City hopes to ban cosmetic surgery for dogs

updated 2:26 p.m. ET Feb. 23, 2005

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - City officials in West Hollywood, Calif., are trying to ban cosmetic surgery — for pets.

The city’s mayor was introducing a motion on Monday that would prohibit such practices as cropping a dog’s ears or docking tails. Also banned would be procedures such as de-barking, de-fanging, and other surgery performed on animals for 'non-curative' reasons.

Supporters of the ban say these procedures hurt the animals in order to satisfy their owners’ tastes. But some pet owners, including a woman who has raised Doberman Pinschers for 40 years, reject the idea that procedures such as ear-cropping are cruel. (Dobermans routinely have their ears cropped.)

Many European countries already have this type of ban in effect, but Mayor John Duran says it would be a first in the United States.

West Hollywood has already outlawed the de-clawing of cats. And it has designated its residents as pet guardians rather than pet owners.

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