I knew this would be up to some debate. I have to agree with you all the way with the finding the right dog for you or not having a dog at all. Again, I'll say I'm EXTREMELY lucky with Sokka and the fact that we keep him busy as much as possible. (Though it's a little harder now that I'm back at work and gym)
To me this is a case of people seeing pets as accessories and not living creatures.
(now I know there's a big difference between humans and animals, so this analogy is flawed but. . .)
Would you (and I mean that in the general "you" not in an attacking YOU! way) remove a baby's vocal cords if it cried too much? So why would you remove an animals vocal cords?
Yes, yappy dogs are HELL but (as shewolfe already noted) most barking issues are behavior issues. If an owner isn't prepared to take the good with the bad when taking on the huge responsibility of a pet, then the shouldn't get a pet.
(and for the record, I'm against ear cropping, tail docking, and declawing in cats)
(and for the record, I'm against ear cropping, tail docking, and declawing in cats)
I have to agree and confess that I have had 2 cats declawed in my life time. The first was my 18 year old Siamese that no matter what I did could not keep her from clawing into people while they slept. Her kneading/making biscuits was almost neurotic and was starting to leave scars. The surgery went well and she lived til a ripe old age of 22. A very happy and content cat.
The second cat I fear was not as lucky. It was horrific when we brought her home and with in 5 seconds or coming out of the crate she had ripped her bandages off and was screaming in pain. It was traumatizing, for both me and the cat. I spent the rest of my time with her making up for that incident, I felt guilty and stupid and unworthy of breathing.
While I can possibly understand declawing being a last ditch effort for an owner, and I can possibly forgive that, I will never do it again.
I am more forgiving (if you will) when it comes to declawing. And I too have had declawed cats. As a kid, all our family cats were declawed (front only) and my parents still declaw all their cats. I don't think they're cruel for doing it (and neither of their current cats were that upset by the process--unlike one of our childhood cats who's toes always looked calloused and sore from the experience).
I'd never declaw any future cats (and my current three are all fully clawed, as the scratch on my shoulder can attest!).
The only parts of an animal I can justify removing are reproductive organs (spay/neuter) and dewclaws on dogs (since I've seen the after effects of a dewclaw torn off and it's not pretty).
The only parts of an animal I can justify removing are reproductive organs (spay/neuter) and dewclaws on dogs (since I've seen the after effects of a dewclaw torn off and it's not pretty)I fully agree. I spay/neuter all my dogs. (we don't have cats right now) Even Gunnar who has papers is on the list at the vet and ready to go. Before I got him he had his tail docked and his dewclaws removed. I have to say as cute as his little nubby tail is I couldn't have done it myself. I have also seen Dewclaws torn and I agree it's a mess and painful and best avoided at all costs
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I knew this would be up to some debate. I have to agree with you all the way with the finding the right dog for you or not having a dog at all. Again, I'll say I'm EXTREMELY lucky with Sokka and the fact that we keep him busy as much as possible. (Though it's a little harder now that I'm back at work and gym)
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(now I know there's a big difference between humans and animals, so this analogy is flawed but. . .)
Would you (and I mean that in the general "you" not in an attacking YOU! way) remove a baby's vocal cords if it cried too much? So why would you remove an animals vocal cords?
Yes, yappy dogs are HELL but (as shewolfe already noted) most barking issues are behavior issues. If an owner isn't prepared to take the good with the bad when taking on the huge responsibility of a pet, then the shouldn't get a pet.
(and for the record, I'm against ear cropping, tail docking, and declawing in cats)
Reply
I have to agree and confess that I have had 2 cats declawed in my life time. The first was my 18 year old Siamese that no matter what I did could not keep her from clawing into people while they slept. Her kneading/making biscuits was almost neurotic and was starting to leave scars. The surgery went well and she lived til a ripe old age of 22. A very happy and content cat.
The second cat I fear was not as lucky. It was horrific when we brought her home and with in 5 seconds or coming out of the crate she had ripped her bandages off and was screaming in pain. It was traumatizing, for both me and the cat. I spent the rest of my time with her making up for that incident, I felt guilty and stupid and unworthy of breathing.
While I can possibly understand declawing being a last ditch effort for an owner, and I can possibly forgive that, I will never do it again.
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I'd never declaw any future cats (and my current three are all fully clawed, as the scratch on my shoulder can attest!).
The only parts of an animal I can justify removing are reproductive organs (spay/neuter) and dewclaws on dogs (since I've seen the after effects of a dewclaw torn off and it's not pretty).
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