DEAR READERS: As summers get hotter and longer with climate change, additional precautions are called for to prevent the horrific, fatal consequences of heat stroke and heat exhaustion. First, of course: Never leave a dog or infant unattended in a vehicle. In hot weather, any dog who suddenly becomes dazed, disoriented and uncoordinated should be immediately iced or soaked in cold water, and if collapsed, rushed to the nearest veterinary clinic.

There are cooling vests for dogs to wear when out in hot weather to help avert such calamities. Dogs regulate their body temperature not by sweating, but by panting, which cools the blood with the evaporative cooling of saliva. This can lead to rapid dehydration, so take water for your dog on walks. Oral evaporative cooling by panting is less effective when the humidity is high, so dogs are at risk when high temperatures and high humidity combine. Avoid strenuous physical activity -- running, chasing and retrieving -- under such conditions.

Furthermore, it might to best to go out when pavements and sidewalks are coolest; During the heat of the day, they can make walking very painful, since the heat rapidly penetrates dogs’ paws. All flat-faced (brachycephalic) dogs are extremely prone to heat stress and heat stroke, along with all dogs who are old, have heart issues, are excitable by nature or are fearful when confined, as during air transportation.

Hot and humid weather brings out various biting insects that can transmit diseases to dogs -- and us. A good repellant is a spray bottle of water with a few drops of lemon eucalyptus essential oil. This can be wiped over ears, face, body and limbs. An alternative is cold lemon tea: Boil a sliced lemon (with peel) in 2 cups of water, strain, and store in the fridge.

MOSQUITOES IN CALIF. CARRYING ENCEPHALITIS VIRUSES

Mosquitoes collected from traps in Los Angeles County were found to be carrying West Nile virus, while those trapped in Palm Desert were carrying WNV and the virus that causes St. Louis encephalitis, reported the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District. To prevent mosquitoes, water should not be allowed to stand for more than a week in outdoor containers, including pet bowls and birdbaths. Other sources of standing water should be eliminated, and people should wear an effective repellent when outdoors, officials said. (KNBC-TV Los Angeles, City News Service, June 3)

(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 13-year-old golden doodle’s back legs seem to be weakening. She in on Dasuquin with MSM, Temaril-P, Benadryl, L-carnitine and taurine supplements. Recently, the veterinarian started her on Novox caplets daily and gabapentin twice daily.

She weighs just under 60 pounds. Are all of these medications necessary? I worry she is overmedicated. -- S.M., Medford, Connecticut

DEAR S.M.: This does seem like a lot of medication. Is your dog improving?

I firmly believe in keeping drugs to a minimum, but in some instances, a “cocktail” is called for. There are alternative therapies for spinal deterioration and associated arthritis, including acupuncture, laser therapy, magnetic pulse therapy and sound waves. Try the website ahvma.org to find your nearest holistic veterinarian.

In the interim, I would suggest massage therapy (as per my book “The Healing Touch for Dogs”), and be sure to keep your dog’s weight under control. One teaspoon of ground ginger and another of turmeric and fish oil in the food daily might be very beneficial. Begin with a pinch to get the dog used to the flavor.

DEAR READERS: I am sickened by the daily news reports -- as well as the long history -- of our cruel mistreatment of our own kind, and of other species. The all-too-common phrases “treated like an animal” and “they behaved like animals” also offend me. I have a doctoral degree in ethology -- the science of animal behavior -- and take offense at this demeaning of animals, many species of which have highly ritualistic behaviors to avoid harming each other and establish bonds of trust.

In actuality, we humans are behaving like the animals we are: aggressive, carnivorous primates with all the existential fears of sentient life compounded by arrogance -- believing we are the superior of all species -- and by xenophobia, fear and hatred. In his book “On Aggression,” the late Konrad Lorenz, M.D. -- Nobel laureate and my friend -- made it very clear that for our own good and the good of all life on Earth, we must recognize and better control our instinctual impulses that can lead to aggression, violence and inhumanity.

Treating humans “like animals” implies a cultural acceptance of animal cruelty. This is inevitable in a society where millions of animals are slaughtered for human consumption. The sheer scale of producing and processing these animals to meet market demand makes humane regulations impossible to enforce, along with worker-safety precautions.

A metanoia -- a revolutionary turnaround of human civilization, calling for justice for all our human and non-human relations -- is coming. Witness the globally nascent reverential respect for all life, along with concerted efforts to protect, heal and save. Even so, psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton, M.D., warns us of becoming “socialized to evil.” As empathy and compassion are severed from our relationships, there is dehumanization and de-animalization: animals treated as non-feeling automatons. So we destroy our roots, and this pathology of anomie -- from the Greek word meaning “lawlessness” -- ascribes a sense of rootlessness in society today.

Enthusiasm for environmental and social justice is the sustaining power for what we believe in: a shared spirit of divine inspiration, and a sense of the sacred in all creatures. Such enthusiasm is the antidote to depression, fatalism and despair for many, especially those suffering existential environmental despair and those who feel burned out helping save animals wild and domestic from extinction and cruelty.

DEAR DR. FOX: Please, in light of the hysteria, rumor, exaggeration and general craziness happening right now, be careful in implying that wild or domestic animals may someday carry COVID-19. This could lead to pets being abandoned by people who come to see them as a threat to their health. I know you didn’t actually say that, but things are so edgy and there is so much misinformation out there right now.

