What kind of an evil mind would purposely do this to an animal?

If you look at steel-jaw leghold and Conibear (body-gripping) traps objectively instead of through the filter of "rugged individualism" or "Western frontier tradition" and you have even an ounce of empathy in your soul, you have to wonder what kind of evil mind would purposely set one of these pain-inflicting contraptions, much less invent one. They remind me of something out of a torture museum that I visited once in Europe. Truly, the depth of cruelty that lies in the hearts of some people is absolutely mind-boggling. And as a race, we humans can't seem to rid ourselves of this character flaw. According to an article in The New York Times on Wednesday, called "Montana Dog Owners Find Wild-Animal Traps Put Pets in Harm's Way," Montana issued more than 4,000 trapping licenses last year, so this sadistic mentality is still very much alive and well.

That's the thing about these trappers―since they couldn’t care less about inflicting pain, if a "nontarget" animal, like a dog, cat, or bird, is caught in one of their traps―oh, well!―they just call them "trash animals" and throw them away because they can't make money off them. It's not tragic to them―it's more of a nuisance. My view is that catching a beaver or a muskrat or a fox in a trap is just as tragic as catching a dog. The only difference is that hopefully, the dog will have someone who cares enough about him or her to make a fuss about it and do something to try to stop this horror.

That's exactly what’s happening in Montana right now. Enough dogs have been killed or maimed in these hideous traps that a group has formed called Footloose Montana to try to get the traps banned. The group is running a heart-wrenching ad campaign, keeping records of people's encounters with traps, distributing graphic images of dogs caught in traps, and generally spreading the word about how pervasive the traps are, where they have been spotted, and how destructive they are. Please join them! You don't have to live in Montana to help. These torturous traps are being set all over our lovely country.

Another thing that Footloose Montana is doing is teaching people how to spring Conibear traps, which clamp down on an animal’s body, suffocating him or her. Again and again, we hear terrible stories of people whose dogs got caught in Conibear traps and who couldn't free them in time to save them. The dogs suffocated before they could figure it out. So why don't we all prepare ourselves for this hideous situation, just in case, heaven forbid, it should ever happen to us? Ironically, a hunting enthusiast has posted explicit instructions on his Web site, The Checkcord, describing how to spring a Conibear trap. For that, I'm extremely grateful, and I doubt if I'm the only one. Take a look and follow his advice: "Go to a trapper, borrow a Conibear from him in the summer for a week or two and PRACTICE your technique!!"

Theresa: "Ahhh, what a relief! No more pain in the neck!"

Last week got off to a rocky start but ended on a very high note. At breakfast time, I called little foster Chihuahua Theresa to the kitchen, but she didn't come, which was highly unusual, so I went looking for her. My heart nearly stopped when I saw her: She was lying on her side but with her head up and her mouth half open, staring into space like a zombie. I approached her, called her name, and reached out to my normally hyperactive little lady, and got no response. It was horrifying. I thought she was dying right in front of my very eyes. I scooped her up and ran to my car, repeating over and over again, "You're going to be fine!" and off we went to the vet.

The vet did blood work and a chest x-ray, but both were negative. After ruling out a "syncopal episode" (loss of consciousness resulting from insufficient blood flow to the brain), the logical explanation remaining was that she had had a seizure. I learned that many dogs have a single seizure and then never have another one again. So I thought, "Well, that's the case here, I'm sure―a fluke. No worries!" But 12 hours later, when I came back from taking my big dogs out to the beach, I could see that it had happened again because Theresa didn't greet us at the door in her usual excited manner. Instead, she looked very subdued, and the other two Chihuahua girls were licking her and hovering over her as if to protect her. My heart sank.

I remembered that back in the mid-90s, my cocker spaniel, Rogan, had had several petit mal seizures, and a holistic veterinarian had figured out that they were being caused by whipworms. We got rid of the whipworms and he never had another seizure again. So the next day, I got a stool sample from Theresa and took it in to the vet to check for every conceivable intestinal parasite, but it was negative. Drat!

