DEAR READERS: My New Year’s message for 2020 was to wish America 20/20 vision. And now, we have 20/20 vision of a nation -- and, indeed, a species -- divided on how best to live in the midst of the climate, population and COVID-19 crises. There can be no more “business as usual,” putting short-term profits for the few over public and environmental health and food security.

There is much human suffering, death, grief and socioeconomic chaos during this pandemic. The cause of this plague and other zoonotic (animal-to-human) diseases lies in our relationship with and treatment of other species, wild and domesticated. We would not be victim of our own inhumanity toward them if we did not raise pigs and poultry in disease-promoting factory farms, or poach wild species for food, encroaching on and disrupting their habitats.

Some may deny the climate and extinction crises, but none can deny we have a global pandemic, which could put us on the right path -- not America First, but Earth First! The path to disease prevention -- and our redemption, under the ethos of the One Health philosophy -- is in becoming humane planetary stewards, respecting the rights of all living beings.

In his book “Earth Keeper,” Pulitzer Prize winner and Kiowa tribal elder N. Scott Momaday declares: “Those who deny the spirit of the earth, who do not see that the earth is alive and sacred, who poison the earth and inflict wounds upon it, have no shame and are without the basic virtues of humanity. And they bring ridicule upon themselves.”

Collectively, we cannot be shamed into right action, as we learn in raising children. But this pandemic is a time for humankind to take a moral inventory and consider how we can best avoid harming others and the environment in meeting our basic needs. Justice that does not serve and honor all our relations can never serve the common good.

DEAR DR. FOX: I have a 7-year-old wheaten terrier, who had anti-rabies vaccinations in 2013 and 2014. Then she came down with what the dermatology vet diagnosed as an autoimmune disorder, leading us to reconsider future vaccinations. She lost coloring on her ears, nose and paws and still has inflammatory flare-ups. Her last vaccination was in 2014, and her rabies titer in 2017 indicated adequate immunity.

I am concerned with the state regulations that insist on regular anti-rabies vaccinations. My dog is always with me, and never gets out to be at risk from any rabid animal. What do you suggest I do so I do not get into trouble with the authorities, since I do not ever want to revaccinate my dog again? -- K.T., Winston-Salem, North Carolina

DEAR K.T.: The condition you describe in your dog would at least be aggravated by additional vaccinations, if not brought on in the first place as vaccinosis: an adverse reaction to the vaccines. As with other vaccines for both animals and humans, those with allergies to substances in these vaccines are advised not to take them. This same principle applies to companion animals who have either acute or chronic autoimmune vaccinosis.

Your attending veterinarian should provide you with a letter stating that giving your dog a booster rabies vaccination is not needed because the dog has a good blood titer reading, and that since the dog is immunocompromised, giving any future vaccines would jeopardize the animal’s health.

Let me know if the veterinarian refuses to do so. (If so, I recommend that he or she read my article at drfoxonehealth.com/post/animal-vaccination-concerns-vaccine-associated-autoimmune-and-other-diseases.) I hope this helps.

NESTLE USES SUSTAINABLE INSECT PROTEIN IN NEW DOG FOOD

Nestle is launching a new line of Purina dog food in Switzerland based on unconventional protein sources, including black soldier fly larvae. Consumer preferences are trending toward protein sources with lower environmental impact, and the British Veterinary Association has endorsed insect protein as a livestock-free diet choice for pets. (Full story: Reuters, Nov. 5)

(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 live in a senior community where TNR (trap-neuter-release) is practiced. The cats feed in our dump, and some residents also choose to feed them. The house next door to me is unoccupied at this time. Several cats reside under the house, where they come and go at will.

They use the garden alongside my home as their personal space, urinating and pooping. I never realized this until my husband brought it to my attention while I was pulling weeds. His concern was COVID: We had just read your article stating that TNR programs by animal shelters should be curtailed during this pandemic.

I brought this cat issue to our community’s general manager and to the board. The GM said he contacted some health agency, and was told this should not be a concern. Please inform me of any information you have regarding this issue. -- L.S., Cape Coral, Florida

DEAR L.S.: You are referring to my warning about keeping cats indoors, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is crucial because they can get the viral infection from humans, and then possibly carry it outdoors and infect other cats and susceptible wildlife. This precautionary measure is one of many reasons cats should never be allowed to roam free.

