DEAR DR. FOX: Your statement in a recent column, "Time to give protection to natural predators -- especially wolves, grizzly bears and mountain lions/cougars," leads me to believe that you, your loved ones or people you know don’t work in the forest or live near these predators. This is such an ignorant statement due to the fact that these creatures kill people and target small children.

Introducing more of these beasts will only increase human death and destruction as more people venture into the forests for recreational activities. Cougars are already a threat in many residential areas. Do some research on grizzly bear attacks and cougars coming into people’s yards. -- J.L., Sedro-Woolley, Washington

DEAR J.L.: Your concerns about possible risks to people, especially children, living near the habitats of these predators -- whose ecological services keep these environments healthy -- are shared by many. The usual response after an “incident,” be it a fatality or not, is for the police or wildlife agents to kill the animal that was responsible. This is an understandable reaction, but should be avoided when the individual animal cannot be identified or is not a “repeat offender.”

According to Pounce Conservation, only 30 wolf attacks are on record for North America during the last 100 years, with five of them being fatal. Cougar attacks are also rare, occurring much less frequently than fatal snake bites, fatal lightning strikes or fatal bee stings. In the past 100 years, a total of 126 cougar attacks were documented in North America, 27 of which were fatal. As for grizzly bears, between 2020 and 2022, there were eight fatal grizzly bear attacks in North America.

The risks of large predators attacking humans -- often because their territories are being invaded or because they are hungry and/or defending their young -- can be minimized by leaving core areas of their habitats off-limits to all people except wildlife managers and scientists. Children and dogs should never be left unattended or allowed to roam free in these areas.

Expansion of housing developments close to, and even into, wildlife areas should be prohibited, along with agricultural activities and any ranches that use lethal methods of predator control. Nonlethal methods include the use of guard dogs, as promoted by the USDA. For details, visit projectcoyote.org and search "nonlethal solutions to reduce conflicts."

More people are harmed by deer colliding with their vehicles than by these large predators. For details about how wolves in Wisconsin have helped reduce the incidence of vehicular collisions with white-tailed deer, see instagram.com/reel/Ch7ohZgp5Qx.

Fewer than 100 hunters die yearly from firearm accidents, according to one analysis, along with some 300 to 500 annual deaths from tree-stand accidents in the United States (see legaljobs.io/blog/hunting-accident-statistics). These are far more than the deaths and injuries caused by large predators.

J.L. REPLIES: I just know there is real fear with people I know. One couple is afraid for their 3-year-old granddaughter, who runs in the woods between her house and theirs. I fear for my sons who hunt and work in the woods. I fear for strangers. And I fear for myself, if I go out in the forest.

As more creatures are introduced, and more people move in, there will be more attacks. That, we know. Field cameras are expensive, but can be used for awareness and safety. However, that only helps on private property.

DEAR J.L.: It is good to be fearful -- that is a natural state of heightened awareness where there is potential danger, be it any big city or an area where people are out hunting. Some hunters accidentally shoot each other!

Learning to be vigilant from an early age is enlightened education. I am shocked how parents allow their children to run and shout and scream when outdoors, along with people yelling to each other on mountain bikes. Vigilance in such places is called for, and being as silent as possible is respectful for the wild animals who live there.

HELP FOR DIABETIC CATS

The FDA has approved a medication for diabetic cats that is given orally, so that such cats can now be treated without the discomfort (for them) and difficulty (for their owners) of insulin injections. (Full story: vetmed.illinois.edu, Nov. 2)

This medication, Senvelgo, has great promise in alleviating this condition, which is especially common in cats fed high-carbohydrate kibble. Routinely feeding cats a good-quality canned cat food is one of the best preventives.

(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: Gene editing could benefit dogs belonging to breeds that are prone to diseases of hereditary/genetic origin, but that remains to be seen, and would be costly either way. Certainly, DNA testing for such diseases in dogs and other animals is now an available, affordable and ethical use of this branch of biotechnology, utilizing it for the responsible breeding of healthier animals.

Please see the items below for more about this rapidly advancing field.

-- From The Guardian, March 24: "Pets could be subjected to gene editing under a new U.K. government act, the RSPCA has warned. The animal charity has said that the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act applies to all vertebrate animals, not only farmed animals, and that it could lead to cats and dogs being gene-edited to include extreme features." (Link: theguardian.com/science/2023/mar/24/pets-could-be-gene-edited-under-new-english-law-says-rspca)

-- From Lifeasible, an American company marketing animals subjected to this genetic engineering: "Dogs are currently one of the most used laboratory animals in basic medical research and teaching and play an important role especially in experimental studies of physiology, pharmacology and pathophysiology. Through whole-genome sequencing analysis of dogs, a total of about 19,300 genes have been identified, of which about 18,000 are identical to known human genes, and their genomes are more similar to humans than other laboratory animals such as mice. Dogs are also very similar to humans in terms of genetic diseases, with more than 360 genetic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, deafness, blindness, and immune nervous system diseases, which are identical to humans and suitable as model animals for humans’ disease research." (Link: lifeasible.com/custom-solutions/animal/poultry-livestock-pets-and-laboratory-animal-gene-editing/dog-gene-editing)