I began to do some Internet research (I found this site particularly helpful) and learned that there are an awful lot of conditions and environmental factors that can cause seizures. Epilepsy is only one of many, many possible causes. But how to get to the root of the problem? I recalled learning a few years ago that a misaligned neck could cause seizures and that chiropractic could be very useful in that regard. So I set up an appointment with my local veterinary chiropractor at Animal Chiropractic.

As soon as Dr. Rowan got his hands on little Theresa's neck, his face registered surprise. He said that the joint between her skull and her first vertebra (C-1) was completely frozen and inflexible. Eureka! He adjusted her neck and loosened it up, and, given the fact that the brain stem runs right through that area, we both felt pretty confident that her seizure days were over. There's no way to prove it, except just to wait and see if she remains seizure-free. She's got another chiropractic appointment next week, but so far, so good. I didn't realize it until after the chiropractic adjustment, but between the time when she had the first seizure and her appointment with Dr. Rowan, her behavior had been off and she had even had an unfamiliar look on her face. Now, however, she's back to her old self, frisky and mischievous as ever!

This whole episode got me thinking about all the dogs who have been put on powerful, anti-seizure medication, complete with all their deleterious side effects (especially for the liver), when what they may actually need is a good chiropractic adjustment. I think it would be worth exploring alternatives such as this for any dog having seizures, even one who has been on anti-seizure medication for a long time. Besides, a misaligned vertebra is undoubtedly a royal pain in the neck!

My lovely Koro suffered because of my ignorant recklessness.

Sometimes it can really be cathartic to get something off your chest and admit that what you did was wrong. It can also be instructive to others who may be engaging in the same type of behavior without really thinking about it. Maybe they need a swift kick in the pants, and your confession is just the thing to jolt them out of their complacency.

I'll start things off. When I adopted my first dog, Koro, in 1980, I knew nothing whatsoever about dog care. I was in college, and puppy Koro was roaming around on a street corner. Someone scooped her up and said that she was going to try to find out where Koro lived, and I said, well, if you can't find out where she lives, bring her to me. It was that casual.

One day, when she was 6 months old, a friend said that he was going on an errand and asked if he could take Koro along. Without a thought, I said sure. And out the door they went, with the leash in his hand but not attached to Koro. Moments later, she had been struck by a van. She ran back to my apartment in terror, but the next day it came to light that she had actually broken her back. Literally smashed a vertebra.

What followed were two surgeries and, I'm sure, a lot of pain for my innocent little puppy. And then arthritis at age 5 and occasional flare-ups of joint inflammation throughout the remaining 12 years of her life. All because of my ignorant negligence!

I'm so sorry, Koro.

For the rest of her life, I tried to make it up to her. Thankfully, I discovered holistic medicine a few years later and was able to keep her mostly pain-free and limber through the use of nutritional supplements in spite of the arthritis that resulted from the trauma to her backbone.

But I'm still trying to make it up to her. Why do you think I write this dog blog?

If you have a confession to make about the way that you treated an animal, please visit PETA's new "I Confess" Web feature, where you can tell the whole world how sorry you are. Why don't you leave us a comment here, too, just for good measure?

Tiffany (center) outlived her DCM prognosis by more than three years.

A while back, I met a woman on the beach who clued me in to the presence of foxes there—they had managed to survive in spite of a massive assault on their forest habitat by the construction industry. She was able to solve the mystery of the stinky stuff in the sand that Sunny kept rolling in: fox urine! (And just a few days ago, I finally saw one of those gorgeous creatures in the moonlight for about five seconds.)

Anyway, I digress. I ran into the same woman again last weekend, but this time she was near tears as she told me that her Springer spaniel had just been diagnosed with congestive heart failure and only had a few months to live. My ears perked up because that rang a bell for me big-time.

In the early '90s, I was doing some research on that very topic, and I picked up some useful, even life-saving information that, unfortunately, your average vet will not share with you. However, I was lucky enough to meet the late veterinary cardiologist Eugene Musselman, who confirmed all the information that I had learned on this topic.

