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. ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2007. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. 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