The horrific American practice of dog "debarking" leaves pooch without a voice

Freedom of bark!

Freedom of bark!

Freedom of bark!


http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/201...t-avma-raises-activists-howls-of-protest?lite

Dog debarking policy at AVMA raises activists' howls of protest

Karen Mahmud

Karen Mahmud, 43, of Long Island, N.Y., holds her long-haired Chihuahua, Lola, who barks in a squeaky whisper after surgeons cut the dog's vocal cords.

By JoNel Aleccia, NBC News

When Porter, a 123-pound black Newfoundland, attempts to bark, it comes out as a raspy cough. When Lola, a 6-pound long-haired Chihuahua, tries, she emits only a whispery squeak.

Both dogs have been “devocalized," or surgically muffled, using a controversial procedure regarded as either barbaric mutilation by lazy pet owners -- or as the last resort of animal lovers desperate to keep their furry companions.

Porter’s owner, Sue Perry, a 58-year-old Connecticut bookkeeper, and Lola’s owner, Karen Mahmud, a 43-year-old New York nutrition blogger, fall squarely into the first camp. They’re part of the Coalition to Protect and Rescue Pets, an activist group that helped get the practice known as “debarking” or "devoicing" outlawed in Massachusetts two years ago. Now they have set their sights on the American Veterinary Medical Association.

“I was just horrified by this,” said Perry, who adopted Porter from a rescue agency five years ago. “When he tried to bark, I was, like, ‘What the heck?’”

Though they’ve never met in person, the two women have joined to launch an online petition demanding that the AVMA, the nation’s leading group of veterinarians, condemn devocalization when the organization reviews its policy on the procedure later this year. So far, more than 125,000 people have signed onto their cause.

“It’s very, very upsetting,” said Mahmud, who also got Lola from a rescue group and says she watches the tiny dog suffer with constant coughing and acting like there's something stuck in her throat. “I would never think that it’s OK to put a dog under needless torture. If a dog barks, a dog barks.”

But that point of view is vigorously opposed by groups such as the National Animal Interest Alliance, an animal welfare organization in Portland, Ore., and by dog experts such as Charlotte McGowan, a Boston-area dog breeder and noted American Kennel Club honoree who has judged at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

To advocates, the procedure is a rarely performed, simple operation that can allow an owner to quiet incessant barking that may lead to eviction, friction with neighbors or stress so intense it makes them want to get rid of the pet -- or worse.

“It’s giving a tool to someone who really loves their animal and is at the end of their rope,” said McGowan, who refers to the procedure as “bark softening” and says it doesn’t totally eliminate a dog’s ability to make noise.

McGowan, 68, said she has had dogs debarked herself during more than 40 years of breeding and believes the procedure is both safe and effective, with no lasting damage to the animals. Though there are behavioral interventions and techniques to stop problem barking, some dogs are resistant to training, McGowan said.

“You hate to take a dog out of a home where it’s loved just because it barks," she said.

On the surface, the new petition, posted by Change.org, is aimed at influencing the AVMA’s policy on debarking. The group currently opposes the practice in general, but says devocalization may be used when other efforts have failed as a “final alternative” to relinquishing or euthanizing an animal.

Perry and Mahmud believe the AVMA’s reach is so broad, representing more than 82,500 veterinarians in the U.S., that the group should take the lead in opposing devocalization in the U.S. In Europe, they note, debarking is illegal.


Sue Porter

Sue Perry, 58, of Hartford, Conn., relaxes with Porter, her 7 1/2-year-old Newfoundland dog. He was debarked by previous owners and has had to have surgery to remove scar tissue in his throat. Still, he has trouble with breathing and eating.

“Until the AVMA changes their position, they’re condoning it, saying it’s OK as a last resort,” Perry said.

But Sheilah Robertson, a veterinarian and assistant director of the AVMA’s Animal Welfare Division, notes that the AVMA may have influence, but it has no ability to set laws or enforce bans.

“We just make strong recommendations,” Robertson said.

Other animal groups in the U.S., such as the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or ASPCA, do oppose the practice outright. That group “does not support the use of surgical procedures that attempt to circumvent the behavior issue while exposing pets to unnecessary discomfort and risk,” the agency said in a statement.

At issue is the procedure known as venticulocordectomy, which involves removal of an animal’s vocal cords either by going through the mouth or through an incision in the throat, according to the AVMA.