When dogs get dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), their heart muscle becomes weak and flabby and can no longer pump blood at a sufficient rate. The onset of this disease can be quite sudden. Some dogs even die of it before showing any noticeable symptoms. Sometimes you do get a little bit of warning in the form of a cough, exercise intolerance, and listlessness, but you have very little time to intervene if the disease has already progressed that far. Luckily, only a small number of dogs (about 2 percent) get this disease—mostly cocker spaniels, Springer spaniels, Dobermans, boxers, large-breed dogs such as Great Danes, and a few others. But if your dog gets it, it will break your heart because it's so unexpected and primarily affects middle-aged dogs or even younger.

The good news is that dogs with DCM are usually deficient in L-carnitine and taurine and can benefit enormously from supplementation with these amino acids. These amino acids can be given preventively, just to be on the safe side (500 mg L-carnitine and 250 mg taurine per day for a 50-lb. dog), but once your dog has DCM, the dosage is much higher and can be expensive: 1 gram of L-carnitine per 10 lbs. of bodyweight per day and 500 mg of taurine per 10 lbs. of bodyweight per day (both divided into a morning and evening dose). The cheapest is to buy it in loose-powder form online. The point is to flood the blood plasma with these amino acids in an effort to push more of them into the heart muscle, since the deficiency seems to stem from an inability to transport the amino acids from the blood into the heart muscle tissue.

While I was doing this research, the middle-aged Springer spaniel of some friends of mine, Tiffany, got the dreaded diagnosis of DCM. She was given less than a year to live. My friends had already endured the sudden death of their large white German shepherd from the same illness. So to avoid additional tragedy, I advised them to give Tiffany 5 grams of L-carnitine and 2.5 grams of taurine per day. Well, the effect was astonishing. Within 24 hours, she was outside chasing squirrels again! And she went on to live for four more active years.

For even better results, I recommend adding coenzyme Q10 and the herb hawthorne to the regimen. Coenzyme Q10 is extremely beneficial to both the heart and the liver (as well as the gums). In fact, a friend of my parents was diagnosed with DCM years ago, and he cured it primarily with coenzyme Q10. And I heard that a similar story aired on Dateline once, but I can't claim to have seen it. Hawthorne has been a folk-medicine heart tonic for ages. Expert ethnobotanist James Duke strongly recommends it too.

So I conveyed all this information to my beach friend and her husband, and they attempted to memorize it all since none of us had any paper to write on. As we parted, she hugged me and said, "I was praying for a miracle, and I got one!" I fully expect her Springer spaniel to be bounding through the waves for years to come.

Georgia: "Hey, torturing beagles is never OK!"

This is really outrageous. As many of you know, I despise the fact that rabies vaccinations are required for dogs every three years and even annually in some states. I've read about all the adverse reactions and the belief of many holistic vets that rabies vaccinations confer immunity for a lifetime. Nobody would like to see the laws changed to allow dogs to be vaccinated for rabies less frequently more than I would. However, I draw the line at torturing animals in order to accomplish that.

Apparently, some people have no such scruples, such as two people whom I admired and respected up until recently, when I read the "Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust Research Study" for which one of them is fundraising and the other is the principal investigator. In this study, two rather large groups of beagles (each with at least 35 members―it's not known exactly how many) will be isolated for five years or seven years, depending on the group; at least 25 of them will be vaccinated; and then they will all be injected with rabies virus to see who dies and who doesn't. The man doing the experiment is Ronald Schultz, D.V.M., chair of pathobiology at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine and an outspoken critic of the laws regarding rabies vaccinations, and the person raising the funds for the experiment is none other than W. Jean Dodds, D.V.M., a veteran of the holistic veterinary medical community. I find this terribly disturbing and hypocritical.

Death by rabies is ugly indeed. The virus infects the brain, causing encephalitis, and can also attack the spinal cord. There can be everything from fever and flu-like symptoms to anxiety, confusion, erratic behavior, aggression, disorientation, seizures, partial paralysis, coma, and death from respiratory arrest. One of the horrible aspects of the disease is that the jaw and throat become paralyzed, making it impossible to drink or even swallow one's own saliva, causing the characteristic drooling.

