I am one of those people who detests the declawing of cats. This is because in 99.9% of cases the operation is carried out at the convenience of the cat’s owner in order to protect furniture. This is highly immoral, cruel and completely unacceptable and yet American veterinarians find it acceptable and sometimes even promote it.
I am now presented with information that tells me that in America there are animal hospitals which condone the declawing of dogs. Can you believe it? Frankly, it is shocking to me. I’ve heard of debarking dogs which is not that uncommon either. And now we have declawing dogs. Is there no end to the mutilation and alteration of the anatomy of companion animals? How far does the human race have to go to announce to the world that humankind is often incapable of being a genuine companion animal caregiver?
On the Trinity Pet Hospital website their article title is “Dog Declawing in Laguna Hills, CA”. This is an open invitation to dog owners to come to their hospital to have their paws mutilated by removing the toes of the forepaws at the distal knuckle or joint. Declawing is not removing the claw. It is removing part of the toe of the dog or cat. It is an amputation and it is a mutilation because to de-claw a dog is completely unacceptable and unnecessary.
On very rare occasions there might be a medical reason but they are so rare as to be infinitesimal. Trinity Pet Hospital state that although it is not recommended to declaw dogs that spend time outside, smaller “apartment” breeds such as the Chihuahua can be trained to be full-time indoor dogs. This makes the declawing of these dogs “a more common procedure”. This is condoning the operation. They should be doing the opposite.
They do say, however, that they recommend that dog owners explore other alternatives to declawing “first and foremost”. They do not, however, decry the operation. They do not refuse to do the operation. They accept requests to do it. This, to me, is unacceptable. Veterinarians should not be declawing dogs at the behest of their owner. If there is a genuine medical reason for it in the interests of the dog’s health and welfare then of course it should be done. However, these instances are incredibly rare.
This veterinary hospital is openly admitting that they declaw dogs for the convenience of the dogs’ owners. This animal hospital makes no mention of only declawing dogs when it is medically necessary in the interests of the dogs. They discuss the matter as if it is normal to de-claw small, full-time apartment dogs in order to protect the people and the furniture in the apartment. This is meant to be quite a common procedure according to their website.
It is hard to fathom how American veterinarians can stoop so low and be so far off course from their avowed oath which as students they swore that they would uphold. And that oath states quite clearly that a veterinarian can only provide medical treatment if it is in the best interests and health and welfare of the animal concerned.
Declawing dogs at the behest of their owner and for their owner’s convenience is not in the interests of the dog. It is therefore a breach of the oath. These veterinarians should be ashamed of themselves.
