DEAR READERS: The Better Business Bureau issued a warning late last year about online pet-sale scams that use COVID-19 as an excuse to avoid in-person transactions. The BBB received 337 complaints about puppy scams in November, compared with only 77 in November of 2019. The organization says scammers frequently ask for payment through apps instead of wire transfers.

I have urged readers in past columns not to get caught in these scams. One close friend told me she had been promised a Yorkie puppy that would be brought to her at her local airport by a courier if she paid in advance. “Never buy a puppy in a poke,” I reminded her -- go see the pup’s parents and check out the breeder’s facilities. Many pups sold online are from puppy mills, an issue I will cover in a future column in more detail. Best to adopt from a local shelter, and consider your age: If you are elderly, a less-active, already house-trained adult dog may be ideal.

My friend ended up buying a Yorkie from a breeder, but soon faced predictable health and behavioral problems (house-soiling and chewing things due to boredom and teething). And her own age-related health issues meant she could not walk the poor pup, and had to hire a dog-walker. When her dog remained restless and seemed depressed, I advised her to join a puppy playgroup. She did, and now has a much happier and healthier dog. I hope the (sensible and necessary) shutdown of puppy playgroups due to the COVID-19 crisis will soon pass, and we can all get back to a more sociable existence!

DEAR DR. FOX: We just took our 3-week-old goldendoodle to the vet. He itches himself at times, so the veterinarian said to start him on Bravecto. Is this safe? -- S.M., Medford, Oregon

DEAR S.M.: Please have your veterinarian read my article about Bravecto and related anti-flea and tick drugs, which are poisoning cats and dogs around the world, entitled “Companion Animal Risks of Flea and Tick Insecticides” (posted on my website, drfoxonehealth.com).

No veterinarian should prescribe Bravecto to a dog who is simply itching/scratching, for which there could be many reasons. Nor should they jump to prescribing a drug like Apoquel, which is the latest common, and often inappropriate, treatment. Bravecto has killed some dogs and can cause seizures. I consider it malpractice to give it to such a young dog.

Do a little detective work in my column archives for ideas about why your dog might be scratching: uexpress.com/animal-doctor.

DEAR DR. FOX: It amazes me how many people buy pets without doing their homework.

I have a 10-year-old red-footed tortoise named George. The family I got him from bought him at a pet shop when he was a cute little guy, about 8 inches long. They only kept him a short time. He is now about a foot long and weighs over 10 pounds.

The reason they got rid of him is that the size of his poops freaked them out. The couple both worked in a hospital and were very concerned about germs.

Reptiles are hard to raise. They need the right temperature, sunlight, diet, calcium and other vitamins, etc. George needs to be soaked on a regular basis. Fortunately I live in Florida, so George spends his time out in my screened lanai, and we have access to fresh fruit and vegetables year-round. His favorite is cactus pears.

He is also very social, and loves attention. He follows me around, and likes to sit on my husband’s Crocs.

There is also the issue of his long lifespan. I have already made arrangements for him should he outlive me. We love him, and I am sure he is happy and healthy, but he would have been happier left in the wild.

Our wildlife has a tough enough time dealing with loss of environment, and poaching is just added stress. There is now a big market for tortoises overseas. Something should be done, but as usual, animal welfare is at the bottom of our society’s priorities.

Keep putting out the word in your columns; hopefully some people are listening. -- L.D.R., Naples, Florida

DEAR L.D.R.: Thanks for sharing your experience rescuing an “exotic” species that has no place in captivity. International wildlife trafficking, which is linked with drug and human trafficking, will hopefully be on the agenda of the new Biden administration. That group will include -- at last -- a Native American heading up one of the government agencies that can get the ball rolling on these issues! Biden’s choice of Rep. Deb Haaland of New Mexico to serve as the first Native American Cabinet secretary, heading the Department of the Interior, is historic. It hopefully marks a turning point for the U.S. government’s relationship with the nation’s indigenous peoples, as well as its indigenous species and their habitats.

(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 borders dissecting private and public (federal) lands should be dismantled, beginning with segments that are ecologically disruptive. Erecting walls, fences and other barriers means that indigenous species are being deprived of access to their full-range habitats -- cut off at least partially from food and water sources. These areas include the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge (and the private National Butterfly Center: a 100-acre sanctuary dedicated to the conservation and study of monarchs and 200 other butterfly species) and the San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge.

Imperiled species living in these regions include the mountain lion, bobcat, javelina, jaguar, ocelot, coati mundi, Sonoran pronghorn, Mexican gray wolf, Peninsular bighorn sheep, and several varieties of pygmy owl found nowhere else in the United States. This is a national disgrace and a crime against nature and indigenous species, as many scientific studies have now clearly documented.

As 17th-century English poet John Donne wrote, “No man is an island.” This is an ecological and socioeconomic fact in our internationally connected and interdependent world.

DEAR DR. FOX: My wife and I no longer have animals, but when our children were young, we had a dog, hamsters and even a tarantula. We are still in tune with the environment, and feel quite strongly that all of us are integral parts of the whole planetary system.

