Ears, Tails & Ethics: The End of Cosmetic Cuts
On this episode of Animal Party, Deb Wolfe serves up equal parts laughs, heart, and hard truths. We kick off with the Wyoming “wolf suit” fiasco—a cautionary (and hilarious) PSA about why wildlife can’t be duped by costumes or club tricks. Then Deb unpacks the growing wave of legislation in Quebec, the U.S., and Europe restricting cosmetic pet surgeries (debarking, declawing, ear cropping, tail docking) and explains humane, effective alternatives. You’ll hear a feel-good rescue from Canada’s Bay of Fundy, where volunteers freed stranded white-sided dolphins from knee-deep mud, and a tender update on Teddy, Deb’s senior poodle, as she weighs pain control, mobility, and quality of life. We close with a heartfelt invitation to adopt or foster—because while no pet is replaceable, there’s always another soul ready to love you back.
Listen to Episode #235 Now:
Transcript:
Hello and you're listening to Animal Party on Pet Life Radio with me, Dab Wolf, and we're gonna talk about animals today. Of course we are. We're gonna talk about pets and some news that's come up that I think is just too funny.
I've got to share it with you. Okay, so yeah, this one's too funny. In Wyoming, a man gets mauled by a wolf pack.
Okay, so far it doesn't sound very funny, does it? Except, except, you gotta understand, this guy thinks, oh my goodness, I've got a picture of him. And it is a man dressed in a wolf suit and he's trying to integrate with the pack. Now here's the funny part about all this.
This is not an animal zoologist doing a study. This is not Farley Mowat, the famous author, Canadian author who lived amongst the wolves for years and years before he tried to meet the pack. This is not someone who studied animal behavior and figured out how to do this.
And this is not for any purpose that makes sense, like Farley Mowat's great book, Never Cry Wolf, which helped us understand the wolf like we never did before. Or the biologists and zoologists who are studying animals all over the world and try and get close without impacting them. No, this isn't that.
This is some guy with some kind of weird fetish where he thinks he's a furry or a dog or a wolf. He wants to be a wolf. And he thinks that he could pretend like he does at the nightclubs and the, you know, fetish clubs.
He can, he can take on wolf mannerisms that probably seem convincing to humans. Maybe he scratches himself. Maybe he lifts his leg to urinate.
I don't really know what this guy does, but it did not convince the wolves. Because they go by scent. If you have a read Never Cry Wolf, you would know that urine is a big part of getting along with the wolf pack.
Anyway, so this guy didn't do any of the things that you're supposed to do. And he went and tried to just integrate in his little furry costume. And he, he did not accept him, let's just say.
So, so for all you furries out there listening to my show, I don't mind that you do your thing, but it's a human fetish. It has nothing to do with actual animals. So leave them out of your games because they're not gonna play nice when you show up in their territory smelling like a human and acting strangely.
They're just not gonna accept you. So let this guy in Jackson, Wyoming, who's still in the hospital, be a little bit of a warning for all of us. If you want to integrate with wildlife, you gotta learn how and do it correctly.
And dressing up in a costume isn't the way to go. All right, we're gonna go to break and come back on Animal Party Pet Life Radio. Stay tuned.
Hello! We're back on Animal Party Pet Life Radio. And I wanted to tell you about a new law, new rules, for cosmetic veterinary surgeries in Quebec. And you might think, well Quebec, who cares about Quebec? That's not where I live.
I live in America, or I live in Europe, or I live in another part of Canada. But here's the thing. This is part of a trend that's been going on my entire career.
And I am just shocked at how long it's taking. So this same type of legislation is now before the courts and pending in New York State. It's already happened in New Jersey and other places too, where you're not allowed.
Vancouver Island was ahead of the curve, and now all of Europe, all of the UK, and all of Europe, you cannot do a surgery on a dog just for cosmetic purposes. Or a cat. And in particular, you can't take their claws away, you can't take their voice away.
And in fact, I thought this was actually quite quite amazing. They decided that it was considered cruelty, and that taking the voice away from an animal was cruel and should never happen. That was a New Jersey court.
So what they're talking about is they go in through the throat or through the mouth, and they take a portion of the vocal cords of an animal. And it's supposed to make the animal silent. It does not work.
They're not silent. They have this weird, altered, squeaky, scratchy, horrific-sounding, irritating bark. They can't communicate with other animals, they can't warn us, they can't behave like they should.
And oftentimes, it can make them have to behave more aggressively, because they can't do any warning barks. So not in the same way. They sort of sound like a bird, a squeaky, crowing, weird noise.
It's terrible. So I think it's great that they've stopped this. Now, why is it taking so long? Because most people agree that you shouldn't be able to do this to a dog, and that it doesn't get the result you want.
Training a dog to be quiet is better. Making sure he's not bored is better. Making sure he's exercised is better.
Taking him to a professional trainer to teach him quiet command is better. Teaching him who the neighbors are so he's not barking at them is better. I mean, there's lots of better ways, including some devices, which might spray him with lemon, a citron mix, or might give him a vibration warning.
There's ways to combat a barkaholic dog, besides this. This is not cool. And a long time ago, 25 years ago, there used to be building requirements that insisted on this in parts of California.
So, okay, so most people agree it doesn't work, isn't a good idea, no reason to do it, let's not do it. Right, okay, great. A dog named Logan, I think he was some kind of herding dog, and I saw the picture, probably a collie of some kind.
Anyway, his owner, a 15 year old boy, got the law passed in New Jersey, so well done you. But it's taken everywhere else a long time because it's linked to other cruel surgeries, other cosmetic surgeries, like tail docking and ear cropping, which I don't believe in either. If you've ever had a Doberman puppy or seen one with plaster and tape all over his ears so they'll stand properly, if you've ever had to take a tiny little puppy with beautiful little trusting nature to the vet to have its tail docked, which is actually spine taken, it's not just cosmetic.
