Response to Law Takes Bite Out Of 'De-Barking' Surgery

Law Takes Bite Out Of 'De-Barking' Surgery
Mass. First State In Nation To Ban Surgery



On Wednesday, the state of Massachusetts becomes the first state in the nation to ban de-vocalization of dogs and cats. This is a horrible procedure that cuts an animals vocal cords to stop if from barking or meowing, which often causes the animal pain and suffering, life-long coughing or wheezing, infections, and vocal chord scarring.

I've seen an animal this is done to - it's really very sad. The dog still moves it's mouth to bark, but the noise hat comes it is pathetic and sad. The surgery is only used on animals that will otherwise be euthanized or put into a shelter.

When our kids get too loud, do we remove their vocal chords? No. I don't think it is right to remove an animals vocal chords for any reason unless there is something wrong with them to begin with. If an animal is too loud, there are alternative methods such as obedience training, or muzzles. It is also very possible that the problem lies with the pet owner and not the pet itself. TO torture a dog or cat, just because their owner can not (or doesn't know how to) take control of them and quiet them down is just plain wrong.

I totally agree that this law should be illegal, but the thing that surprised me is that Massachusetts is the first state in the USA where this is illegal. That is appalling - to think that if you want your little poochie to be quiet, all you have to do (in 49 states) is rip his vocal chords out.

Supporters of the surgery say it can allow families to keep a vocal pet that would otherwise be surrendered or euthanized, and it can help diffuse potential neighborhood issues spurred by noisy pets.

Those neighbors should be ashamed of themselves as should the owners for allowing it to get to the point where they have to rip out the vocal chords of a living, breathing animal, so they can get a good nights sleep. At ant point did anyone consider how well that poor animal will sleep?

That "noise" as the owners call it is not just for fun. Dogs and cats use it for communication with other animals, as a defense mechanism, and to express emotion such as fear, pain and excitement. An animal who somehow got out in the wild would find it very hard to get along without their vocal chords. Not to mention this very same pet would likely be euthanized anyway if their owner decided they didn't want them anymore because, really, who wants a dog or cat that can't bark or meow?

It just disgusts me that we still do barbaric things like this these days to poor defenseless dogs and cats instead of learning to train and discipline them. If the dog or cat were the owner, do you think they would ever put us in the same situation? No, to our pets, we are the world, the most important thing ever, and they love us unconditionally. To take advantage of that trust and love is immoral and wrong on every level. They trust us to make the right decisions for their health and well being - and ripping out a necessary part of their defense and communication system strikes me as betrayal on every level.

People who do this should be ashamed of themselves for not being devoted enough and loving enough to find another solution.

The measure, named Logan's Law, was signed into law by Gov. Deval Patrick in April after it received overwhelming bipartisan support in the Legislature.

I applaud the men and women of the Massachusetts legislature for overwhelmingly approving this law with bipartisan support.

And let's be honest, i almost never applaud the Massachusetts Legislature for anything.