Of course, none of this is mentioned in Dodds' fundraising. I doubt that she would get a dime if it were. She is soliciting funds from dog lovers of all kinds, preying on their fears for their own dogs' health while totally misleading them. Her Web site and her flier contain not a single word about the negative aspects and gruesome details of the actual experiment. This is deceitful at best. The idea of torturing upwards of 70 dogs in order to improve the health of the rest of the dog population is no different from deciding to torture 70 children in order to improve the health of other children. Those 70 dogs matter! Each one matters! None of them wants to die a horrible death, be killed prematurely, or spend their entire life in a kennel.

We all want our own dogs to be healthy, but people with true compassion don't want that to be at the expense of any other dogs. I'm sorry to have to say it, but in this experiment, the ends, as laudable as they are, do not justify the means.

A better way to spend the $1.25 million being raised for these experiments would be to develop an acceptable serological method to test for rabies antibodies and immunity to the rabies virus.

If you agree, why not shoot Dr. Dodds an e-mail at hemopet@hotmail.com and let her know how you feel?

Darla: "I just can't resist―chewing gum is so tempting!"

I used to say that my dog Dexter couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time, because whenever we were out on a walk and I gave him a treat, he would stop walking in order to chew. He's gotten quite a bit better at this, but I hope he never really gets to try out his gum-chewing skills because many gums today are extremely toxic to dogs. Sugar-free gum very often contains a sugar substitute called xylitol.

A recent blog post by an editor with the Los Angeles Times Sports Section, Steve Clow, detailed the ordeal that can follow when dogs get their paws on xylitol-containing gum or other xylitol-containing products. Clow's dachshund, Hershey, wolfed down 15 mini-sticks of sugarless gum and had to be rushed to the emergency room.

Xylitol is the sweetest of the sugar substitutes sold in bulk, and it has really taken off in the food and dental hygiene industries. Not only can you find it in chewing gum, it's also added to toothpaste, mints, mouthwash, candy, and many foods as a sugar substitute (you'll see it on the label). It's great for humans―it inhibits the bacteria that cause tooth decay and can cut calories from sugar―but it does a number on dogs. When dogs ingest it, their blood sugar plummets to dangerous levels and they need medical attention right away.

If you catch Fido eating a xylitol-containing product, try to induce vomiting by giving him a tablespoonful or two of hydrogen peroxide. Then rush him to the vet, but on the way, try to get him to eat something sweet and rich, like soy ice cream. This can help to prop up his blood sugar while you're en route. Without veterinary treatment, Fido can start to experience vomiting, lack of coordination, and weakness within a half-hour and proceed quickly to seizures, coma, and, finally, liver failure. This is serious!

So keep that sugar-free gum, toothpaste, and any other xylitol-containing products out of your chowhound's reach. Don't keep gum in your coat pocket, either.

Cooper: "Remember, I love you."

1. My life is likely to last 10 to 15 years. Any separation from you will be very painful.
2. Give me time to understand what you want of me.
3. Place your trust in me―it's crucial to my well-being.
4. Don't be angry with me for long, and don't lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your friends, your entertainment. I have only you.
5. Talk to me. Even if I don't understand your words, I understand your voice.
6. Be aware that however you treat me, I will never forget it.
7. Before you hit me, remember that I have teeth that could easily crush the bones in your hand, but I choose not to bite you.
8. Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I've been out in the sun too long or my heart may be getting old.
9. Take care of me when I get old. You, too, will grow old.
10. Go with me on difficult journeys. Never say, "I can't bear to watch it" or "Let it happen in my absence." Everything is easier for me if you are there. Remember, I love you.

―Author unknown

Taylor: "Don't forget to respect your elders."

With each passing year, I relate better and better to my aging canine friends. I had a cocker spaniel who lived to be 15 and a German shepherd who died at the age of 13, so I’m acquainted with many of the health problems of elderly dogs and holistic ways of addressing them.

