DEAR READERS: Suzanne Arnold, director of Australians for Animals, sent me the following urgent message:

”It’s beyond terrifying watching the extent and intensity of fires engulfing Australia. Smoke-filled cities and regions, desperate firefighters struggling to contain fires that are creating their own lightning and thunderstorms.

“Australia is an ancient, dry continent. Climate change is wreaking havoc. Australia’s wildlife has taken the brunt of bushfires and drought. The country is a crematorium for millions of birds, mammals, marsupials, insects, bats and echidnas -- all lost. Burned to death or left to die in smoldering forests because there’s no plan to allow rescues when needed. In reality, the death toll is going to be yet another national crisis. Some scientists estimate almost 500 million animals have perished.

“The federal minister for the environment has admitted that 8,000 koalas were burned to death in one area of New South Wales. Bushfires and drought are predicted to continue for months, leaving the koala facing extinction. At a time when female koalas are carrying young on their backs, the fires have had a devastating impact on the next generation. Many females have abandoned their young, since without food, shelter and water, they can’t care for them. Koalas rely on moisture and nutrients from the leaves of eucalyptus. It’s now commonplace to see desperately thirsty koalas come to humans begging for a drink -- extraordinary behavior for a wild animal.

“Small wildlife shelters are desperate for funds for koalas and other wildlife. (Fuel) costs are high because of long trips to collect leaves for koalas, or trips to wildlife hospitals. Donations can be made at givenow.com.au/koalacrisis or at PayPal (send to koalacrisis@gmail.com). All funds raised go directly to small shelters with no overhead/administrative costs for high-paid executives.”

DEAR DR. FOX: I am not a particularly religious person, but this past Christmas, my husband and I really felt that our dog Rexy, who died at age 15 this past summer, had come back to us. One night, we thought we felt him jump on our bed. Several times, we thought we heard him going up or down our hardwood stairs, where his paws and claws always made a clatter.

He was always excited, and loved Christmas, unwrapping presents and relatives coming to visit. Did he come back to join us in the celebrations, we wonder? He was much loved. -- N.V., Palo Alto, California

DEAR N.V., I have posted very many personal accounts of companion animals “returning” after death to be with their loved ones, generally for a very short time -- perhaps some kind of spiritual closure helping overcome grief. For details, see my article entitled “Animal Spirits: Companion Animal Communications from Across the Grave” on my website, drfoxonehealth.com.

I always appreciate hearing from other readers with similar experiences, and will post responses in a future column.

ILLINOIS CITY BANS SALE OF PURPOSE-BRED CATS AND DOGS IN PET STORES

The city of Rock Island, Illinois, has banned the sale of dogs and cats within city limits in an effort to discourage unscrupulous breeding operations. Dogs and cats in the city’s pet stores must be in need of adoption from an animal shelter or rescue organization. (WQAD-TV, Moline, Illinois, Dec. 18)

This kind of initiative, long overdue, is beginning to spread across America as people wake up to the facts of dog and cat suffering in the hands of many commercial breeders, the pet over-population crisis and the ultimate fact that animals are not commodities, but sentient souls like us.

CDC TRACES INFECTIOUS DISEASE OUTBREAK TO PET STORE PUPPIES

Campylobacter jejuni infections that have sickened at least 30 people (four of whom have been hospitalized) in 13 states were traced to puppies at pet stores, including Petland, the CDC reported.

The CDC suggests thoroughly washing hands after handling puppies, or their food or waste, and ensuring animals get regular veterinary care. (CNN, Dec. 18)

Clearly, these poor pups came from one original source -- a puppy mill -- before going to these market outlets across the U.S.

(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 dog, Gizmo, who is almost 4 years old. We believe he’s a pug-Chihuahua mix. He’s a good guy and wants to please me. But about a year ago, he had some sudden and strange behaviors that had a manic quality.

I came into the room and he knocked over a flower vase on a table and began to gobble up the flowers. I told him “no.” Then he ran to the carpet and started trying to pull up pieces and eat it. When I told him no again, he ran over to some string curtains and tried to devour those. It was totally out of character, and a bit alarming. He was trying to mind me, but it was obvious he couldn’t control himself.

I called our veterinarian, who asked if Gizmo could have got hold of any medicines or poisons. He hadn’t had access to anything, so our vet didn’t have any idea of what was going on.

After about two hours, Gizmo stopped this behavior and was normal again. A couple days later, he had the same behavior for about 15 minutes. It’s never happened again, but I remain somewhat concerned. Do you know what it could be, or what I should do if it comes up again?

My second question is about my 15-month-old mini dachshund, Pippin. He’s a good guy, too ... he just has dachshund traits. You have to love them!

The issue is barking. He barks long and loud if he hears anything outside. I don’t want to hurt him (as with a shock collar), but I need to alter this behavior so as not to disturb my neighbors. He doesn’t respond to verbal correction, positive reinforcement or redirection.

I’ve had a citronella no-bark collar for about five months. At first it quieted him, but only when it was on all the time. Now he’s decided he’d rather bark and just put up with the sprays of citronella. My last dachshund died the summer before last, and he did the same thing when he was young. I tried a sonic sound collar, which wasn’t effective. Eventually I took him to a specialist and had him “de-barked.” He still barked, but it was much quieter. We lived in a condo with close neighbors, so I had to do something. I always had mixed feelings about it, though.

Ethically, I’m not sure elective surgery is great to do to people or our furry friends. On the other hand, the specialist I used said she started specializing in the surgery that she did by going down through the throat and scraping the vocal cords because so many dogs were losing their homes or even being killed because of their barking.