-- Back in 2015, my colleague Antonio Regalado reported on the first gene-edited pet dogs. They were a pair of very muscular beagles created in China, named Tiangou and Hercules. (Link: technologyreview.com/2015/10/19/165740/first-gene-edited-dogs-reported-in-china)

-- From GMWatch.org: CRISPR gene editing unintentionally causes changes in gene regulation. (Link: gmwatch.org/en/106-news/latest-news/19635-crispr-gene-editing-unintentionally-causes-changes-in-gene-regulation)

-- From BMC Biotechnology: "Generation of genome-edited dogs by somatic cell nuclear transfer." (Link: bmcbiotechnol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12896-022-00749-3)

-- From Nature.com: "In a world first, the U.K. medicines regulator has approved a therapy that uses the CRISPR–Cas9 gene-editing tool as a treatment. The decision marks another high point for a biotechnology that has been lauded as revolutionary in the decade since its discovery. The therapy, called Casgevy, will treat the blood conditions sickle-cell disease and thalassaemia." (Note from Dr. Fox: An estimated price tag of $2 million per person is likely to limit who benefits from this treatment. Link: nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03590-6)

VETERINARY SOCIAL WORK IS EVOLVING

The combined VMD/Master of Social Work degree available at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as the Human-Animal-Environment Interactions in Social Work certificate program at the University of Denver, are two examples of the recent growth of veterinary social work options.

This specialty started with the Center for Veterinary Social Work at the University of Tennessee more than two decades ago. The University of Tennessee program now runs a suicide prevention program for veterinarians and veterinary students, is working to broaden its original focus on compassion fatigue by emphasizing “intentional well-being,” and wants to be “a space for all professionals with an interest in human and animal welfare to come together to collaborate,” according to Bethanie Poe, associate director of education. (Full story: American Animal Hospital Association, Nov. 27)

(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: There is a flesh-eating fungus in the soils of California, Arizona and other states in the region -- and likely to spread elsewhere, due to climate change -- called Coccidioides. It causes a paralyzing, and sometimes fatal, illness in people called Valley fever, which takes its name from the San Joaquin Valley in California.

This fungus thrives in warm soils, and grows billions of spores after a rainfall. The spores are later released into the air when the ground dries, stirred up by wind and by human activities -- especially the building of homes in desert areas with dubious water security.

Cats and dogs can get Valley fever when they inhale Coccidioides immitis fungal spores. They grow into spherules within the pet’s lungs, and if the animal’s immune system cannot wall them off, they eventually burst -- releasing hundreds of endospores that can spread throughout the lungs and other parts of your pet’s body, where the cycle will begin again. The condition will become increasingly severe, often ending in blindness and/or paralysis.

Treatment of Valley fever in pets takes time, just as it does with those people who have the misfortune of becoming infected. The treatment for both dogs and cats will typically include an antifungal medication such as fluconazole or itraconazole. Dogs may also be treated with ketoconazole, but this is not well tolerated by cats.

More than 90% of dogs treated for Valley fever will survive, according to the University of Arizona. Dogs with symptoms involving several parts of the body (particularly the brain), or those not responding well to antifungal medications, have a worse prognosis.

The best preventive measures are to avoid taking your dogs out on dry, windy days or letting them dig in the ground, especially in the Southwest region. Keep cats indoors, since they will dig in the ground if allowed out, hunting small prey and burying their feces.

DEAR DR. FOX: Friends of mine have a 6-year-old Bouvier des Flandres, and their vet suggests he be neutered since testicular cancer is common in this breed. What is your opinion? -- M.F., San Francisco

DEAR M.F.: I believe the veterinarian may or may not be right. If this dog has only one testicle, for example, the veterinarian is correct because the undescended one could become cancerous (such as with a Sertoli cell tumor) and should be surgically removed.

Bouviers are also predisposed to gastric carcinoma, a type of malignant stomach cancer. For details, see morrisanimalfoundation.org/article/dog-breeds-increased-cancer-risk. For documentation of other breed-specific incidences of various cancers, see “Breed-predispositions to cancer in pedigree dogs” by Jane Dobson, published in ISRN Veterinary Science, January 2013.

Male dogs of any large breed, in my opinion, should not be neutered because neutering, especially at an early age, can affect bone development. It may therefore play a role in bone cancer and the weakening of joint ligaments, especially around the hip joint and the knee cruciate ligaments.

VET RECOGNIZED FOR SERVING HOMELESS PEOPLE’S PETS

Veterinarian Dr. Kwane Stewart provides supplies and medical treatment to animals belonging to people experiencing homelessness in San Diego. Volunteers in other cities do the same, thanks to Project Street Vet, a nonprofit Stewart founded in 2020.

Stewart is one of 10 nominees for a 2023 CNN Heroes award, and will receive $10,000 for his work. If he receives the most votes, he’ll also win the grand prize of $100,000. (Full story: The San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 26)

(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.)