It’s used to quiet dogs -- and cats, some say -- who are too loud or incessantly noisy. Experts say dogs bark excessively for many reasons: poor training, boredom, social isolation, in response to external stimulation, to protect territory and because of anxiety or compulsive disorder.

Though debarking is regarded as a simple, fairly inexpensive procedure -- about $400 to $500 -- critics say it deprives animals of their natural ability to communicate and poses physical problems from scar tissue that can impair breathing, eating and other normal activities.

Many veterinarians refuse to perform the procedure and Robertson said it’s no longer taught in veterinary schools. That’s because although there are other surgical procedures performed in that area, devocalization is never a medically necessary procedure, said Joel Woolfson, a board-certified veterinary surgeon in private practice in Medway, Mass.

“My feeling is very strong that this procedure is done strictly for the convenience of people who don’t want to hear or are annoyed by their pet’s vocalizations,” said Woolfson. “It has nothing to do with the health of the animal.”

Rather, Woolfson added, the procedure is performed by pet owners seeking a "quick fix" who don't want to spend the time and energy to address the actual cause of the problem.

"It's the ones that are just too lazy to try other approaches," he said. "Or they are just insensitive to the fact that it's a procedure that can cause some suffering."

No one knows for certain how many devocalization surgeries are performed in the U.S. each year. It may be less than one-tenth of all dogs seen for office visits, according to background material for Ohio legislation aimed at banning debarking of vicious dogs.

Four states -- Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio -- have laws banning debarking under certain circumstances.

In Massachusetts, the law passed in 2010 was championed by the Coalition to Protect and Rescue Pets, the volunteer group that includes Perry and Mahmud.

In McGowan’s view, such groups are often made up of activists who hold extreme views and rely on scare tactics to advance their goals.

“I found that the emotion and irrationality of the people opposing this was really hard to fathom,” she said. “I got people who called me up and said ‘We know where you live.’ It was quite frightening.”

McGowan notes that many of the same people are ardent supporters of spaying and neutering pets, both invasive surgical procedures that could be viewed as being performed because they benefit humans.

“Talk about what’s cruel here,” she said. “A convenient surgery is neutering your dog.”

Robertson, of the AVMA, said the group’s Animal Welfare Committee will consider many points of view, from scientific evidence to public opinion, when members review the debarking policy.

Until then, although the heated discussion will continue, people who actually want to find a surgeon to debark a dog might have trouble, Robertson said.

“It’s not commonly done,” she said. “They’d have to look around pretty widely to find one.”

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If you ever lived next to somebody who had a dog that barked all night you might feel different.

 

If one doesn't like barking, one shouldn't get a dog.

I think this practice is disgusting, but wouldn't want to make it illegal.

 

I don't have a dog but get to routinely hear one bark all night. Some dog owners have no consideration for neighbors. Get the thing a muzzle lol.

 

If debarking and barking are both illegal the owner will be required to train the dog. Training the pet.. making lifestyle changes.. are very easy to solve the barking problem. There will STILL be some barking. Are you in favour of "debarking" because you don't want the government to tell people what they can and can't do with their pets?

 

Debarking sounds extreme , but they should do something to curb the barking all night.

 

Debarking is barbaric just as declawing a cat is barbaric. If you can't tolerate a barking dog then don't adopt one into the family.

 

Absolutely. One should take complete responsibility for their animals PERIOD. No excuses, no BS, just accountability.

 

Hey if my dog barks at your cat in my yard it is your problem if it bothers you. Get rid of the cat or it may disappear.

 

As opposed to spaying and neutering.

<<<Mod Edit: Personal Attack Removed>>>

 

Debarking is illegal in Australia.

 

If a dog or cat can happily live in a happy home due to its voiceless or clawless condition---all is good. For some people--happy animals with happy families in happy homes are beside the point.

 

They advertise those bark suppressors on TV, but I think that preventing a dog from barking is going to prove to be a huge mistake. I'll tell you why. Dogs express themselves through body language and through barking. When this is stifled, a pressure cooker begins to build. I think we're going to find out that a trend of friendly, gentle dogs suddenly attacking adults and children viciously..with no warning..is linked to bark suppression. You can't suppress an animal's natural instincts without it finding another outlet.

 

I have. The solution is NEVER torturing the animal.

