DEAR READERS: We inhale particulate air pollutants, a serious health hazard, from fireworks. Forest fires, which are mainly started by humans, are another major source of these pollutants. Climate change is upon us as we wake up and realize we have committed ecocide, accelerating the natural metabolism of life on Earth by burning fossil fuels.

I am glad that Minneapolis, and a few other cities, put on a laser light show in celebration of July 4 instead of the traditional fireworks this year. But for several nights around our home, explosive fireworks were being set off in various communities. Some delinquent youths were arrested for throwing fireworks -- even at police vehicles!

Is it coincidence that so many people in the U.S. are shot on July 4 and 5, I wonder? July 4 also sees more pets panic, run off and get lost, and more people treated for burns and fires, than any other day of the year.

We engage in many other activities of escalating violence against nature, the natural order and each other. The climate crisis has brought us other crises -- economic, social and environmental. The world sees millions of refugees, devastating loss of wildlife and habitat, and more suffering and hardship for our own kind and other species, wild and domesticated.

Exploding fireworks should be prohibited since they upset wildlife and pets, not to mention military veterans with the burden of PTSD. Experts warn that excessive noise has health impacts including elevated blood pressure, stroke, heart failure and anxiety. These are all related to the fright response, with which we and other animals are innately programmed.

When will we sing "Silent Night" and enjoy the stars, no longer obscured by our light pollution and associated carbon footprint? Perhaps when we can temper our infantile impulsivity and lack of consideration of others, and manifest a grain of empathy.

DEAR DR. FOX: I learned about raw-feeding cats and dogs through your articles when I was a young girl. We started raw-feeding our dog and we had amazing results!

I now have two American shorthair indoor cats. One cat, Milo, is a neutered male, age 7. He has been raw-fed since he was 2, and his fur and teeth have been great ever since!

A problem came just over a year ago. Milo was still eating like normal, but would run around the house while he was defecating. It was often diarrhea, and quite smelly. I grew concerned and brought him to the vet, where they did blood work and a fecal analysis. Nothing conclusive came up. They decided it was IBD and wanted to put him on a prescription diet that contained only by-products, and I did not agree.

I did my own research and found a paper from UC Davis that also dealt with diarrhea in seemingly healthy cats. One way they cleared it up was with probiotics. I bought the same kind mentioned in the article, and it cleared up Milo's problems in a few days.

Now fast forward to this spring and Milo is having the same problem! This time it isn't really diarrhea: The poop is formed, but soft, dark and smelly. He is still raw-fed. The probiotics haven't helped. I tried slowly changing his food over the past six weeks, but he's still having problems. He's gone in his litter box a few times, but every couple days, he starts running and crouching and poops somewhere around the house (often in multiple locations while he's running).

All other behavior is normal. There's no vomiting, and he has a good appetite, healthy fur and gums. He uses the litter box for urinating just fine. I've tried many other probiotic additives and adding some fiber, but nothing has worked.

Have you ever seen this kind of behavior in a raw-fed cat? -- M.K., Snoqualmie, Washington

DEAR M.K.: The growing veterinary consensus is that feeding raw foods to dogs and cats is not without risk because of bacterial contamination of animal ingredients. Some of these bacteria can cause acute diarrhea and chronic health problems; some can be transmitted to human family members; and some are resistant to antibiotics.

In some instances, cats develop food intolerances or allergies, so one must do the detective work and find out which ingredient is causing the problem. Beef, dairy and fish are common causes in cats. I know of one cat who was allergic to rice!

If your cats get outdoors, the scope of possible causes is significantly increased, including giardia and internal parasites. Having the veterinarian test another stool sample from your cat would be advisable.

If the issue is not bacterial contamination or a food intolerance/allergy, low fiber may be an issue, as you have mentioned. Mix a half-teaspoon of psyllium husks or crushed canned lima beans into the food, and feed the cat four or five small meals daily. Most cats do better when given small meals, rather than twice-daily feeding, as for dogs.

(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: Many conscientious consumers of eggs, poultry, dairy products and meat rely on the USDA's Organic Certification (OC) label. The label, on which I worked decades ago, implies some humane standards of care, including access to the outdoors and freedom to engage in instinctual behaviors essential for animals' overall well-being.

On dairy products, the label has been questionable for years. One example: In 2019, according to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service, nine organic-certified, corporate-owned confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in Texas produced 1.5 times more "organic" milk than all 530 family-owned organic dairy farms in Wisconsin combined. The latter are being forced out of business by these competitors with mega herds of 10,000 to 20,000 cows.

Now, the validity of the OC label is in even greater jeopardy as Big Ag's factory farmers seek to remove basic humane standards and permit Organic Certification of produce from poultry kept in CAFOs. Specifically, draft regulation currently under consideration would legalize factory farm conditions for organic chicken meat and egg producers. This is an outrage.

Industry watchdog group OrganicEye opposes the legislation. Here is part of a statement, via ChildrensHealthDefense.org:

"OrganicEye is now renewing its call to the USDA to enforce current organic regulations and is urging organic consumers and supporters to appeal to President Biden to intervene and stop this latest 'giveaway to corporate lobbyists.' Organic regulations already mandate outdoor access for all livestock, including pasture access for grass-fed cows and other ruminants. Importantly, organically raised animals must, by law, have the opportunity to express their natural instinctual behaviors.

