Before being purchased by the German pharmaceutical company Bayer, Monsanto Corp. demanded that I retract my comments about the many health and environmental risks of their herbicide Roundup, which I refused to do, and they sent a letter discrediting my science-based concerns to all newspapers that published my article. Now, in one of the largest civil settlements in U.S. history, Bayer has agreed to allocate close to $10 billion to resolve around 125,000 filed and unfiled cases claiming its glyphosate-based weed-killer Roundup causes cancer. The deal will still allow Bayer to sell Roundup without adding any warnings, The New York Times reported. It comes after three juries in early, high-profile trials awarded more than $2.4 billion to plaintiffs who developed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma after long-term Roundup use.

This herbicide, still widely used in agriculture and around private property by homeowners and public places by municipalities is often combined with the herbicide 2,4-D, which is also used separately to kill “weeds” invading lawns. 2,4-D is an endocrine disruptor that can damage thyroid gland function and is a potential carcinogen. A 2004 study by Purdue University scientists showed that Scottish terriers exposed to lawns treated with herbicides such as 2,4-D had greater risk of bladder cancer than other terriers. A 1991 National Cancer Institute study concluded that dogs exposed to just four lawn treatments a year significantly increased their risk of malignant lymphoma. (For details visit ewg.org/research/24D/pets-wildlife-24D.)

In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer declared 2,4-D a possible human carcinogen, based on evidence that it damages human cells and, in a number of studies, caused cancer in laboratory animals. More conclusive is the proof that 2,4-D falls into a class of compounds called endocrine-disrupting chemicals, compounds that mimic or inhibit the body's hormones. Laboratory studies suggest that 2,4-D can impede the normal action of estrogen, androgen and most conclusively, thyroid hormones. Dozens of epidemiological, animal and laboratory studies have shown a link between 2,4-D and thyroid disorders. (nrdc.org/stories/24-d-most-dangerous-pesticide-youve-never-heard).

Homeowners, community leaders, municipal authorities, and state and federal agencies involved in regulating the use of these and other chemicals in agriculture need to stop this insanity. Organic farmers are leading the way, along with books for homeowners like Doug Tallamy’s "Nature’s Best Hope," to get rid of their perfect lawns and landscape with indigenous plants for the benefit of insects, birds, other wildlife -- and our own health as well as our animal companions.

DEAR DR. FOX: Is there a supplement that is safe to give my two dogs in order to stop yellowing of my grass when they urinate? I looked into gypsum for the lawn, but it seems to do more harm to the grass than good. They currently eat a little kibble mixed with your dog food twice a day and added vegetables (Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, carrots) and fruits (blueberries or apples) once a day. -- T.G., Tulsa, Oklahoma

DEAR T.G.: I am frequently asked this question and my response has usually ruffled some feathers. There are fraudsters out there selling various products to give to dogs with the claim that their urine will be changed so the lawn grass will not be harmed. These products are not FDA-approved and need not be if they are marketed not as drugs but as food supplements.

Any compound that changes the acidity/alkalinity of a dog's urine is altering complex biochemical processes and could cause harm, including disrupting the normal bacterial flora in the urinary tract that prevents cystitis and infections.

The three solutions that I offer are: 1. Adding a little milk or low- or zero-salt chicken bouillon (you can make your own) to your dogs' drinking water so they drink more and have less concentrated urine. 2. Soak the grass sod where your dogs have urinated with a liberal dousing of water at the end of the day to dilute their urine. 3. Put down sand and a layer of pea-gravel in one area where the dogs can evacuate in your yard, and let the rest return to the wild by seeding various indigenous perennial grasses, flowers and shrubs.

(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: As summers get hotter and longer with climate change, additional precautions are called for to prevent the horrific, fatal consequences of heat stroke and heat exhaustion. First, of course: Never leave a dog or infant unattended in a vehicle. In hot weather, any dog who suddenly becomes dazed, disoriented and uncoordinated should be immediately iced or soaked in cold water, and if collapsed, rushed to the nearest veterinary clinic.

There are cooling vests for dogs to wear when out in hot weather to help avert such calamities. Dogs regulate their body temperature not by sweating, but by panting, which cools the blood with the evaporative cooling of saliva. This can lead to rapid dehydration, so take water for your dog on walks. Oral evaporative cooling by panting is less effective when the humidity is high, so dogs are at risk when high temperatures and high humidity combine. Avoid strenuous physical activity -- running, chasing and retrieving -- under such conditions.

Furthermore, it might to best to go out when pavements and sidewalks are coolest; During the heat of the day, they can make walking very painful, since the heat rapidly penetrates dogs’ paws. All flat-faced (brachycephalic) dogs are extremely prone to heat stress and heat stroke, along with all dogs who are old, have heart issues, are excitable by nature or are fearful when confined, as during air transportation.

Hot and humid weather brings out various biting insects that can transmit diseases to dogs -- and us. A good repellant is a spray bottle of water with a few drops of lemon eucalyptus essential oil. This can be wiped over ears, face, body and limbs. An alternative is cold lemon tea: Boil a sliced lemon (with peel) in 2 cups of water, strain, and store in the fridge.