Do you have ideas to stop the barking in a kind way? What are your thoughts about altering the vocal cords? -- D.G., West Palm Beach, Florida

DEAR D.G.: One of our dogs, Tanza, whom we rescued as a pup while working in Tanzania, startled us one day by bizarrely walking stiff-legged across the room with eyes fixed and a worried expression on her face. Then she grabbed and tried to swallow anything she could get into her mouth: an edge of carpet, a corner of a pillow. So I immediately took her outside, where she ate some grass and leaves and eventually vomited.

Clearly, her bizarre behavior, which on occasion she subsequently repeated, was an indication of acute nausea and an urgent need to empty her stomach. This is what your dog was most probably experiencing. Dogs have an almost automatic response to vomit when anything irritates their stomachs, which is probably a survival mechanism after generations of living as scavengers and garbage-eaters.

Your other problem dog is another issue indeed, for which, as you have discovered, there is sometimes no easy solution. Some anti-bark collars emit a high-frequency sound or vibration, and can work well to stop some dogs from constantly barking. But I have concerns about their long-term safety. For many dogs, the simple solution is to leave a talk-show radio or TV channel on to act as a sound barrier to outside noises that can trigger indoor dogs to bark. Having the vocal cords snipped is a last resort, and should never become a routine procedure for noisy 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 am a regular reader of your column. Because I have worked for a veterinarian for 13 years, I find your ideas both interesting and useful in our clinic.

I have been a volunteer at my local animal shelter -- a county-operated one, in a small state -- for 25 years. We must accept all strays, turn-ins, ferals, etc., from anyone who lives in our county. We are open seven days a week, and while we do have bona fide “hours of operation,” those go by the wayside daily because there is so much that doesn’t get done by the end of the workday.

We never have enough money, personnel, volunteers, foster families or fundraisers. Although this shelter is county-operated, the budget for animal welfare is very small. Usually, the money allotted for medical care has run out by February or March, so we try to raise funds any way we can. Then the county residents get resentful because they think that their taxes should already pay for everything.

When you write that most animals entering a shelter need quiet quarantine rooms and should not be confined to a small cage, I am not sure you know the nature of a crowded animal shelter. How can we provide any more than we already do? THERE IS NEVER ENOUGH OF ANYTHING, and we don’t have enough people to help us. The turnover of paid help and volunteers is enormous because of the stress and sheer volume of the daily work. I have spent an entire day just doing laundry. It never ends.

What I would like you to know is that shelters all over the country are having the same issues. It usually boils down to lack of money. What I would like you to do is to give some solutions to these problems, instead of drawing attention to problems that will keep people from checking out shelters for adoptable animals because they are afraid of what they might see.

We are doing a marvelous job with what we have; our animals are safe, warm, fed, watered and exercised as much as possible. But it is not easy; I hope you will bring that out in a future column. -- J.O., Stevensville, Maryland

DEAR DR. FOX: Thank you for writing about what a shelter should do to enhance the adoptability of its animals.

It would be even better if shelters could find a way to minimize disease; newly adopted dogs frequently have “kennel cough” or worse, and cannot show their true personalities because they are sick.

You are so right about TNR, which turns its back on cats so that TNR advocates can feel good about themselves. They won’t acknowledge pictures of starved, maimed, diseased, injured and dead cats that are victims of the concept. As for no-kill shelters, they often flaunt the term, and some of them warehouse animals, but many also ship animals they don’t adopt to another facility that euthanizes them.

The other flaw of the no-kill movement is that it endorses adoptions to practically anyone who knows how to fill out an adoption application, often with omissions and falsehoods. People then surrender these pets back to the shelter because “he didn’t know how to behave” or “he got sick,” and then ask to see other ones. Home visits are not conducted to educate pending adopters on successful transitional techniques and how to work through inevitable problems. Most public and private shelters/rescues do not choose to meaningfully screen and educate adopters, because their marching orders are to get these hapless animals “adopted.” Even some private rescue organizations have succumbed to handing out animals. Thus, these animals are really “sold” for fee generation, and often pay a terrible price.

Rehabilitating and nurturing shelter animals would save more of them, but why bother if the animals are being shoveled out the door or handed over to someone who has an irresponsible attitude toward defenseless pets? In my mind, euthanasia is a better alternative to a life of hell. I believe there are far more adoptable pets than responsible pet owners.

Please do not use my name, as I have been in the rescue business for 15 years and have been attacked by people who don’t like it when I stand up for animals and tell the truth.

Thank you for your relentless efforts on the behalf of animals. -- [Name withheld], Rockville, Maryland

DEAR J.O. and [name]: I am glad that some of my column advice is helpful to the veterinary hospital where you work, J.O., since the column gives me a “wide angle” view of the major health and behavioral issues affecting dogs and cats.

And “name withheld,” thank you for sharing your experience from working in the trenches of animal rescue and sheltering.

I do hope readers will appreciate your observations from working in your local animal shelters; blessings to you both for doing so. I wish more people -- especially active, healthy retirees (to hell with the next cruise vacation! Think of the animals!) -- would volunteer. Come and socialize the resident animals. Raise funds to pay for more trained staff. Get old blankets, towels and other supplies for local shelters.

Now is the season of giving, and I urge all people to consider donating first to their local animal shelters, which should have nonprofit 501(c)(3) status with the IRS -- so donations are tax-deductible -- as well as an open-door policy for visitors to come and see everything. Better to start locally rather than donating to the well-heeled national organizations, whose big money doesn’t always get down to the local communities. This may actually turn off potential donors to local shelters, thinking that the problems are being cared for by the larger organizations who have the money to buy TV advertising time. We need both -- national appeals and grassroots activism and involvement -- plus more dollars coming from the municipal coffers.

(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.)