DEAR DR. FOX: Here in New Jersey, almost everything that had shut down due to the pandemic has been reopened, wholly or in part. But not animal shelters. At the shelters near me, anyone interested in adopting must select a pet from an online picture, then make an appointment to meet the animal. What is the rationale for this, and do you think these strict rules are still necessary? -- J.W., Allenhurst, New Jersey

DEAR J.W.: Yes, I think these restrictions are very much in order, and wish similar ones would have been applied months ago in other situations where people gather in confined areas. Such steps would have done much to reduce America’s high death rate and uncounted numbers of survivors suffering from some of the chronic health consequences of this highly contagious virus.

Many people now shop online, and the internet is a tool shelters have effectively used to facilitate adoptions, as you describe. Many adoptable animals are currently being held in foster homes, leaving the shelters themselves mostly empty. But the shelters may soon fill up again when more people go back to work and children return to school: If the transition is not managed thoughtfully, animals adopted during the shutdown may not adapt well to the long hours of now being left alone. Separation anxiety can lead to behavioral problems, which can lead to families surrendering or abandoning these “animals of convenience.”

People who have adopted animals during the pandemic to entertain their children, and for company in this time of social isolation, should utilize the American Veterinary Medical Association’s tips to avoid such problems. The AVMA recommends seven steps to get pets ready for your return to work.

From avma.org:

-- Slowly introduce workday routines. Schedule waking up, feeding and walking as you might for your expected workday routine, then introduce a consistent departure schedule that builds on that routine.

-- Take anxiety out of your departure. Practice short departures on a daily basis and gradually extend the time you are gone. Give a small treat just as you walk out the door to condition the pet to find it rewarding when you leave. If signs of anxiety -- such as destructive activity -- occur, do not punish the pet. Instead, shorten the time away and slowly build up to longer periods. Stay calm when leaving or returning home.

-- Exercise. Before leaving, engage in play and activity. Burning energy can help keep pets calm and relaxed. ... Keep cats indoors if possible. Do not put face coverings on pets, and do not wipe or bathe your pet with chemical disinfectants, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or any other products not approved for animal use.

-- Keep them engaged. Long-lasting treats, food puzzles and automatic feeders can help keep pets occupied during the day while you’re out.

-- Create a safe space. If you have typically used a crate when you were gone but haven’t been crating your dog while at home, now is a good time to either explore not using a crate (gradually increasing the length of time you are away) or to reintroduce crating while still working from home.

-- Look for signs of stress. Excessive barking or whining, agitation, destructive behavior and inappropriate urination/defecation can all be signs of stress. If you are concerned, consider filming your pets when you leave so you can better observe them and sharing the video with your veterinarian.

-- Talk to your veterinarian. Concerns about behavior, stress and well-being may require a consultation with a veterinary behaviorist and/or medical intervention.

GOOD NEWS FOR WILDLIFE FROM PROJECT COYOTE

From a Sept. 11 release from the Humane Society -- including a quote from my daughter, Camilla Fox, of Project Coyote:

“A coalition of state and national wildlife protection organizations is applauding the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission for its vote today banning wildlife killing contests, in which participants compete to kill the most, the largest, or even the smallest animals for cash and prizes. The new rule, put forth by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, prohibits the killing of unprotected species including coyotes, bobcats, crows, foxes and raccoons as part of a contest. Contest participants killed at least 1,427 in these events in Washington between 2013 and 2018.

“Washington joins six other states -- Arizona, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Vermont -- that have taken a stand against cruel, unsporting and wasteful wildlife killing contests.

“’Wildlife killing contests are a blood sport just like dogfighting and cockfighting, which have been outlawed nationwide,’ said Camilla Fox, founder and executive director of Project Coyote. ‘We commend Commissioner Baker and the entire Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission for relegating these ecologically and ethically indefensible events to the history books.’”

