It’s a dog’s life -- but it doesn’t have to be

Miniature Schnauser (ears cropped)

“Man’s best friend” should be glad s/he’s not “man’s worst friend” -- considering all the trouble and pain “man” already inflicts on dogs.  These days, some dogs can’t win for losing.

Thanks to a couple stories on the “Pets” page of today’s Times of Trenton, I’m thinking about dogs whose tails are docked and/or whose ears are cropped, for little reason other than style or tradition (as in “That’s how we’ve always done it”!).

Let’s start with last month’s annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in NYC.  The show’s quality judgments are based on breed standards that are created by breed parent clubs.  That means, in the case of mini schnauzers, for instance, the dog’s ears are cropped to make them stand up and look pointy.  (Don’t ask why -- it’s a case of humans re-designing animals for their own indefensible reasons.)

To achieve the desired look, puppies’ ears are cropped, and in the worst cases, that’s been known to occur without anesthesia or a veterinarian license (required in Pennsylvania).  In one infamous 2016 case, a breeder was ultimately charged with felony torture for disregarding the law and cropping puppies’ ears (without pain meds or antibiotics afterward), which then became infected.

Try to imagine puppies being held down “crying and screaming” during an illegal -- and wholly unnecessary -- procedure.  And fancy how those pups might then regard humans.

Rotweiller (tail docked) 

Tail docking, another needless and cruel practice, dates way back to the belief that “removing part of a dog’s tail could prevent rabies.” Talk about uneducated guesses. 

As of 2013, the American Kennel Club, the organization behind many dog shows, recognized 20 breeds with cropped ears and 62 breeds with docked tails!  This despite the American Veterinary Medical Association’s opposition to both practices as painful and cosmetic.  (Nice to know the AVMA takes a stand against cropping and docking.  Its wishy-washy position suggests its on the profit-making fence about declawing cats.)    

On the other . . . paw

A recent visit to North Star Vets, in Robbinsville, was an upbeat and therapeutic experience, as usual.  It’s the place where years ago, Billy, our 12-year old tuxedo cat, got a second opinion that saved his left eye. 

And since then, for whatever reason we’re there, it’s also a prime spot for people-watching -- that is, for watching people devoted to their pets.  

They often arrive, with carriers or dogs on leash, looking serious-hopeful, and take a seat -- often with their pets -- in the capacious waiting area.  Some parents talk with nearby people, and/or their pets, while others sit tensely, awaiting appointments.  (In one case, pictured, the dog wearing the collar was back for a check up after cataract surgery the day before.) 

When people check out later, their mood's much different -- not necessarily jovial, but often relieved and invariably informed -- with happy talk of “going home now.”   

euphemism of the week

dingleberries --  “little pieces of poop clinging to a cat butt”

https://www.catster.com/cat-health-care/cat-butt-health-care-tips

  

Petting Zoo

by Nicole Homer

We pay to enter the dirty
pen. We buy small bags of feed
to feed the well-fed animals. We are
guests in their home, our feet
on their sawdust floor. We pretend
not to notice the stench. Theirs
is a predictable life. Better,
I guess, than the slaughter,
is the many-handed god. Me?
I’m going to leave here, eat
a body that was once untouched,
and fed, then gutted and delivered
to my table. Afterwards, I’ll wash
off what of this I can. If I dream
it will be of the smallest goat,
who despite her job, flinched
from most of the hands. Though
she let me touch her, she would not
eat from my palm. In my dream,
she’ll die of old age
and not boredom.

(from Poem-a-Day | Poets.org poem-a-day@poets.org, 2/28/2019)      

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