"Why use holistic methods?" you might ask. For the past 20+ years, I’ve found holistic methods to be gentler, less invasive, more natural, and more healing than conventional methods. These tend to work with the body in a way that nourishes and heals it, rather than simply masking or suppressing symptoms, which are bound to resurface in a different way. Of course, there is a place for conventional medicine, but many chronic and old-age health problems lend themselves to holistic treatment.

In my view, the most important thing that you can do for your aging pooch is to stop vaccinating. Yearly vaccinations are by no means harmless and can damage the health of susceptible dogs both in the short and long terms. And the side effects of vaccinations can be cumulative from year to year. Only rabies vaccinations are required by law (and skipping the rabies vaccine can lead to extremely dire consequences, such as being forced to choose between months-long isolation of your pup in a kennel or immediate euthanasia, so don’t do that). But none of the other vaccinations is required by law. Generally, one round of vaccinations during puppyhood should cover a dog for a lifetime, but if you feel uncomfortable skipping the yearly vaccinations, get a blood "titer" test done instead. This will indicate how much immunity your dog continues to possess and give you the scientific data you need to make an informed choice about vaccinating.

Dogs can also benefit from nutritional supplements, just as humans can. It's important not to just give them willy-nilly but to do your research beforehand, as not every supplement can be given to both humans and dogs, although there is a tremendous amount of crossover. When giving dogs herbal supplements formulated for humans, follow the dosage on the label, according to your dog's weight. If a human should take two capsules twice a day and you have a 65-pound dog, then you can give your dog one capsule twice a day.

For smaller dogs, you can buy empty capsules and use them to divide full capsules in half or into thirds or quarters. Many herbs come in liquid form as well, which makes it easier to administer them to small dogs (just a few drops in their food will do it). Look for liquid herbal products containing glycerin, not alcohol. Always give supplements with food, unless otherwise indicated on the label. Here are a few suggestions for supplements and other holistic treatments for that canine companion "of a certain age":

•Many older dogs begin to get cataracts or a condition called “nuclear sclerosis,” which also affects their vision, particularly at night. You can see a cloudiness forming in their eyes. But this can be prevented, arrested, and even somewhat reversed by providing your dog with antioxidants (such as beta carotene, vitamins C and E, selenium, and especially lutein) as well as bilberry capsules. (Legend has it that bilberry jam was eaten by World War II pilots to maintain their keen night vision.)

•To stave off hearing impairment, ginkgo and amino acids N-acetyl cysteine and acetyl L-carnitine, which act as antioxidants, are helpful. They are also good for slowing down mental decline, as is curcumin, a substance found in abundance in turmeric, that orange spice used in curry dishes.

•For improved digestion, which is really the foundation of good health, digestive enzymes added to the food will help immensely, as will probiotics like acidophilus, which will repopulate the intestines with healthy flora―particularly important after a round of antibiotics. And speaking of antibiotics, when your dog gets a cut or sore on the skin, there’s no need to rush to the vet for an antibiotic that is going to destroy your dog’s healthy intestinal flora. A little colloidal silver applied topically will keep it from getting infected. Colloidal silver, which contains tiny particles of silver suspended in water, yet looks and tastes the same as plain water, is said to be able to purify sludge!

•Creaky joints and arthritis are the bane of all old folks, whether human or canine. Fortunately, there is an abundance of holistic help available in this area. Veterinary chiropractic can straighten out a misaligned spine, which will improve overall health, as the spinal nerves extend out into the rest of the body, affecting everything. Helpful supplements for arthritis include glucosamine, turmeric, vitamin C, MSM, hyaluronic acid, and cetyl myristoleate. Also, exercise should not be neglected, although older dogs should stick to low-impact exercise, such as walking. As my mom likes to say, “Old ladies need to work hard.” I think those are wise words; use it or lose it.

•To keep the hard-working liver healthy, nothing beats milk thistle, which has been prescribed for human liver problems in Europe for years. Something else that’s good for the liver, as well as for the heart and the gums, is coenzyme Q10, a very powerful antioxidant. The oil-based form is about three times as potent as the water-soluble one, so you can buy it in a lower dosage.