My daughter’s statement (shortened for the release) continues, “Wildlife killing contests are also destructive to healthy ecosystems, within which all wildlife species play a crucial role. For example, coyotes and other targeted species help to control rabbit and rodent populations and restrict rodent- and tick-borne disease transmission.”

I would add this thought to my daughter’s statement: Those who find pleasure in killing any living being as a competitive, recreational sport must be deeply uninformed and in need of empathy-enhancement through better education.

(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: Many thanks for your recent column addressing how cruel TNR is, and offering alternative solutions, which city councilors are always wanting to hear. I forwarded the article to the Animal Welfare Commission of Tulsa, which will soon be providing a recommendation about the TNR issue to the city council. I also copied all of the city council members.

Many thanks again for this timely article and for all your fabulous advocacy -- sorely needed! -- P.G., Tulsa, Oklahoma

DEAR P.G.: I hope more people who really care for cats will step up to the plate and get their city councils to prohibit such activities in their communities, especially where wildlife is at risk from free-roaming cats. TNR (trap, neuter, release) is well-intended, but ethically questionable and scientifically (biologically and ecologically) unacceptable.

Cats are super-predators, and while predation -- one animal killing another for food -- is a natural biological activity and the ecological role of indigenous predators, the domestic cat is an invasive species. Like other invasive species, animal and plant, cats need to be controlled to help protect and restore regional biodiversity, improve ecosystems and maintain public health.

Do keep me posted as to your progress, and I hope other people who share our concerns will support you in Tulsa and other municipalities. Those wanting more information can reach me via my newspaper column or visit my website for science- and experience-based articles concerning cats and their proper care.

MOST UK CAT OWNERS DON’T MIND WILDLIFE ‘GIFTS’

Cat owners’ attitudes about their pets’ hunting behavior fall into one of five categories, ranging from concern to tolerance to indifference, according to a recent study. Most cat owners in the U.K. allow their cats to go outdoors, and oppose the idea of keeping them indoors to protect wildlife, says lead author Sarah Crowley. (Full story: HealthDay News, 9/7)

This culturally embedded practice and attitude is not confronted fairly or fully by the British Veterinary Association, of which I am a member. That group’s current president has stated that some cats with certain medical conditions should be allowed out, while the rest be kept in as a precaution during the COVID-19 pandemic. My recent letter to the BVA Veterinary Record journal, which pointed out various remedies for the conditions she identified, was never published.

DEAR DR. FOX: I have been reading your animal columns for over 30 years, and sometimes send them to my children and friends with animals. The advice you have given has helped so many animals over the years, along with educating us about them and the environment. Keep it up. What keeps you going, and when did you start your animal advocacy? -- R.E., Washington, D.C.

DEAR R.E.: What keeps me going is my love and concern for animals wild and domesticated, and the natural environment we seem incapable of sharing. I am also driven by the mistreatment of both. Animals are not our inferiors. To anyone who claims that their god says animals and nature were created for human use, I say, to hell with that!

What started me were several experiences during my formative years, detailed in my autobiographical essay “My Life for the Animals” (posted on my website, drfoxonehealth.com). One defining moment was during World War II in England, seeing two trash cans brimming over with euthanized cats and dogs, including puppies and kittens, behind a veterinary hospital. (Curiosity on my walk home from grade school had made me take a look, after the loud buzzing of flies on a hot afternoon caught my attention.)

The memory is as clear as it was that day -- a sad reality of the war, when people could not afford to care for their animals. Food was in short supply and rationed, spay/neuter programs were nonexistent, and nobody wanted to adopt a puppy or kitten. But my mother helped me rescue any animal in need while my father was in southeast Asia with the Royal Air Force. We shared our food, saving crumbs and leftovers for the birds -- and for a wild hedgehog who came by many mornings to enjoy the fresh cow’s milk from the local farm, which I hated to drink!