"OrganicEye has created a proxy letter you can download from its website (organiceye.org). Simply print it out, sign it, add any personal comments on the back, and mail it to OrganicEye. They will deliver the letters to President Biden's office."

URGENT APPEAL TO HELP ANIMALS IN FLOOD DISASTER

DEAR DR. FOX: We are appealing to your readers to send us funds to help with the flood disaster in our animal refuge, Sorriso di San Francesco (close to Assisi, Italy).

A supply bridge -- vital for the care of our animals -- connects our main building with our dogs, horses, donkeys, sheep, goats, pigs and cats on the other side of the river in the valley. This bridge was torn away with impetuous water force. The reconstruction of the supply bridge is urgent. According to initial estimates, this will cost 130,000 euros. The fence and stables must also be reconstructed, and the bank stabilized.

The reconstruction will demand a lot from us, and I sincerely hope that we will be able to shoulder this in addition to our already overwhelming responsibility for our animal residents. For details, please go to: pro-animale.de/flood-disaster-in-assisi/?lang=en. -- Natascha and Johanna Wothke, Pro Animale, Schweinfurt, Germany

DEAR N.W. AND J.W.: You have my sympathy and respect for the many years of dedication your organization has put in, helping animals from Ireland to Turkey -- and most recently, rescuing animals in Ukraine, including those from the war-caused flooding.

Now your beautiful sanctuary near Assisi, which I saw at its beginnings, is a victim of climate change. All who can pitch in to help must do so.

TYSON'S CHICKEN BACK ON ANTIBIOTICS

Tyson-branded chicken with labels stating that no antibiotics were used in production will begin using a different label -- "no antibiotics important to human medicine" -- by the end of this year. That standard, recognized by the USDA and the World Health Organization, allows for the use of antibiotics that are "not crucial to the treatment of human diseases." (Full story: CNN, July 3)

In my professional opinion, while antibiotics are needed to control some diseases in these stressed and overcrowded poultry factories, the fact that antibiotics are also used in farmed animals to boost productivity should be noted, too. Antibiotic residues in contaminated chicken, even after chlorine treatment, are an issue for companion animals whose manufactured pet foods include commercial chicken parts and discards.

(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: In your recent column, I read the story of a cat that continued to do a "fandango" at the foot of her owners' bed after she passed. We have a similar story.

Our Great Dane, Miley, lived to be 11 years old. Three days after her 11th birthday, it was necessary to end her life. She had developed a mass in her abdomen several months prior, and it became apparent that she was ready to move on. Our vet came to the house, and in the most dignified and humane way, allowed our girl to go to sleep peacefully.

Miley was a brindle weighing in at about 120 pounds with quite a nice set of jowls and some rather large floppy ears. After a nap, she would rise, do a "dog down" stretch with her front legs and then stretch her back legs individually. Then to get her ears and jowls JUST RIGHT, she would shake her head violently, making the most unique sound: flap, flap, flap, flap.

The day she died, my husband and I sobbed nonstop from noon until 8 p.m. We finally went into our silent kitchen, me sitting on a stool at the counter and he standing against a wall. Neither of us spoke. It was as quiet as a tomb. Then out of nowhere, we heard FLAP, FLAP, FLAP, FLAP. We looked at each other and each said, "Did you hear that?" My husband and I are both well-educated professionals who don't delve into hocus-pocus nonsense, but we do acknowledge facts when we hear them.

Miley has now been gone two years, and she has only paid us the one visit. There will never be another Miley. She truly was our best friend. -- D.M., Bonita Springs, Florida

DEAR DR. FOX: This is in response to one of your recent columns: I had a similar experience with our precious cat, Gracie. She was with my wife and me for a little over 18 years. We rescued her as a kitten from the middle of a heavily trafficked street.

We loved her dearly, and she returned that love many times over. My wife said she had chosen me, and I guess she was right, since Gracie chose to be with me wherever I was in the house. When she passed away last November, our hearts were broken.

For days after that, I could be in my recliner and feel her jumping on the arm of the chair. The most interesting thing was at night when I was in bed: I could feel her jump on the bed, as she would do in life, and walk over to curl up between my feet for the night. This happened several nights before it stopped.

I have no answer for this. Perhaps it's just in our minds because we don't want to let go, but we were comforted by her several visits. I'm sure God knows how much any pet is missed, and this helps with the pain of loss. -- W.S., Archdale, North Carolina

DEAR D.M. AND W.S.: Many readers will appreciate you sharing these after-life experiences with your animal companions. D.M., the fact that there was a second witness in your case, namely your husband, helps debunk the notion that grief can cause semi-hallucinatory states and trigger conditioned memories of the deceased.

Over the many years that I have been writing this column, I have received many accounts of after-life manifestations of companion animals. Even living animals who shared the home with the deceased pet have responded to such visitations, as documented in my books "Dog Body, Dog Mind" and "Cat Body, Cat Mind."

With hearts and minds more open to animals and the world around us, we may indeed experience the miraculous and discover the power of love. This is evident in the many animals who know when their owners are coming home and engage in remote sensing.

All things in our lives change, but there is one illuminating thread connecting everything: This is love, in all its myriad manifestations -- from the molecular to the emergence of consciousness, to empathy and beyond. As my friend the late Father Thomas Berry famously asserted, "The universe is a communion of subjects, not a collection of objects."

(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.)