Unfortunately, some individuals do not realize how critical an issue global warming is -- for so many species on our planet, including us humans. This should NOT be a political issue, but a living planet concern.

Unfortunately, when you have ignorant and blind leadership, and those who don’t recognize reality, this becomes political. It’s too bad there are so many who fit the description of the adage, “There are none so blind as those who will not see.”

About those who call you an anti-Trumpist, it fits what my mother said to me many, many years ago: “Those who matter don’t mind, and those who mind don’t matter.”

Keep up the good work. Even without pets currently, we still read your articles. -- T.N., South Bend, Indiana

DEAR DR. FOX: I agree we are in a culture war -- one I never saw coming! At stake is the truth. I commend you for your support of a more enlightened, science-based viewpoint! -- J.B., Tulsa, Oklahoma

DEAR T.N. AND J.B.: Thanks for your words of support. What I feared years ago (articulated in my book “Bringing Life to Ethics: Global Bioethics for a Humane Society”) seems to be coming to fruition. Namely, we are seeing the rise of a third political party in the U.S. and in other countries. These increasingly dysfunctional democracies are learning that they cannot serve two masters -- unbridled capitalism and the public good. Trying to do so ignores the good of the commons: the natural world and all its indigenous species and peoples.

I call this morally bankrupt, materialistically corrupted, technocratic third party “biofascist.” Combining prejudice, racism and speciesism, this group treats nature purely as a material resource and animals as objects/commodities while being seduced by self-serving ideologies and propaganda. It is anti-science and anti-democratic, and is both denying and exacerbating the climate, extinction and public health crises we face today.

People of good conscience must unite under the “green” politics of environmental protection, conservation and sustainable commerce and trade, respecting the fact that all lives matter: human and nonhuman. We have a long way to go, especially since environmental and animal protectionists are demonized by biofascists as being advocates of “eco-fascism.” The internet is rife with anarchistic diatribes against environmental protections, while the corporate ecoterrorism of the petrochemical and other harmful industries continues unabated.

This has been especially exacerbated under the Trump regime, which essentially dismantled the government agencies responsible for public and environmental health, animal welfare and protection of endangered species. His third party has no place in any democracy, or in a world as fragile -- but still as beautiful -- as ours, which we must respect, protect and cherish.

(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: Some contend that the coronavirus associated with this pandemic is far less harmful than officials say. But there are many factors that can make this virus more dangerous for some than for others: genetics and preexisting health conditions, certainly, but also factors related to culture, socioeconomic status, nutritional habits and environmental factors.

Regarding the latter, particulate air pollution and poor room ventilation are especially important. This is an issue in schools, places of worship, theaters and sports stadiums. In these venues, and increasingly in people’s homes and workplaces, we also have concentrated electropollution to worry about. In laboratory studies, electropollution has been shown to impair the immune and neuroendocrine systems of many animal species when they are exposed to the kind of nonionizing radiation and electromagnetic fields generated by some telecommunication systems.

All of these factors make any new contagious virus potentially more harmful, and there are emerging viral pandemics on the horizon, according to epidemiologists.

So these factors all need to be addressed, especially the anthropogenic environmental contributions to our susceptibility to contagious diseases. Investing in more vaccinations and drug treatments will be profitable for a few, but not beneficial for most, and will not solve the root problem. Since animals both wild and domesticated are the sources of constantly mutating epidemic and pandemic diseases, our cruel, profit-driven exploitation of all animals should be terminated -- for their well-being, as well as our own.

DEAR DR. FOX: Just wanted to thank you for sharing your article entitled “Animal Affection: A Spiritual Connection.” As an empath, and someone who will never understand how people could kill an animal for “sport,” your words resonated with me.

Though my dog would not be considered a wild animal, I had a very strong spiritual connection with her, and your article evoked a number of fond emotions for me. The last one was when I had to say goodbye to DeeDee on my birthday earlier this year. I honestly believe she held out just for that day. -- B.M., Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

DEAR B.M.: I am glad that my brief essay resonated with you. Another reader wrote to me, complaining that I was anthropomorphizing animals and should stick to science and medicine. But subjective, emotional states of both the animal patient and the attending veterinarian are essential aspects of holistic healing -- and often, of diagnostics, which can become intuitive with enough experience.

Years ago, I cited scientific studies that showed that the attitude of farm workers toward the animals under their care greatly influenced animals’ health and productivity. Empathy is the key. But empathy may become impaired during the course of veterinary (and human) medical education, as other studies have documented: The patient becomes objectified and the empathy connection is broken. Sometimes this is a defense mechanism to distance oneself from another’s suffering. I feel for those dedicated staff in our hospitals today dealing with COVID-19 patients, just as I do with those who work in animal shelters and must euthanize healthy animals because of a lack of resources, if not expertise, to rehabilitate them into adoptable animal companions.

In the final analysis, as I see it, our redemption, the recovery of our humanity and our ultimate well-being will come in large part through our renunciation of a culture and economy of harm. Such a liberating redemption is at the core of all the world’s religions and secular humanism, when shorn of politics and human-centeredness. Reverential respect for all our nonhuman relations is long overdue.

(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.)