 

You are both right. The dog's bark is central to its existence. Removing it is like removing eyes, ears, scent, or smell. It has no lesser effect on the dog's entirety of existence, than it would on a human, except to a dog it is MORE a part of their existence as it is a central part of life.

If you could live happy without a voice, you would still be without a voice, and yours is a pretty big IF, my fiend. How many dogs need to suffer before your rational for the premise is met?

Removing an animal's vocal cords is NOT a producer of happiness in the animal. Your statement is so replete with flaws, it is just shockingly awful Americans have marked like on it. Shockingly awful, indeed.

 

Another disgusting American practise by those who treat their pets as ornaments, or something to impress their friends with. Along with de-clawing cats (actually amputating the first knuckle) in case their precious furniture gets scratched, and wiring the ears of their dogs so they look 'fierce', these are barbaric and idiotic practises performed by sad, image-conscious pricks in my opinion.
Don't want your furniture scratched, don't get a cat; they aren't toys for your amusement. If you want to modify your own bodies with tit jobs, nose jobs, arse bleaching, arse lifts, collagen implants and christ only knows what else in your inane search for bodily 'perfection', feel free to do so. Leave animals, who have no choice in the matter, alone.

 

Your statement is shocking. Animals are left without homes because they can't co-exist with the family. These animals are killed at the shelters---or they turn into outside animals and left to the elements. The question is---do you really care if an animal has a loving home or would euthanizing an animal without a home be a better option?

My thinking is...you haven't had any experience around clawless cats or barkless dogs within a loving family. So perhaps your assumptions are based on hype not reality.

 

As it is in the UK, and rightly so.

 

If I were a dog, and was taken in for the debarking procedure, my owner, the vet and staff, and folks arbitrarily walking down the sidewalk, would be well advised to "debite" my ass too, while I was anesthetized!

 

How could I take the voice of such a handsome fellow?

 

How can you oppose this and support spaying or neutering.

You don't think reproduction is integral to a dog? And let's talk about barbaric, we cut their uterus out or testicles off.

Dogs are companion animals to humans. This is a beneficial relationship to both us or them. As long as a dog has a loving home, all is good. I'm sure the procedure is far less painful than others. If this procedure makes the dog more compatable with humans, it is in the best interest of the dog.

 

My Golden was traumatized by his neutering experience. He took it so bad---I had to change vets as he wouldn't go through the door again. It took weeks for him to recover emotionally and physically.

 

They actually have dogs with modstard. That is a finely ground mix of pork and beef with no more than 2 rat hairs, 0.001% rat feces, sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite, artificial wood smoke flavouring, FD&C red #16 all natural from crushed red insect shells, slathered with a blend of FD&C Yellow #42 and... You guessed it! Genetically modified with fish genes Mustard seed!

The MAJOR problem with Americans is that they pass each law SEPARATELY out of context, and once one law is passed, the next one is easy to follow... NOBODY looks at the big picture.

Soon, in America, you will be able to go into a pet shop, and buy a de-barked, de-fanged, de-clawed, wire-eared, neutered, DE-POOPED dog. And they will do it! Why? BECAUSE THEY CAN CHARGE EXTRA FOR IT.

Since they can do any 1 of those things legally, there is nothing stopping them from doing ALL of those things, and the Supreme Court judge will be forced to claim Franken-Dog is legal.

Moreover, the Dog Corporation, because let's face it, ONLY a US Corporation would do these things since the leaders only see reality on PAPER and it looks like $$$$... They will sell the fangs and detached body parts to the jewelry and perfume industries. THAT IS WHAT WOULD HAPPEN if pooch became a US Commodity!

 

Mutilating an animal so that it fits your lifestyle choice doesn't in any way demonstrate anything but selfishness. No love involved whatsoever. These idiots don't deserve to share the same oxygen as their 'pets'.
I'll reiterate; an animal is not a toy, an ornament or a lifestyle possession chosen to match your couch. Anyone engaging in such barbarism deserves to have their first finger joints amputated, and see how they get on.
British cat and dog rescue centres do not kill-off their animals. Only dogs with untreatable medical conditions, or severe problems with aggression are put to sleep.

 

My God. EVERYTHING ins Austrailia is illegal. It seems like you ppl have no "petty" rights and prvileges at all.

This is what happens in proportional democracy where even the most fringe special interest group can introduce and pass legislation.

You ppl are truly at the mercy of the slim majority.