Banfield, the Pet Hospital Bans Cosmetic Surgery for Dogs

Since I've never owned any dogs except rescued mixed breeds, the question of docking never came up. However, I've owned many cats and only declawed one at the age of 2 1/2. She was content to use a scratching post up until we left her alone in our home overnight just once. She had a radio, lights on a timer, plenty of food and water and a huge clean litterbox. When we returned the next day, our couch was lacking one arm and two sets of living room curtains were in shreds on the floor. My husband told me to take her to the vet and see if he could get her a new home or declaw her--otherwise, put her down. My vet didn't want to operate, but I explained that my husband would not take the kitty back with her claws intact. Reluctantly, the doctor removed them. My kitty died last October just short of her 18th birthday~! I wouldn't routinely declaw, but sometimes there is little alternative.

Well ER you talk about choice. What about the cats choice of keeping the claws it was born with? To protect itself and to exercise etc. I'm sick to death of people thinking they have the choice to mutilate and animal for no good reason. Hello!! These procedures have been banned for a reason! Here in the UK we still have a democracy; we still have choice but you know something? Vets would never de-claw anyway even before it was banned. Now thats what I call choice; choosing to do the right thing for the animal not the 'owner'. You do not have the god given right to mutilate an animal for your own selfish reasons. How would you feel if someone cut your finger tips off or god forbid your 'tail'?

Well EF you fancy yourself a bit don't you? Quote:"These are things that you most likely didn't know, did you?" Yikes, we know alright, we know that mutilating animals because it's tradition, because you want to change their looks, because it's convenient or to save your sofa are ALL WRONG, immoral, unnecessary and inhumane! I don't care how well looked after you say they are after an operation, it is an unnecessary anaesthetic, an unnecessary injury and an unnecessary trauma for those animals who have no medical necessity for surgery. These things that Banfield have now decided are no longer economically viable to offer are atrocities to animals but they pale into insignificance against declawing - removing part of each toe on each paw - which of course as we well know brings in a pretty profit so will not be discontinued. I still say boycott Banfield until they get the message that declawing is unacceptable. You say it's about freedom - I say it's about selfish cruelty!

All cosmetic surgery should be banned worldwide and most especially the declawing of cats which is the very cruel amputation of ten (or 18) healthy body parts which cats need to live a healthy and fulfilled life. Those people who would relinquish a cat if it couldn't be declawed are not fit cat 'owners' anyway and the truth is that ignorant people can plan to get a kitten and have it declawed rather than provide the scratching post which all cats need for exercising their muscles. Whilst I abhor ear cropping and tail docking, those parts are not essential like cats claws are ! Come on Banfield, catch up with the civilised world where vets stick to their oath to harm no animal.

Starting at the beginning of this article. First off, Banfield didn't do that many ear crops since most of the vets don't know the fine art of the procedure. Ear crops that I've seen from Banfield were obviously done by vets that had no idea what they were doing. If you check the reviews regarding Banfield, you'll see that there are more dislikes than likes regarding their general services. The majority of vets don't do these procedures because they simply don't know how. It's an art and vets are concerned about their bottom line. Having to do follow up on cropped ears or the occasional stitch issue with a docking takes away money from another client with an easier issue to deal with. It's a business and a business wants to make as much per day as it can. Hence, discontinue time consuming elective surgery. Any vet that says the procedures are painful isn't worth his/her salt. Aren't these the same vets that say there is no pain associated with spay/neuter? Hard to imagine that the removal of a fold of skin from an ear causes more pain than the removal of en entire uterus. Surely, ripping out the claws of a cat is extremely painful - done for the owner's convenience. Next, ear cropping is NOT an amputation. Amputations require transplants or prothesis to recover the loss of the part. Such terms shouldn't be used to associate the removal of a fold of skin (such as the sheath of a male infant which is referred to as 'circumcision') with the removal of a limb or other body part. Removal of the pinna on an ear isn't remotely close to an amputation. Use of such terminology is done to create a frightening picture in one's mind - one that is nothing like the actual procedure, and as such, shouldn't be used to describe cropping OR docking. It is incorrect. "Floppy part of the ear" is also incorrect terminology. Seeing "floppy" puts one to mind of the ears flopped down along the sides of the head and that is not what cropping is.(For some of you that may wonder what a pinna is - it's the part of the ear, in humans, that you see 22 earrings dangling from. The difference? Human pinnas are hard cartilage and dog pinnas are only a fold of skin.( i.e. We don't "amputate" male infants.) Pinna, btw, is Latin for "wing." We don't live in the UK or any of the other countries that have eliminated elective surgery. Why do you think people come here in droves? It's about freedom. Freedom that allows choices. There is no law that says you MUST crop or dock your dogs. It's a choice. And it's an expensive choice. We aren't talking about a low cost spay/neuter for $100. Ear cropping is expensive and to those who choose to have it done for whatever reasons, be it a working dog or constant ear infections or just plain because that look is preferred by the owner, know that the animal is well cared for before, during and after the procedures - provided that the owner is a responsible owner and not some fly by night person that does it simply to get more money for their pups. After care is just as important as the proper cropping procedure. Too long, too short, too wide, too narrow...all of these things are only accomplished with experienced eyes and breed history knowledge as well as breed anatomy, growth rate, shape & size of the head. It's an art and not just anybody can do it properly. It's a science. Every dog is different. There is no "one size fits all" ear crop or tail dock. These are things that you most likely didn't know, did you? As for being happy about disallowing such procedures, that is shameful. If those who say they are so adamant about true animal welfare really are, why then would you be happy to see the elimination of the heritage of any breed of dog? Why are you not happy that responsible owners DO use a vet for such procedures? Don't you think that your time would be better spent in educating people about the difference between responsible ownership and irresponsible ownership and those procedures that are done within those two groups of owners? The right and wrong? I've heard horror stories through the years about people just cutting off a dog's pinna with scissors at a very early age and I cringe just thinking about it. That is cruelty and the height of irresponsibility. I don't condone such actions, but for those that do things in the best interest of the animals that they love, the heritage of the breeds that they try to preserve, done humanely - I believe they have a right to do so. And so, with all that said - back to the cat claw amputation discussion......!!