(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: Recent studies have furthered our knowledge on the connections between children’s allergies and pets. Some recent highlights:

One-third of infants living in a home with a furry pet (dog, cat or rabbit) had animal-specific bacteria in their fecal samples, compared to 14% of those living in a pet-free home. At 6 months old, none of the infants that had animal-specific bacteria in their fecal samples tested positive for allergies.

Exposure to animal-specific microbes has beneficial effects, including potentially strengthening infants’ immune systems. A 2017 study from the University of Alberta found a lower incidence of obesity, as well as allergies and asthma, in children born into families with animals.

Some of these findings have been helpfully summarized by veterinarian Dr. Karen Becker at healthypets.mercola.com.

In my opinion, the developing immune system “interrogates” viruses, bacteria and other microorganisms that enter our bodies, and is coupled with the microbiome in our guts. The more diverse the microbial population, the better the immune system is “educated” to function against allergens and potentially harmful microorganisms. Otherwise it may overreact, creating what is termed a “cytokine storm” -- common in children and seemingly healthy young adults -- which can make a mild influenza infection fatal, or nearly so.

In addition, children who live with animals have been shown to have improved intellectual and social development. Many children are growing up with a lack of exposure to a diversity of microbial life, thanks to our sanitized environments and lack of contact with the outdoors and other animals. Sanitizing surfaces may therefore do more harm than good.

DEAR DR. FOX: My 10-year-old cockapoo, Daisy, has warts all over her body, ranging from small to large. What can we do for her? -- G.B.D., Boca Raton, Florida

DEAR G.B.D.: Warts are caused by a papilloma virus (one not transmissible to humans) invading the dog’s skin. They are common in puppies and in older dogs, some breeds more than others. To be on the safe side, a veterinary visit is in order, since your diagnosis of warts could be wrong: Dogs like yours are prone to developing benign sebaceous tumors of the skin glands and hair follicles, which call for different treatment protocols.

Assuming they are warts, these can often be removed -- provided they are not near the eyes, and the dog cannot lick or scratch them -- with human anti-wart treatments such as silver nitrate or salicylic acid. Some people report that “painting” the warts daily with apple cider vinegar, or with two drops of essential oil of thyme or frankincense mixed into a half-teaspoon of olive oil, removes them. These treatments kill the papilloma viruses in the growths.

Discuss all of this with your veterinarian, but be on the alert: I know of one reader who was charged over $1,000 to have a few small warts removed from her schnauzer. A general anesthetic, extensive blood tests, etc., are not called for unless the warts are large, ulcerating and/or bleeding, or if the dog cannot seem to stop scratching them. Growths around the eyes and eyelids are dangerous, as well. In these cases, surgery might be called for.

After treatment, your dog may need to wear an “Elizabethan collar”/”neck lampshade” to stop her from licking and scratching the treated areas.

I would boost her immune system and skin condition with a few drops of fish oil in her food daily, or a canned sardine and one-half of a crushed-up human daily multivitamin tablet.

Funny story: When I was a child, I had a wart on the end of my nose to which, under a doctor’s advice, silver nitrate was applied. This just turned the wart black and did not remove it, so it looked like I had snot on my nose at school! Shortly thereafter, the man who delivered our morning milk (from his own cows) gave my mother a horse hair to tie around my wart. All that weekend, I walked around with a whisker on the end of my nose, which my mother kept tightening. Come Monday, the wart had fallen off and I could go back to school without being teased!

SUNSHINE MILLS RECALLS DOG FOOD DUE TO AFLATOXIN

Sunshine Mills recalled three varieties of dog food due to high levels of aflatoxin, a naturally occurring byproduct of mold that can cause lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea and jaundice if ingested. No cases of illness linked to the food have been reported, and dogs that show signs of exposure should be seen by a veterinarian, the FDA says. (Full story: CNN, 9/5)

This and other toxic molds are a problem exacerbated, in part, by climate change. Increased rainfall and humidity around harvest time leads to greater costs to effectively dry high-moisture-content grains before storage. Most are genetically engineered, which has been shown to increase crop vulnerability to such harmful organisms.

(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.)