Ear clipping on rise

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

Brutal home surgeries put dogs at risk
By Emanuel Parker Staff Writer - Pasadena Star News

PASADENA - Several do-it-yourself ear croppings by dog owners who want their pets to more closely resemble fierce fighting dogs have local humane society officials concerned.

"It looks gruesome when it's freshly done," said Ricky Whitman, Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA spokeswoman.

The surgical procedure involves using scissors to trim dogs' ears to look like those of pit bulls used in illegal dog fights, she said.

Owners of those dogs remove most of both ears so other dogs can't bite and hold onto them while fighting. Whitman said some owners are performing the procedure at home without anesthetics.

Steve McNall, the Pasadena society's executive director, said they will prosecute for animal cruelty any non-veterinarian caught performing ear croppings. A felony case carries a maximum penalty of more than a year in jail and a hefty fine, he said.

"We have an issue with people who try to put machismo in their dogs by doing home croppings," he said. "They're doing this because they can't afford a vet, think it's the right thing to do or to make their dog look mean and nasty. It sickens me."

He said at-home ear cropping falls under the same heading as de-clawing cats, "It's mutilation."

On Dec. 5, officials said a society worker picked up a 4-month-old female Jack Russell terrier mix wandering around the 1300 Block of North Fair Oaks Avenue that had recently had its ears clipped.

"The ears are totally mutilated," McNall said. "They were swollen, scabbed and sewn together with carpet thread to make them stand up when they healed. The dog must have suffered immense pain because it was done at home without an anesthetic."

Whitman said the dog was really friendly and has been adopted.

"We want people to know this is going on in the community," she said, "and to be on the lookout for it."

Peter Lippincott, a veterinarian at Foothill Veterinary Hospital in Pasadena, said ear cropping is a cosmetic procedure that's safe when performed at an animal hospital, but the surgery has fallen out of favor with many vets and dog breeders.

Owners of show dogs and breeds such as Great Danes, Dobermans, boxers, pit bulls and schnauzers used to routinely get their dogs' ears clipped, he said, but today many breeders forego the procedure and let the ears develop naturally.

"We don't do it any more," Lippincott said. "When someone just takes a pair of scissors and does it without anesthetics, I don't know how they do it because the dog will try to bite them. That's totally inhumane."

Ear-cropping involves the surgery, anesthetics, sutures, antibiotics and perhaps an overnight stay and costs about $200, he said.

Society officials have seen four or five dogs that have received the impromptu operation since November, Whitman said.

"These people want their dogs to look like tough pit bulls," she said. "They want their dogs to have this sleek look. We see this kind of thing periodically and we're seeing a lot of them at this time.

"There's a real danger of infection when doing this at home," Whitman said. "The procedure is very painful for the dogs. If owners feel that doing this is necessary, let a vet do it."