•A multivitamin formulated for dogs is also a good idea―a kind of safety net in case there are any gaps in the dog’s diet or ability to absorb nutrients. Green superfoods, such as spirulina, barley grass juice powder, chlorella, wheatgrass, and alfalfa, can also fill in nutritional gaps and provide enhanced immunity. And many dogs do not get adequate omega-3 fatty acids in their diets, which will eventually catch up with them. Omega-3s are essential for healthy skin, supple joints, heart health, etc., so add them to the diets of all dogs, young and old.

And last but definitely not least in importance, do not obsess about your older dog’s health. Do what you can to support it, but do not replay grim scenarios of your dog’s impending brain tumor, senility, lameness, heart disease, or blindness over and over again in your mind ad nauseam. Your dog will pick right up on these negative thoughts and probably get the disease that you keep worrying about! So cut it out. Positive, healthy, happy thoughts only! Enjoy the time that you have together.

Cross: "Don't let this happen to your dog!"

A few years ago, my sister gave me a shredder for Christmas. I had become aware of identity theft and had read that shredding credit card solicitations instead of just tossing them into the recycle bin was a good way to help prevent it. So it was a welcome gift.

But a year or two ago, I found out what a hazard shredders are to dogs and children. Just thinking about what can happen to Fido's tongue or ear if it gets caught in a shredder is not for the faint of heart. There have been at least five dogs' tongues caught in shredders and reported to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and not all of the dogs survived.

The photo of Cross, whose tongue got nicked, accompanying this post is one of the less horrific ones. A video of a dog with a worse injury can be seen here.

I've been keeping my shredder turned off and unplugged when not in use ever since I heard about this. (Some people also put them up on tables or in closets.) But there is a better way to avoid this horror, especially if you live with absent-minded people who might inadvertently leave the shredder turned on. It's a brand-new type of shredder with patented "SafeSense" technology.

The PS-79Ci shredder shuts down when Fido gets too close.

Sophie, Max, and Chloe: "We can't speak your language, so you've got to tell our stories for us!"

I’ve run across a couple of solicitations for input on dog-related issues lately. What better place to ask for data and anecdotes than from a readership composed of dog people?

Pesticide Perils
The first one is from the environmental organization the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), which, unfortunately, is a huge proponent of animal testing. In fact, PETA gave the group an F in our assessment of its animal-testing policies. Now, however, one of its representatives is asking for personal stories of people's bad experiences with flea and tick products so that the NRDC can update its report "Poisons on Pets."

I certainly hope that this isn't a ploy similar to the one that I wrote about involving the Environmental Working Group (EWG), which is using a cute dog in an e-mail campaign to recruit people who are upset about tainted dog food but unaware of EWG's constant pushing for animal experiments. If we knew for sure that the NRDC was going to use people's sad, traumatic stories about the harm that pesticides have done to their dogs in a constructive manner―such as to call for an outright ban on these poisons―then I would say, without reservation, please do send in your stories.

However, since PETA has a long history of battling with the NRDC over its insistence on animal testing and since "Poisons on Pets" appears to call for additional animal testing, I have to remain skeptical about the group's intentions and suggest that if you do contribute your story, please accompany it with a demand that the organization STOP promoting animal experiments. Explain that there is no such species as a "laboratory animal" who does not suffer and die when poisoned with hazardous chemicals! Submit your stories and your request that the NRDC stop pushing animal testing to Alexandra Kennaugh and/or Gina Solomon.

Shocking Stories
The second one is "a private independent study funded by a small group of animal owners concerned about the growing use of shock devices to train, control or punish animals." The group's site is called "Tell Your Shocking Story." They want opinions on and stories about experiences with both shock collars and invisible fences. As you know, I'm not a fan of shocking dogs in any way, unless it's to shock them with how much fun they get to have every single day. I do hope this group publishes its findings.

You can send your stories and opinions about shock collars and invisible fences to www.tellyourshockingstory.ca.

And while you're at it, how about signing this petition by the No Shock Collar Coalition? That'll be your good deed for the day.

Cooper: "I am not a widget!"

