[ SHOWGSD-L ] testimony against Maine's anti-debarking bill
- From: "Laurie Pruett" <pruett@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 08 Apr 2007 07:02:49 -0400
In case any of you face similar battles in your state - now, or later. Here's
the testimony I wrote and presented in Maine. Whether you agree with the
notion of de-barking or not, it is important that we stand up against all
legislation that erodes our rights to manage our animals as we see fit as long
as they are managed properly and humanely.
My name is Laura Pruett. I am a resident of Chelsea, Maine, and I am writing
to urge your committee NOT to support LD923, An Act to Prohibit the Surgical
Removal of Vocal Cords in Dogs. I have a number of healthy, happy, dogs that
were humanely debarked by a qualified Maine veterinarian. Let me tell you why
I debarked my dogs.
I have a hobby kennel and have had a valid kennel license in the town of
Chelsea since 1982. I have shelties and German Shepherds. My German Shepherds
are among the top dogs in the country * two of my champion shepherds have been
ranked in the top ten nationally. Over the years I have invested tens of
thousands of dollars into my property for perimeter fencing, kennel fencing,
and kennel facilities. Then, in 1997, Chelsea enacted a very restrictive
barking dog ordinance.
?No owner shall keep or harbor any animal, which by loud, frequent, or habitual
barking, howling or yelping shall disturb the peace of any person or persons.?
Furthermore, this ordinance allows the Animal Control Officer (ACO) to
?apprehend any animal disturbing the peace by barking in violation of the
ordinance and impound such animal in a suitable place.? (The thought of any
of my dogs being confiscated by the local ACO absolutely terrifies me.)
The town ACO interprets this ordinance to mean that no dog can make any noise
EVER if any person chooses to be bothered by that noise. I find this to be an
overly restrictive and unfair ordinance (no noise ever???) but it is the law
and I needed to comply. I could not afford to move and start over again
somewhere else.
I do have one neighbor (not one of my closest neighbors) who has chosen to make
an issue of any noise made by any of my dogs. My dogs have been accused by
this neighbor, on more than one occasion, of barking when the barking dog(s),
in fact, belonged to someone else in the neighborhood. I tried electronic bark
collars, confining my dogs inside whenever I wasn?t home, spraying the dogs
with a water hose, yelling at the dogs if they even thought about barking * in
short, I tried everything I could think of. Eventually, after much thought and
after consulting my veterinarian, we decided that debarking was the best
solution for my situation and for my dogs.
I was pleasantly surprised by how unaffected my dogs were by the procedure. It
is a quick (5 minute or so) procedure * done under anesthesia * and less
invasive than spaying or neutering as it is done through the open mouth and
involves a quick modification (clipping) of the dog?s vocal cords. The dogs
wake up un-phased by the procedure, eat and act normally, and I have to work to
keep them quiet for a time so that their vocal cords can heal as they feel too
good to stay quiet. They appear to have no discomfort and require no
medication for pain.
My debarked dogs continue to bark * yet the noise they make isn?t loud enough
to bother neighbors. My dogs can now take full advantage of the fenced
facilities that I have provided for them. They don?t need to be confined
indoors for long periods of time and they can bark joyfully to their heart?s
content without being shocked by electronic collars, sprayed by hoses, yelled
at, confiscated by the dog officer, etc. I haven?t had a complaint from
neighbors or heard from the ACO in almost 3 years.
Chelseais directly across the Kennebec River from Hallowell, and I invite
anyone on the committee who would like to meet my very happy debarked dogs to
come anytime (just e-mail me at pruett@xxxxxxxxx to set up an appointment).
I again urge the committee NOT to support LD923. Humanely debarking a dog
needs to remain a legal option in the state of Maine for dog owners who love
their dogs too much to continually shock them with electronic collars,
euthanize them, or give them up to a shelter just because their dog likes to
bark.
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