DEAR READERS: Nicholas Black Elk, a holy man of the Oglala Sioux, wrote: “The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers; and when they realize at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit, and that its center is really everywhere -- it is within each of us.”

It is such spiritual vision that inspired Dr. Albert Schweitzer’s philosophy of “reverence for life” -- a universal concept of ethics that could reconcile altruism and egoism by advocating and upholding respect for the lives of all beings. Schweitzer wrote, ”Ethics is nothing other than Reverence for Life. Reverence for Life affords me my fundamental principle of morality: namely, that good consists in maintaining, assisting and enhancing life, and to destroy, to harm or to hinder life is evil.”

Reverence for life is the moral compass for those values that act like genes, influencing our perception, cognition and behavior. Humane education in grade school and bioethics in high school and college would be the best investment in securing a life of meaning and purpose for all, and a safer and more sane society better able to resist totalitarianism and constrain consumerism. To see the living world as a communion of subjects and not a collection of objects, as my friend the late Father Thomas Berry was fond of saying, is an important evolutionary step. Our mutual mentor, Father Pierre Teilhard de Chardin -- a Jesuit theologian, philosopher and paleontologist -- saw this step as the point “when humanity will realize that biologically it is faced with a choice between suicide and adoration.”

Basic education in self-care and health care -- from good nutrition and Hatha yoga to baking your own bread and making your own dog food -- is seeing significant progress thanks to people who choose to embrace the basic principles of One Health in their personal and professional lives. (For more details, visit onehealthinitiative.com.) I see an emerging generation of informed consumers and kitchen anarchists demanding organic whole foods so the world will be made green again.

I hope that, from the COVID-19 pandemic, greater international collaboration will be established -- especially in prohibiting wildlife trafficking, live animal markets and animal factory farms, which are the main sources for such pandemics. The healthier our environment, the healthier our immune systems, cognitive functions and children.

(The full “Musings” series is posted, with supportive reference citations, at drfoxonehealth.com.)

DEAR DR. FOX: Your recent “Musings” piece referring to our present-day dilemma in this country was spot on! In all my 88 years on this planet, there has never been so much hate, greed and delusion. My hope is that the Biden crowd can rectify most of the obvious transgressions of the previous administration and proceed to important things like climate science and human well-being. -- C.H.S., naturalist, Bonita Springs, Florida

DEAR C.H.S.: Your words of support are much appreciated. It is challenging in these times, but an ethical imperative no less, to speak truth to power in order to avert corporate hegemony and authoritarianism. I like to think we can yet evolve and embrace trans-species democracy. Respect for all life is the hallmark of a truly civilized species.

(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.)

PROTECTING NATURAL BIODIVERSITY PROTECTS PUBLIC HEALTH

The risk of infectious diseases jumping from animals to humans rises in areas where natural forests are wiped out. Researchers found that, from 1990 to 2016, increases in outbreaks of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases were linked to deforestation. The effect was present even where trees remained but biodiversity was lost, such as at palm-oil plantations. The loss of predators and habitats allows disease-carrying animals, such as mosquitoes, ticks and sandflies, to flourish, say the authors. (Full story: The Guardian, March 24)

DEAR DR. FOX: I have a 13-week-old puppy, and I used Activyl on him for fleas. About seven days later, he starting having these aggressive outbursts, then acts overly sweet after. You can almost see the confusion in his eyes.

This is not like him in any way. I don’t know if it’s the medicine, but that’s the only thing we have changed. Have you gotten any more reports on this? -- A.T., Tulsa, Oklahoma

DEAR A.T.: I am shocked you treated such a young dog with this kind of product. If a veterinarian prescribed this, he or she should go back to school. Most likely you made the purchase in a local store, which should be prohibited in every community and state.

Until your communication, I was not aware that indoxacarb -- the highly toxic, hazardous insecticide in Activyl -- was approved for companion animal use. It is strictly regulated in Europe: Greenpeace has put this chemical on its E.U. Pesticide Blacklist.

In addition to being toxic, this product does not kill the targeted insects before they have a chance to transmit any diseases they may be carrying. According to one report from the European Medicines Agency, “The most common side effects seen with Activyl Tick Plus (which may affect up to 1 in 10 animals) are transitory scratching, erythema (reddening of the skin) and hair loss at the application site. ... Activyl Tick Plus must not be used in cats as adverse reactions and even death can occur. ... Fleas, ticks and sand flies might still be able to transmit any diseases which they may be carrying.”

Various flea and tick insecticides have caused sudden, unprovoked aggression in dogs. There are safer alternatives to repelling fleas, ticks and other biting insects. All responsible, caring dog and cat owners should adopt these methods, rather than continuing to use insecticides that can cause seizures and death (as with Bravecto) year in and year out on their animals. Short- and long-term adverse health and environmental consequences can be avoided. For such preventive measures, see my website, drfoxonehealth.com.