Cat feces can contain pathogens transmissible to humans and other species, wild and domesticated, be they around farms or in rural, suburban or urban communities. There are several diseases that can be passed to humans from cat feces, detailed by Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine -- notably salmonellosis, toxoplasmosis, and diseases caused by hookworms and other parasites called Toxocara.

As yet, no cat with COVID-19 has been reported to have infected people. However, a mutated strain in mink, contracted from infected workers in fur farms, has infected people. Thousands of mink routinely escape from these fur farms, and virologists are concerned that infected mink could pass the virus on to other wildlife. It is also notable that cats can get some strains of the influenza virus from people, and in turn, pass the infection on to other people.

So I am simply calling for the commonsense application of the precautionary principle: Keep owned cats indoors. Those living outdoors should be trapped, neutered, enclosed and either rehomed or placed in sanctuaries. Wear gloves while gardening and wash your hands afterward, as well as after cleaning litter boxes for indoor cats.

I hope this clears up any confusion for you and others during this time of disinformation and of the harmful politicization of preventive public health measures.

DEAR DR. FOX: Can we catch poison ivy from the fur of our cats and dogs? -- H.A.R., Palm Beach, Florida

DEAR H.A.R.: Yes, the oils from poison ivy can indeed be transferred from our pets to our skin. Several years ago, my son got poison ivy after playing with our malamute mix, who had been out running with us earlier in the woods.

My basic advice for all dog owners is to keep them on the trails when outdoors, and away from vegetation where they can pick up not only poison ivy oils, but also a much worse threat to public health: ticks. Especially worrisome is the rapidly spreading Lone Star tick, which can transmit Lyme and other diseases to humans, dogs and other animals.

Always check your animals with a flea comb and look between their toes and ears after an outdoor venture where there is natural vegetation and known tick infestation.

(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: The tiny saw-whet owl who was caught in the 75-foot Norway spruce now standing (and dying) in New York City’s Rockefeller Center has been rehabilitated from her terrifying ordeal and released back into the wild. She serves as a message to us all to reflect on her plight, and on why we kill trees to celebrate Christmas.

Climate change, disease and invasive insects have now destroyed more than half the white-bark pines -- trees that can live for a thousand years -- in the highlands of the Northwest. In light of this, and of the broader climate and extinction crises we now face, it may be more ecologically prudent and appropriate for all Christians to buy a live tree at Christmas, then later plant and decorate it at Easter.

For many, the real celebration is the winter solstice: the shortest day of the year and the longest night before the return of the sun, which some see as the god of life and light. Christmas celebrations should not include the sacrifice of trees, but rather the generosity of a truly Christian spirit through ahimsa: avoiding causing harm to any living being and helping those in need. This “agape” faith can connect everyone with the living world and the miracles of creation.

The Christmases that I can remember from 80 years ago were not commercialized to any significant degree. Today, with night-blinding, energy-wasting electric Christmas lights now covering many homes across America, and gifts wrapped in nonrecyclable plastics, I wonder if we will ever reconnect spiritually and recover the meaning and sanctity of life.

DEAR DR. FOX: After reading your latest article you are obviously just another anti-Trump eliteist (sic). You should stick to animals although I wonder about your expertise in that field. -- P.G., Manahawkin, New Jersey

DEAR DR. FOX: In your recent column, you said some are complaining because you are too political. I feel just the opposite. We don’t have house pets (or any animals), so I never read you until I noticed your ecological messages. Thank you and keep up the good work. -- D.R., Springfield, Missouri

DEAR P.G. AND D.R.: You and other readers of my column affirm how divided Americans are: some praising me for raising concerns about animal health, welfare and conservation -- and proposing some solutions -- while others lambaste me as an “anti-Trumper,” a liberal socialist and even a communist.

There is so much information surfacing now that scientists are investigating the interfaces among humans, nonhumans and the environment from the “One Health” perspective. The problem lies in translating this science-based data into effective public and political action when there is so much denial and anti-science sentiment.

This is nothing new to me. Back in the 1980s, after the Smithsonian magazine did a profile of my work investigating factory farms and feedlots, generating a lot of media attention, I was informed that a Texas state senator said that to get such publicity, I must have been supported by a foreign communist cell working to overthrow American agriculture.

Disinformation is all too commonplace today. The politicization of issues is one effective way to protect the economic status quo of vested interests, avoid responsibility and delay corrective action. For instance, the politicization of wearing masks to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 -- with millions asserting that enforcement would violate their personal freedoms -- illustrates the absurdity of a society where reason, common sense, empathy and personal responsibility are withering on the vine.

(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.)