I'm all for curing cancer and for early detection of it, but why does it have to be at the expense of our beloved dogs? A Japanese dog-training company, the St. Sugar Cancer Sniffing Dog-Training Center, and a Korean biotech company, RNL Bio, are joining forces to attempt to clone and then train a Japanese dog who is good at sniffing out human cancer cells, or so I read in an article late last week. This is just wrong on so many levels.

First, can you say, "companion animal overpopulation"? Both Japan and South Korea have this problem in spades, so how can they justify creating even more dogs? Right—they can't. It's never justified as long as healthy, adoptable dogs are being euthanized in animal shelters just because they have no home.

Second, this experiment (and that's what it is) is pretty invasive. They extracted two embryos from the original sniffer dog, a black lab whose name is Marine, and implanted them into surrogate mother dogs. That doesn't sound like much fun. And I wonder what these dogs' living conditions are like.

Third, how will the cloned dogs live once they're born? In the article, it says that they will both be trained at the St. Sugar center, then one will remain there, where this whole exploitative idea was cooked up, and the other one "will … be brought back to South Korea for study at the university." That doesn't sound good.

And these are just the first two. If the experiment succeeds, there will be more. South Korea has already successfully cloned sniffer dogs to detect drugs and explosives. They're in training as we speak and scheduled to start working next month.

Why can't people be more humane? Just thinking about this cockeyed cancer-sniffing project for five minutes, I can come up with a better, more dog-friendly way to do it myself. All dogs have excellent noses, so why not start a cancer-sniffing training program for dogs that's open to the public—sort of like agility training classes for dogs, which dogs thoroughly enjoy (I used to take my late husky, Darby, who was always extremely eager to show off). Then the people whose dogs excel and graduate from the program would be eligible to hang out a shingle and advertise their dog's cancer-sniffing services. Set up this way, it would all just be a fun hobby for the dog and an altruistic vocation for the dog's guardian.

There would be no need for any forced reproduction or invasive experimentation, and all sniffer dogs would live at home with their families. But apparently "training the clones of a skilled sniffer dog is easier than training ordinary canines." Well, how much easier? So much easier that it warrants doing intrusive experiments on dogs and forcing them to live in laboratories? I don't think so. Most dogs are trainable, and for them an exquisitely sensitive nose is standard issue.

Dogs are so generous with us humans—they do so much for us and give us so much love unconditionally even when we don't reciprocate. It would be so refreshing if these greedy experimenters could recognize that and act accordingly, instead of treating them like mass-producible widgets.

Dexter: "I'll scratch your itch, Sunny!"

About 15 years ago, I was prescribed an antibiotic that had the unfortunate side effect of making me extremely itchy all over my entire body. It was truly unbearable and lasted for a couple of days. I would definitely categorize that experience as "torture." So now, whenever I see an itchy dog, I take it very seriously.

Canine itching can have numerous causes, but probably the most common one by far is fleas. Some dogs can be crawling with fleas and not even scratch, while others become completely overwhelmed with itchiness from a single flea because they've developed flea allergy dermatitis. When you've got a dog in a tortured state like that―or if you've suddenly become aware of a flea infestation in your home―then you might understandably become tempted to "do whatever it takes" to kill every last one of those fleas and fast, including bringing in the big guns―the whole arsenal of heavy-duty pesticides.

The thing to remember, though, is that almost all flea-control products, including the newer, topical ones, are bonafide poisons, designed to kill (that's what the suffix "-cide," as in "pesticide," means). Even the inert ingredients, which often make up the bulk of the product, can have harmful effects―and pesticide companies are not even required to say what they are on the label (it's a trade secret!). Adverse reactions that have been reported for the various topical flea-control products include neurotoxicity, cancer, organ damage, and skin problems.

It was less than two years ago, when I saw firsthand exactly how harmful this type of product could be. There was a knock at my door, and I opened it to find my former disabled neighbor sobbing hysterically. She had hobbled over to my house to beg me to take her cat to the vet because the cat was having seizures and bleeding profusely. I rushed to her house to find the cat covered with blood―she had bitten her tongue. I bundled them both into the car and raced to the vet. During our car ride, with the cat seizing uncontrollably, my neighbor explained that she had put a Hartz Mountain topical flea product for cats on her two cats the night before. Tragically, her cat died in the exam room right after we arrived at the vet.