SERESTO FLEA COLLAR LAWSUIT

From Johnathan Hettinger, Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting, March 26:

“Two pet owners who claim their dogs either died or developed problems after using Seresto flea and tick collars filed a class-action lawsuit this week against Elanco Animal Health, alleging it misrepresented the safety of its product.

“The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of California in Los Angeles, comes just days after a congressional subcommittee asked Elanco to voluntarily recall the flea and tick collars in the wake of reporting by the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting and USA TODAY on thousands of incident reports about pet and human harm linked to the collar. The lawsuit cites the news outlets’ reporting. Elanco declined to voluntarily recall the product.”

(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: Bill Neidjie was an aboriginal elder and spokesman for the Bunitj clan of Australia’s Northern Territory, and I quoted him in my 1996 book “The Boundless Circle: Caring for Creatures and Creation.” His words give us some insight into the kind of pan-empathy that is called for in planetary stewardship, healing and restoration:

“If you feel sore -- headache, sore body -- that mean somebody killing tree or grass,” he said. “You feel because your body in that tree or earth. Nobody can tell you. You got to feel it yourself. ... Tree might get sick ... you feel it.”

Through such empathy -- which calls for endurance, courage, self-sacrifice, bioethics and sound science -- humankind may begin the Great Healing: restoring the One Health of people, animals, plants and the environment.

One day, in the Forever, perhaps we will be able to hear the songs of myriads of insects in the jungle night and the dawn choruses and choirs of waking birds. In such restored and protected glory, we may walk in humility and grace and be worthy of our self-anointed title of Homo sapiens -- “man the wise.” Or will it be a virtual world devoid of virtue? One with desecrated, polluted, chemical wastelands of genetically engineered agribusiness crops feeding an electronically wired subspecies, Homo technos -- “technocentric man”?

I prefer the biocentric, but the choice and fate of future generations is ours to make: to listen to the Earth, and care, or not. No democracy or civilization can function long if it is not first and foremost biocentric. We must feel for the trees like Bill Neidjie and practice the wisdom of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of the environment, who said, “It is in giving that we receive.”

The challenge to modern civilization, as it was for past ones that failed, is to put the principles of One Health into politics and into practice. This includes respect for the land and all who dwell therein -- plant and animal -- because creating dysbiosis leads to dystopia and dysphoria. Indeed, many find euphoria in the living presence of a natural ecosystem, an ancient tree or a beloved dog. Animals and nature can heal us, as I detail in my book “Animals and Nature First,” but not if we do not care for them.

We must break away from our virtually unbroken human history of violence against the natural order, as well as against our own kind and other species. We all, ultimately, suffer the consequences: The common good and the good of the Commons are inseparable.

WILDLIFE TRADE, TRAFFIC AND FARMING MUST END

Wildlife trade and exotic animal farming put the world at risk for zoonotic disease pandemics and should be stopped, according to animal disease experts such as Wildlife Conservation Society Chief Veterinarian Christian Walzer. China restricted wildlife trade and farming after COVID-19 spread worldwide, but mink and raccoon dog farms are still allowed, and international gangs continue to traffic wildlife. (Full story: Reuters, 4/1)

DEAR DR. FOX: We are all saddened by the fact that we generally outlive our dogs. But what is sadder still is when our dogs outlive us.

I’m helping a friend look at adoptable dogs online, and many old dogs are available because someone died or got too sick to care for them. It breaks my heart to think of those good dogs having had so many years of safe and stable homes, and then having to start all over in their declining years -- in a world where everyone wants a puppy or a young dog. As I am in my retirement years and have old dogs, this strikes close to home for me.

Please encourage people to make provisions for their dogs in case of their death or disability, and, when adopting, to give those senior dogs a second look. Think twice before adopting a dog who is young enough to outlive you. Sometimes, the best choice might be an older dog. I hope you’ll address this in your column. -- M.D., Springfield, Missouri

DEAR M.D.: Addressed herewith! Many older dogs are in need of homes, if you check around local shelters and dog rescue organizations. I strongly advocate adopting all such dogs with a known history and veterinary records -- because of possible ongoing health issues -- after a through wellness examination.

A great advantage of adopting an older dog is that their temperament/personality is fully developed, and they are generally leash-trained and housebroken, so you have less work to do and fewer “growing pains” as you would with a puppy. I advise all ambulatory retirees to consider adopting an easygoing, easy-to-handle, affection-seeking older dog for company that will get them outdoors for some regular walks.

I call my dog Kota my “good medicine dog.” For many, the company of dogs is far more effective than taking antidepressant and antianxiety drugs, and can help lower blood pressure as well!

(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.)