Dear Dr. Fox: Why is it that veterinarians charge to euthanize an animal when the owner has always been faithful regarding checkups and injections from when their dogs were puppies?

If I am faithful from day one with checkups and the like, my veterinarian needs to write off this charge. It is traumatic enough to have to put down an animal you have had for years; and then your veterinarian presents you with a bill. -- S.R., Arlington, Va.

Dear S.R.: In the old days before dehumanizing, money-driven ways took precedence over common sympathy and decency, a vet would never charge a regular and responsible client for euthanasia service. Now, the service is usually tacked onto a body disposal or cremation fee, the latter being reasonable. But as a business courtesy -- if not on the grounds of professional etiquette and ethics -- I feel veterinarians should not charge their faithful clients one dime for euthanasia.

There are many overheads when running any good veterinary clinic or hospital, but some loss of revenue regarding the euthanizing of one's own animal patients will pay off in other ways. Imposing a bill for services during a time of intense grief and devastating loss would seem to depersonalize and demean. Better to at least send the bill later, and a sympathy card first.

Dear Dr. Fox: I have a 5-year-old neutered male shepherd/Lab with a recurring problem of cyst-like growths that form between his toes on both front and back paws.

On his last visit to the vet for his vaccinations, the doctor lanced one on a rear paw. He offered no explanation on what causes these or if there are preventive measures I could take to keep them from recurring. They seem to appear in the summer season. What do you suggest? -- S.H., Oxford, Conn.

Dear S.H.: Your dog is suffering from what is commonly called interdigital cysts. The best treatment is to lance and drain them.

There is a breed-susceptibility to this recurrent condition that in some instances is linked to autoimmune disease.

One way to help reduce this problem is to give your dog's paws a weekly soaking in one part apple cider vinegar and one part water. Dry the paws thoroughly and apply an appropriate foot powder between the toes. If this does not prevent recurrence, apply the following essential oil treatment as a preventive, two to three times a day for one week, once every three to four weeks:

Make up five drops each of essential oils of lavender (angustifolia), myrrh, frankincense and helichrysum in 100 drops of almond oil. Apply a drop or two between the toes and rub into the skin morning and evening. Don't let the dog lick its paws for at least an hour after application. Keep the dog out of water and muddy ground.

You may also want to give up to 1 teaspoon daily of fish oil in the dog's food -- excellent for the skin and has anti-inflammatory properties.

Dear Dr. Fox: I would like to comment on the idea of putting cats on leashes. Since I was a little girl, I've been afraid that some unrestrained dog would come leaping out at me and bark and chase me. It took years to get leash laws for dogs. What would that be like if I had a cat on a leash?

My husband and I have been married 55 years and have had wonderful cats. All of them engaged the great outdoors. Being smart, they knew their way home and made many friends. They were allowed to be out all day and kept in at night.

I loved watching their supple bodies leap into the air and over fences. To keep them from using their beautifully coordinated bodies this way would be an unloving act. We need to keep nature in balance. -- N.R., Bethesda, Md.

Dear N.R.: You raise two important points: Walking a cat in a harness or on a leash can be risky if you do not know the neighborhood and if the cat spooks easily (not just by a dog barking from its yard, but any sudden noise). Terrified cats have run up the closest vertical object for safety -- and that would be the person walking them, who may be badly clawed.

It's OK to periodically let cats out in a backyard at a set time every day. But not all day, and certainly not out of the yard -- give the birds a break.

Check out Don Barnes' cat safe fence -- available on the Internet -- an affordable and simple assembly kit that you can put around the top of your fence to keep your cats in the yard.

You must not let cats roam free. You were lucky that none of yours were hit by a car or mauled by a larger animal.

As for the "need to keep nature in balance," cats may be helpful on a farm or in warehouses, but in suburban and rural environments they compete with natural predators (owls, hawks, foxes) and do more harm than good.

Good news for purebreed dogs

The New Year is starting on an optimistic note with signs of progress in protecting animals from the cruelest animal on the planet -- humans.

The thoughtless, faddish ritual of cropping the ears and docking the tails of certain breeds as a show-standard that the American Kennel Club has never dared challenge for fear of losing revenues from die-hard dog mutilators may soon end.

The American Veterinary Medical Association's (AVMA) Animal Welfare Committee has moved the AVMA to firmly oppose ear cropping and tail docking since there "is little scientific evidence that the cosmetic procedures of ear cropping and tail docking convey benefits to dogs." Ear cropping is already outlawed in the state of Maine.

No mutilated dogs should be allowed into the show ring after a given birth date, and all breed clubs whose dogs have ears cropped and tails docked should pick up the ball for dogs' sake -- a humane initiative long overdue.

To order Dr. Michael W. Fox's newsletter, Animal Doctor, on providing the best care for your animal companion, send a check or money order for $2 and a long, self-addressed, stamped envelope to Newsletter, P.O. Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Send your questions to Dr. Fox in care of this newspaper. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.