Beware, bulldogs. Beginning in 2017, facelifts will be off limits for dogs and other pets.
The Quebec order of veterinarians has decided to ban cosmetic surgeries for domestic animals. That means traits many think are natural to breeds like Dobermans, like cropped ears and short tails, will no longer be seen in the province.
“Everyone recognizes a wagging tail and a happy dog has those ears forward and a scared dog has those ears back,” said veterinarian Karen Joy Goldenberg. “Well, if you’ve removed their ears, removed their tail, they can’t communicate to people or to other dogs.”
The practice of ear-cropping and tail-docking is not new and originally were performed primarily on working or fighting dogs.
“You don’t want their opponent to have something to grab on to, to tear their ears out,” said Goldenberg. “So it has some historic meaning but they’re not really valid points anymore.”
Currently, the decision on whether or not to perform the surgeries is left to the discretion of veterinarians.
“As a clinic as a whole we’re not performing these procedures,” said Goldenberg. “We’ve made the moral decision to not do these procedures before the order actually took away our right to perform them.”
With the decision, Ontario and Alberta become the only remaining provinces without legislation outlawing the surgeries.