If it does become a problem, then address it, and even then, do so carefully so you don’t panic anyone. -- P.W., West Palm Beach, Florida

DEAR P.W., Your cautionary note needs to be highlighted for all concerned -- especially the ignorant and terrified who, as in Peru, started the mass killing of bats in March until their government intervened. Bats help protect people from several insect-borne diseases such as Zika, West Nile virus and dengue fever. These are now coming to the U.S., gift-wrapped in our abuse and disregard for wildlife habitat protection and stewardship. Our public health services should be more engaged with other agencies in protecting the natural environment, the health of which determines our own health.

I have mentioned countless times how cats, especially black cats, were blamed and persecuted for the Black Death pandemic that swept across Europe in the Middle Ages, killing an estimated one-third of the human population. Yet it was spread mainly by fleas and lice.

Some companion animals have already been abandoned by owners paranoid about COVID-1. Such irrational behavior, to which we are becoming desensitized at the highest levels of government, is consonant with the evocative language of fear and retribution: We are encouraged to “wage war against this invisible enemy” and “take this adversary down.” Public concern about a few cats and dogs getting COVID-19 from infected humans calls for responsible quarantining and testing, not abandonment and extermination.

Some say I am becoming too political in my columns, but we all must! Animals and the environment have been excluded for too long. But thanks to the work of nonprofit organizations such as the Animal Legal Defense Fund and Environmental Defense Fund, animal and environmental protection are now on the agenda of civil society. Relevant laws are becoming part of the curriculum in law schools and universities around the world.

(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: We have a 23-year-old female cocker spaniel named Ed. She was just diagnosed with very bad diabetes. It has been a horrific, heartbreaking ordeal.

The vet is still trying to determine what dose of Vetsulin to administer. She is currently refusing to eat, and has to be fed critical-care food orally by syringe. We will have to increase the syringe feedings to give her the Vetsulin. She takes Entyce, an appetite stimulant, once per day. The vet said she may be insulin-resistant, as well as possibly having Cushing’s disease. Can Cushing’s be determined by a blood test easily?

We have two days to make a decision as to what we will do, and we do not want her to suffer in any way. Is there any advice you would give us about how to move forward? This is a most difficult decision to make, and our hearts are in such pain to think about seeing her go. -- L.P., New Rochelle, New York

DEAR L.P.: Your dog has reached a remarkable age. From your account, it seems that chronic organ failure has set in, which could be partially rectified with various medications, after more tests and determining the proper dosages -- but to what end?

If this were my dog, I would provide whatever she likes to eat and give her lots of tender loving care (including relaxing and anxiety-relieving massage therapy, as per my book “The Healing Touch for Dogs”), and let her go. No more medications or tests. Whether this answer upsets or relieves you, do let me know.

L.P. replies:

DEAR DR. FOX: Thank you for reaching out to me. Yesterday, we said goodbye to her, and my heart is crushed. It’s so hard to lose our companions when we love them as family. I’m trying to focus on believing we made the right decision in not allowing her to suffer, but it’s still very hard to convince myself. I have been filled with guilt and second-guessing if we decided to let her go too soon.

You have relieved me somewhat, and for that, I’m grateful. Thank you for the wonderful work you do on behalf of all beloved animals. I will refer to your website as soon as we are able to welcome another loving animal in our lives. -- L.P.

DEAR L.P.: I always hesitate to recommend euthanasia, because it is such a huge responsibility, and often a painful decision to make for a loved one. Most veterinarians feel this burden when having to euthanize terminally ill animal patients, and those whose owners cannot afford costly treatments that may or may not improve the animal’s quality of life. But there are some who would delay this -- not necessarily just to make more money, but because they see some diseases (like your dog’s diabetes) as conditions that should always be treated, rather than focusing on the whole animal. The caregiving burden and continued worry of the animal’s owner-clients must also be considered. Sending warm regards and my condolences.

EXPANDED WILDLIFE SLAUGHTER UNDER TRUMP

DEAR DR. FOX: Have you seen this article in The Washington Post? Headline: “Trump administration makes it easier for hunters to kill bear cubs and wolf pups in Alaska.” This is so inhumane, so terrible, so upsetting, so depressing.

What can we do? -- M.S., Washington, D.C.

DEAR M.S.: Yes, I have read this newspaper article; elsewhere, I read that one Alaskan wildlife official said this measure is intended for “subsistence hunters.” That is an insult to indigenous peoples. This is a relaxation of wildlife hunting regulations for “sport” and “trophy” hunters -- with the president’s son Donald Trump Jr. being a dedicated advocate of such activities, and of the deregulation of wildlife protections. If he were my son, I would disown him. Taxpayers paid $75,000 last year to provide him with Secret Service protection during his sheep-killing trip to Mongolia, during which he killed a member of a threatened sheep species before receiving a permit.

As to your question about what can we do: We can vote and elect the kind of leadership at federal and state levels that does not regard animals as objects, commodities and “harvestable natural resources.” This state of mind is called speciesism, which is part of the same degenerate and spiritually corrupting attitude toward the Spirit of Life that is behind the endemic problems of racism, sexism and classism here in the U.S and around much of the world.

(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.)