daily dog lick: Yay for the American Veterinary Medical Association!

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Yay for the American Veterinary Medical Association!

The AVMA took a bold and humane stance against cosmetic tail and ear docking. I'm thrilled that their position is quite clear:

"The AVMA opposes ear cropping and tail docking of dogs when done solely for cosmetic purposes. The AVMA encourages the elimination of ear cropping and tail docking from breed standards."

I've never been a fan of doing surgery on dogs to change the way they look. A dog is a companion, and in the same way I don't choose my friends based on their looks I don't choose my animal companions based on theirs. The AKC maintains that these procedures are for health and safety, but the AVMA addresses that too:

"If it can be responsibly demonstrated that the purpose of performing the procedure is to protect the health and welfare of the dog, then of course the association would support the appropriate surgery."

Read the article in Veterinary News here.

I'm a fan of all kinds of ears and tails, but two of my favorite ears belong to
Bodhi (laying down in this picture), one of Danny's best buddies in the whole world. He's mostly brown, but his ears have long, silky black fur growing out of the tops. In this photo, his ears and neck are wet from being mouthed by Danny during play. I think his ears are a favorite of Danny's too.