DEAR DR. FOX: My 13-year-old golden doodle’s back legs seem to be weakening. She in on Dasuquin with MSM, Temaril-P, Benadryl, L-carnitine and taurine supplements. Recently, the veterinarian started her on Novox caplets daily and gabapentin twice daily.

She weighs just under 60 pounds. Are all of these medications necessary? I worry she is overmedicated. -- S.M., Medford, Connecticut

DEAR S.M.: This does seem like a lot of medication. Is your dog improving?

I firmly believe in keeping drugs to a minimum, but in some instances, a “cocktail” is called for. There are alternative therapies for spinal deterioration and associated arthritis, including acupuncture, laser therapy, magnetic pulse therapy and sound waves. Try the website ahvma.org to find your nearest holistic veterinarian.

In the interim, I would suggest massage therapy (as per my book “The Healing Touch for Dogs”), and be sure to keep your dog’s weight under control. One teaspoon of ground ginger and another of turmeric and fish oil in the food daily might be very beneficial. Begin with a pinch to get the dog used to the flavor.

MOSQUITOES IN CALIF. CARRYING ENCEPHALITIS VIRUSES

Mosquitoes collected from traps in Los Angeles County were found to be carrying West Nile virus, while those trapped in Palm Desert were carrying WNV and the virus that causes St. Louis encephalitis, reported the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District. To prevent mosquitoes, water should not be allowed to stand for more than a week in outdoor containers, including pet bowls and birdbaths. Other sources of standing water should be eliminated, and people should wear an effective repellent when outdoors, officials said. (KNBC-TV Los Angeles, City News Service, June 3)

(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: I am sickened by the daily news reports -- as well as the long history -- of our cruel mistreatment of our own kind, and of other species. The all-too-common phrases “treated like an animal” and “they behaved like animals” also offend me. I have a doctoral degree in ethology -- the science of animal behavior -- and take offense at this demeaning of animals, many species of which have highly ritualistic behaviors to avoid harming each other and establish bonds of trust.

In actuality, we humans are behaving like the animals we are: aggressive, carnivorous primates with all the existential fears of sentient life compounded by arrogance -- believing we are the superior of all species -- and by xenophobia, fear and hatred. In his book “On Aggression,” the late Konrad Lorenz, M.D. -- Nobel laureate and my friend -- made it very clear that for our own good and the good of all life on Earth, we must recognize and better control our instinctual impulses that can lead to aggression, violence and inhumanity.

Treating humans “like animals” implies a cultural acceptance of animal cruelty. This is inevitable in a society where millions of animals are slaughtered for human consumption. The sheer scale of producing and processing these animals to meet market demand makes humane regulations impossible to enforce, along with worker-safety precautions.

A metanoia -- a revolutionary turnaround of human civilization, calling for justice for all our human and non-human relations -- is coming. Witness the globally nascent reverential respect for all life, along with concerted efforts to protect, heal and save. Even so, psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton, M.D., warns us of becoming “socialized to evil.” As empathy and compassion are severed from our relationships, there is dehumanization and de-animalization: animals treated as non-feeling automatons. So we destroy our roots, and this pathology of anomie -- from the Greek word meaning “lawlessness” -- ascribes a sense of rootlessness in society today.

Enthusiasm for environmental and social justice is the sustaining power for what we believe in: a shared spirit of divine inspiration, and a sense of the sacred in all creatures. Such enthusiasm is the antidote to depression, fatalism and despair for many, especially those suffering existential environmental despair and those who feel burned out helping save animals wild and domestic from extinction and cruelty.

DEAR DR. FOX: Please, in light of the hysteria, rumor, exaggeration and general craziness happening right now, be careful in implying that wild or domestic animals may someday carry COVID-19. This could lead to pets being abandoned by people who come to see them as a threat to their health. I know you didn’t actually say that, but things are so edgy and there is so much misinformation out there right now.

If it does become a problem, then address it, and even then, do so carefully so you don’t panic anyone. -- P.W., West Palm Beach, Florida

DEAR P.W., Your cautionary note needs to be highlighted for all concerned -- especially the ignorant and terrified who, as in Peru, started the mass killing of bats in March until their government intervened. Bats help protect people from several insect-borne diseases such as Zika, West Nile virus and dengue fever. These are now coming to the U.S., gift-wrapped in our abuse and disregard for wildlife habitat protection and stewardship. Our public health services should be more engaged with other agencies in protecting the natural environment, the health of which determines our own health.

I have mentioned countless times how cats, especially black cats, were blamed and persecuted for the Black Death pandemic that swept across Europe in the Middle Ages, killing an estimated one-third of the human population. Yet it was spread mainly by fleas and lice.

Some companion animals have already been abandoned by owners paranoid about COVID-1. Such irrational behavior, to which we are becoming desensitized at the highest levels of government, is consonant with the evocative language of fear and retribution: We are encouraged to “wage war against this invisible enemy” and “take this adversary down.” Public concern about a few cats and dogs getting COVID-19 from infected humans calls for responsible quarantining and testing, not abandonment and extermination.

Some say I am becoming too political in my columns, but we all must! Animals and the environment have been excluded for too long. But thanks to the work of nonprofit organizations such as the Animal Legal Defense Fund and Environmental Defense Fund, animal and environmental protection are now on the agenda of civil society. Relevant laws are becoming part of the curriculum in law schools and universities around the world.

(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.)