pesticides and other carcinogens -- even in the air we breathe -- that have been blithely released for decades and approved by one government after another.

The best preventive approach, for all of us, is to use a good-quality water filter, buy organically certified foods and avoid using herbicides and insecticides in and around one’s living area, both outdoors and in. These pesticides are creating havoc ecologically and, like antibiotics, should only be used as a last resort. Seeing herbicides applied for aesthetic reasons to control so-called “weeds” means a loss of natural biodiversity, and consequential pest and disease problems.

There’s nothing better than letting indigenous wild plants, and the insects and birds who depend upon them, flourish. Get rid of monoculture lawns and decorative plants, many of which are pretreated with neonicotinoid insecticides. These plants may please the eye, but are of no ecological or food value to bees and other beneficial insects.

DEAR DR. FOX: You write about mercury being a problem for cats, especially when they are fed seafoods like tuna. Where does this mercury come from? Stopping the source may be the solution. -- Y.McF., Fort Myers, Florida

DEAR Y.McF.: Mercury can cause birth defects, cancer and brain-development disorders in humans and other animals. It accumulates in the bodies of fish when bigger fish eat smaller ones that are contaminated with this toxin (a process called bioaccumulation). Major sources of mercury are paper pulp mills that discharge into waterways, as well as coal-fired power plants that contaminate the air and waterways. The latter also emit lead and arsenic. Yet the Trump administration is now moving to roll back Obama-era regulations to limit such pollutants from being released by power plants in order to reduce costs and encourage more coal-fired power plant construction.

Mercury (as thimerosal) has also been used as a preservative in vaccines; many health experts sought to outlaw thimerosal, for good reason.

SPEECH PATHOLOGIST’S DOG COMMUNICATES WITH SOUND BOARD

Speech pathologist Christina Hunger developed a sound board that her Catahoula and blue heeler mix dog, Stella, uses to communicate. The dog presses buttons with her paws to indicate her owners’ names, different activities and basic emotions, and Stella can string words together to form short sentences. (The Daily Dot, Nov. 6)

(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: I was very inspired when I read in your Animal Doctor column that you hoped your writing would ”help people accept that, just as we are spiritual beings experiencing life in human form, so these other organisms are spiritual beings experiencing life in other forms, and treat them accordingly.”

Outside of my own writings, I seldom see such sentiments regarding the Oneness of all life published in a newspaper. I was moved to read it out loud to my wife. Her face turned all soft as she said, “Oh my gosh, there’s hope.”

It is exactly as I said in my book, “Conversations With God”: “All things are One Thing. There is only One Thing, and all things are part of the One Thing There Is.”

Spotting your column in my mother-in-law’s copy of our local paper on an evening visit to her house brought me to my first awareness of you and your remarkable work. Of course, I checked out your website immediately, and found that we are saying so many of the same things to the world. I had to write you then, just to express my gratitude for the messages you are, and have been for some time, bringing to the world.

Thank you, Dr. Fox, for evidencing the courage of your convictions in the things you say and do. You are making it a better place. -- N.D.W., Medford, Oregon

DEAR N.D.W.: I know from some readers’ responses to my syndicated Animal Doctor columns that they find affirmation of their sense of kinship with all life and that we are facing an ethical and, indeed, spiritual crisis culturally and in our evolution as a species.

Others take offense, believing that only we humans are made in the image of God, and that animals and nature were created for man’s exclusive use: God-given dominion, indeed.

My slideshow on my website (drfoxonehealth.com) entitled “Animals, Nature and Religion” and my book “The Boundless Circle: Caring for Creatures and Creation” -- along with the more recent book “Animals and Nature First” -- call for the kind of stewardship of planet Earth that is necessary today, especially if we are to be worthy of the self-anointed title of Homo sapiens, “man the wise”! The “manifest destiny” and pioneer spirit of colonialism, with destructive exploitation being a presumed God-given right, is antithetical to Albert Schweitzer’s view that, “Until he extends his circle of compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace.”

As a veterinarian, I feel it is my professional duty to address the ethical and spiritual aspects of our relationships with fellow creatures as part of the great healing, the One Health, that is long overdue.

DEAR DR. FOX: Our beloved yellow Lab will soon be 13 years old and has experienced some incontinence for the past year or so.

This has been kept in check with the prescription of Proin (25 mg, twice daily) until about a month ago. When her nightly bladder leakage reappeared last month, our doctor increased the dosage to 50 mg, twice daily, which seemed to work for a few days. She is now having these occurrences almost nightly again.

Would it be advisable to increase the dosage again, or is there possibly some better alternative? -- S.W., Forsyth, Missouri

DEAR S.W.: I would not increase the dose of Proin for your old dog. Harmful side effects can include vomiting, loss of appetite, diarrhea, excessive salivation, agitation, tiredness, vocalization, confusion, increased water consumption, weight loss, weakness, fever, panting and changes in skin color (flushing or bright pink).

I would have the dog checked for cystitis, purchase doggy diaper pads, and ask your vet to make up a prescription of DES (diethylstilbestrol). This hormonal replacement, given for a few days periodically, can help many dogs suffering from incontinence -- notably, neutered female dogs -- as I can attest with one of our own dogs.

(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: I have a general question about dogs.

When you or I go to see our doctor, the first thing done is to have your blood pressure taken. So, do dogs suffer from high blood pressure?

In all the times I have taken my dog to a vet, blood pressure is never mentioned nor taken in any way. I am just curious, and would like to see your response. -- L.J., Danbury, Connecticut

DEAR L.J.: I am glad that you asked because, especially with human medicine and the rising costs of general health care, one should be aware of which tests are necessary and which are frivolous or merely profit-driven. Taking cats’ and dogs’ blood pressures is a relatively recent addition to the general wellness examination. As with humans, taking animals’ blood pressure can give valuable information, especially for older animals, which could save their lives.

Both cats and dogs can have heart attacks and strokes with high blood pressure -- often associated with chronic kidney disease, for instance -- and both species respond well to the kinds of medicines used in human patients to help control blood pressure. Low-salt diets are important for all species with hypertension.

DEAR DR. FOX: Thank you for your recent article about vaccinations.

In 2016, my dog Reilly had a rabies shot; seven days later, he was hospitalized. 2019 comes along; I vaccinate him again, and he is in the hospital again. The doctor said it was not from the vaccination.

I was up for three nights. Reilly would not eat, and drank very little water. I took him to the vet and they gave him some liquid under the skin. That did not work, so instead of paying $1,600 for a one-night stay at an animal hospital, the vet said he could do it at his office overnight for half that.

It was 2 a.m. when I was reading your article, and it confirmed that I was not crazy. I wish you lived near here to help Reilly; you are so open-minded when it comes to the truth.

Thank you again and I hope Reilly makes it this time. -- P.F., Brick, New Jersey

DEAR P.F.: I am disgusted by the response of the veterinarian to your dog’s obvious adverse reaction to the anti-rabies vaccination. You should file a complaint with the state’s Veterinary Board of Examiners and the Better Business Bureau. This veterinarian should at least return all money you have paid out, and read the article posted on my website (drfoxonehealth.com) concerning the risks of vaccinations.

In principle, I am not opposed to vaccinations. But when animals (and humans) have adverse reactions, subsequent revaccination should be questioned. You should find a holistic veterinarian in your area: Go to ahvma.org to locate one who might be willing to provide you with a vaccination waiver indicating that your dog is at risk from the anti-rabies vaccination. A blood titer could be taken to add weight to this document, since your dog may not actually need to be revaccinated if the prior vaccination is providing adequate protection.

(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.)