Changing the culture towards cosmetic surgery on animals

Leave it up to our Canadian friends to LEAD THE WAY on this important issue of fighting cruelty against animals, yaaay! The Canadian Province of Nova Scotia has just introduced legislation to ban the following cruel procedures on animals:

Debarking (which does not solve the problem of a barking dog, it only increases their anxiety by muting their “voice”).

Cutting or deforming the ears for cosmetic purposes (this is the AKC’s fault for setting breed standards that want to see specific breeds like Dobermans, have their natural ears mutilated)

Declawing (cats can have nail protectors placed on their claws that is more humane, can you imagine if someone removed all of your own fingernails and toenails?)

Tail docking aka tail AMPUTATION . . .So yes, it is an actual amputation.

“Docking” is a marketing term designed to soften what pet owners hear, so they don’t feel so badly about the amputation.

"Docking" sounds like something professional, right?

Like it's a thing that is a selling point on a puppy?

How many breeders and Craig's List ads point out "docked tails" as a selling point? (hint: a LOT!)

It's an amputation of a major part of the body that a dog NEEDS to be healthy and have a balanced back.

We know a bit about this because our beloved cocker spaniel breed is being mutilated by breeders who continue to amputate the tails (again, until the AKC stops designating this as part of the breed standard for cockers, the breeders will not stop this cruel practice).

Tail amputations are generally done within two days of birth, no anesthesia or pain medication. Many backyard breeders perform it themselves with scissors or garden clippers. When not done at a vet, often the tail amputation is so messed up that a puppy can actually bleed to death.

Breeders will tell you "oh it's no big deal, it doesn't hurt that much because the tail is still soft at that age". They are wrong. Docking a puppy's tail involves cutting through muscles, tendons, blood vessels, highly sensitive nerves and severing bone and cartilage connections.

Consider the human equivalent of this and what it would be like if our culture approved the amputation of toes or fingers from a newborn baby? (not to be graphic, but this is what puppies are going through and it is horrific).

Okay, let's say you love a cocker with a docked tail and you simply don't want to think about the unnecessary pain that breeders are inflicting upon newborns. You are old school, you are used to seeing the tails docked like in Lady and the Tramp and that's simply what you want aesthetically in your cocker spaniel. There is actually LONG TERM health damage that is done to a dog's back when their tail is amputated.

Have you ever seen x-rays of a dog with their natural tail?

The tail is an extension of a dog’s vertebrae. You can see the vertebrae going down the entire tail. Nature gave the dog a long natural tail of vertebrae for a reason. To serve as a way to balance the dog’s back.

So when you amputate the tail, you are permanently putting the dog’s ability to balance and protect his/her back at risk.

Cocker Spaniels with amputated tails are at most risk for having back problems later in life. The common age for a slipped vertebrae in a cocker spaniel is between eight and nine years old. Back surgery is not something all pet owners can afford (between a $2,500 MRI and a $6,000 surgery, it's the price of a used car!).

Many pet owners that are not prepared for major medical bills and didn't get pet insurance, will euthanize the dog because they don't want to care for a paralyzed dog. Back surgery is considered urgent once a slipped disc happens. If you can get your dog in to surgery within 48 hours, there is the best chance for the dog to regain feeling in the spinal cord.

Check out Camp Cocker Rescue’s, Minnie that had a slipped back disc in 2010. Within 36 hours, she had her MRI and back surgery and here is a video clip of her four days post op. Minnie went on to walk like a normal dog once her spinal cord healed up from the surgery. She was approximately nine years old when this happened and she is now seventeen years old in her forever home and still doing well!

There is no reason to curse a dog to being paralyzed for life if surgery is an option. There is no reason for this back surgery to be as common as it is in cocker spaniels, if not for the practice of amputating their tails.

There are many myths behind tail docking

In ancient times, Romans believed tail docking prevented rabies. Hunters believed that docking the tail made a hunting dog faster. Old school fans of Cocker Spaniels believe that docking the tail is to prevent the dog from injuring his/her tail. (whaaa???? How many Golden Retrievers are getting their tails injured or other breeds that are allowed to keep their full natural tails?) These are all myths that people have been propagating for years.

It is interesting because these attitudes towards tail docking are generally seen in an older generation. Like anything that requires a shift in the culture towards more progressive views, it is the younger generation of people that our pets are counting on to push for more humane treatment of animals.

Camp Cocker Rescue​ actually had one potential adopter ask us if we can dock the tail on an adult dog because they don't like the natural tail. (OMG!)

All of this pain and mutilation of our beloved cocker spaniel breed could be prevented by the AKC changing their breed standards or by the U.S. making it illegal. Neither seems to be on the horizon at this time.

There is a third option, equally unlikely to happen. This would require every single breeder in the U.S. to come together and take a stand against the AKC and insist they will no longer support cosmetic mutilations of animals.

We have to just be grateful for other countries whom are leading the way with their more progressive views towards animal cruelty.

The American Kennel Club is a highly lucrative organization and is well known to lobby against anti-cruelty laws, puppy mill legislation and has spent a lot of money to fight the changing laws barring pet stores from selling puppy mill dogs.

Most people view the AKC as something legitimate, that stands for “quality” puppies when they are purchasing a puppy from a breeder. Sadly, the AKC is just an organization that breeders (including puppy mills) purchase pieces of paper from that says they’ve registered their puppies as “AKC registered”. There is no regulating of how puppies are bred and any backyard breeder can send in money to buy the AKC Registration to increase the perceived value of the puppies they are selling. Check out this Today Show story on the AKC that may be eye opening for the average person.