I tried to console her on the sad trek home and went inside with her to make sure she was going to be OK. And wouldn't you know it―her other cat, Cotton, was now seizing too. Thankfully, her second cat had not bitten her tongue, but her seizures were quite violent. Off we went to the vet again. Cotton spent the next 24 hours in the emergency room, but she survived and was finally able to go home.

And that product has now been banned. But how many people and their animal companions had to go through a similar tragedy before the ban was imposed?

Last month, I received an e-mail message about another, brand-new flea control product, called ProMeris. The writer applied ProMeris to her seven dogs and this was the result:

Within less than 2 hours after applying, 4 of my dogs had vomited from 2-4 times, 3 were disoriented and stumbling, 1 was dragging his back leg, 1 was salivating. I had very similar symptoms like an allergic reaction―my lips were swollen, eyes very red, mucous membranes such as eyes, nose, and mouth were stinging. I was very disoriented―dizzy equilibrium and not able to drive. To make this a short story―all 7 of my dogs were admitted to the hospital for veterinarian care, and 3 of them remained for care, IV fluids and observation for 24 hours. I was in the emergency room. I'm home now and so are the dogs. We're all feeling much better. Vet bills were over $2,500 and Fort Dodge is paying for these. Not only can the product cause this reaction, it has a highly noxious odor that permeated the house and is just starting to dissipate after 3 days.

Obviously, not every dog is going to experience such extreme side effects, but some will. The immune-compromised, the elderly, the young, and the sensitive are all at risk from exposure to chemicals.

But there are ways to lessen the exposure and the risk. If you must use a topical flea-control product because you have many dogs or you have dogs with an extreme sensitivity to fleas, use only a product prescribed by your vet. These tend to be the safest ones (but don't consider them harmless―they're not). Don't use a product that kills every pest under the sun―if you don't have a tick problem, then don't use a product that also kills ticks, for example. Use the product as directed on the package, but use it only as needed. So, for example, if a month has rolled around and it's time to apply the product again but you don't see any fleas, then wait. Depending on what part of the country you live in, you may only need to use it for half the year or less. If you have both healthy and unhealthy dogs, try just putting the product on the healthy dogs. It should still have the same effect while sparing your immune-compromised dog the chemical exposure.

And if you have just one or two healthy, non-allergic dogs, you can probably get away with using my tried-and-true pesticide-free program:

•Comb your dogs every day with a fleacomb to remove any adult fleas. (You'll have to kill the fleas―I deposit them into a jar and then put the jar into the freezer. I figure that's how fleas would normally die.)

•Vacuum frequently and put the vacuum bag in a plastic bag in the freezer or throw it out (apparently, fleas can escape from the vacuum bag back into your living area otherwise). Launder dog bedding often too.

•For skin health, give your dogs a B-complex vitamin every day as well as flaxseed oil if your dog is not sensitive to it (some are).

•Spray an insect growth regulator called Precor on your carpets and hardwood floors every six months. (This is obviously a chemical and, thus, not ideal, but I think it's better than a pesticide, it's not being applied directly to the dog, it's only applied twice a year, and it really does prevent a full-blown infestation.)

•Consider giving garlic or black walnut capsules to your dog as a flea repellent. These are controversial, and you should use the bare minimum, but they can be very effective. Do a little research so you can make an informed decision about whether to use them. I've used both for extended periods with no ill effects that I could detect.

•Apply microscopic beneficial nematodes (roundworms) to the shady parts of your yard, where fleas congregate. These tiny creatures kill fleas, and they're easy to apply. They just need to stay moist.

•Try this topical flea repellent for dogs that you can apply every other day―it smells great too: To one cup of water, add five drops each of tea tree oil, citronella, peppermint oil, rosemary oil, and eucalyptus oil. Shake it up and spray it on your dog's fur with a plant mister. Rub it in. Fleas hate it!

Best of luck in your fight against those unforgiving fleas!