mister has a mysterious skin malady. i gave him a bath and brushed him and dead skin and hair came off leaving red patches. toxins in the water and air accumulate with time and the cleansing mechanisms are compromised. dogs and humans get more illnesses and their defenses weaken, along with all animals of water and air and land. 

and i feel more fear and prejudice emanating from the humans, not just for dogs, but a general miasma of fear and prejudice, and noli mi tangere, baby. i know i'm sensitized by being with dogs, who've always been second class citizens, discounted or feared, and by my own lifetime in a bully culture with enmity for non-conformity. but i feel it also as empathy, as i do for blacks or women or poor people or anyone the culture hurts. that's it, i feel an air of hurt, like the very air is hurting.