So if you've ever seen a cat not wanting to use the litter box or being riddled with arthritis or absolutely reactive because every step hurts because its knuckles were taken off when they took the claws because that's the only way to do it. Yeah, you know these things shouldn't be done, but there's a lot of show people who still want fancy ears and fancy tails and so they'll fight any legislation. So all you pet owners out there who don't give a hoot if your dog's ears are up, if the tail is short, if the dog looks menacing, but what you do care about is that veterinarians get a break from having to do all this, that the law requires they not do it, and then customers can't pressure them to do it, and then all these unnecessary cosmetic surgeries on dogs and cats won't be done anymore to the dogs and cats of your neighborhood.
So pay attention to the legislation. It's probably coming to an area near you. Ohio was ahead of the curve, parts of Rhode Island are ahead of the curve, parts of Canada are in line with the UK and Europe saying no more unnecessary cosmetic surgeries.
Now why do they say unnecessary? Because once in a while it's necessary. What am I talking about? Well in particular I've seen it quite a few times in my career where there's a dog with a very large, fat, wide, thick, heavy tail and if it's not docked sometimes, and it's really really quite rare, but sometimes this particular dog will continually have injuries to his tail just from wagging it, bang bang bang against the door, against the railing, against a cupboard, whatever, and it will split open. And in this case when someone's had to take their dog to the vet to have the tail repaired more than once, then it makes sense.
But they don't dock it at the base, they don't take spine, they don't do a cosmetic make your dog look tough type surgery, they do what's necessary. So they only take off what's absolutely necessary. Way less suffering and it's only when a dog really needs it.
So really think about this. I hope you'll pay attention to the news around you and the feeds that come in and if there's something you can vote on in your area, please do because we got to end all this cruelty. A declawed cat is not less likely to destroy things, it is more likely to bite, and it is more likely to have litter box issues, especially as it gets older, which is the number one reason cats get abandoned to shelters.
So we don't want that. You know, you can train your cat, you really can. You can train your cat to be nice and more importantly, you can train the people around you not to push the cat to where it has to act out.
You can teach people how to read a cat, to know when he's had enough, to know when it's too rough. Most of us are petting our cats way, way too roughly. Imagine if you were only 10 pounds, how gently you'd like to be touched by a hundred pound being.
Or imagine you're the size you are now, but there's something ten times bigger than you that wants to pick you up and cuddle you. You're gonna hope it's gentle. All right, we're gonna go to the second break and come back on Animal Party Pet Life Radio.
Stay tuned. Back on Animal Party Pet Life Radio, and I saw some amazing, amazing footage I wanted to share of the Bay of Fundy. And the Bay of Fundy is up in Canada, and it's on the East Coast, and it has the world's biggest tides.
So it's pretty serious, water in, water out. I mean, amazing. If you can see footage of it, it's worth looking up.
It's just incredible, the power that goes through there. But the thing is, there were some dolphins who misjudged it, and so they got stuck. They got stuck in the mud when the tide went out.
And they're white-sided dolphins, and it took about 30 people, hours, in waist-deep mud, in a river, in the water, trying to help them get out. And they noticed them because they could hear them squealing and making noises, but they weren't moving, and they were kind of half stuck in the mud. So the people went to the rescue.
They spent all day doing this, and every dolphin survived. So salute to you people who got muddy for the best cause ever, saving some some fellow beings from a catastrophe. Okay, so we're back on Animal Party Pet Life Radio, and I did tell you a little while ago that I was trying a new drug for my teddy.
And unfortunately, not every drug works for everybody. It's a drug called Lubrella, and it's supposed to help old-age symptoms, but it didn't really help Teddy very much. And there was another drug he got, supposed to help joint lucidity, and also that didn't help very much.
So after five weeks of trying the different drugs, two doses of the one and four doses of the other, I've had to go back to something that's a nerve pain blocker instead. And I'm recognizing that I'm making that equation. Is his pain and his quality of life, you know, how they how they weigh out? Every time I walk by this beautiful red standard poodle, he smiles at me.
Every time I walk by him, his tail goes thump thump thump thump thump. When I pick him up into a stand position, he can walk around. He even wants to go for a walk.
He wants to help me garden and water the plants. But every once in a while, his hips slide out from under him, and I have to pick him up again. So where is that line? When do I do it? I just don't know.
I'm in that zone now where I have to make the decision, the hardest decision a pet owner makes, I think. But I got permission from the vet to increase his dose from two pills a day to three. And so we'll be working on that this week.
And hopefully, hopefully we have a really happy week with lots of treats and cuddles and not too many falls. So if you're listening to me out there and you understand what this is like, and you lost a dog, and you're thinking no one could ever replace that dog, that's probably true. But the thing is, what that dog would want most for you is another good dog to love you.
That dog doesn't want you to be dogless, unprotected, unescorted, unloved, uncuddled. That dog doesn't want you to come home and not be greeted. That dog doesn't want you to not hear the sound of dog drinking water from the bowl and lying down in a big thump of contentment.
That dog wants all that for you. So you deserve it. Go out and adopt a dog.
It doesn't have to be a puppy. I have four dogs available right now. Golden Doodles, if you're in the Lower Mainland area, especially there's one that would be so good for service.
If you've got a special needs child or person in your family, and you want a companion dog for that, I've got a Golden Doodle that would be perfect for that. Perfect. He's got all his shots.
He's ready to go for the right family. It'll be at no cost. And there's three others that are available as well.
So please call me if you need a dog. But besides that, wherever you are, there are worthy dogs. There's dogs who've lost their homes through no fault of their own.
Maybe it's money. Maybe it's a death in the family. Maybe it's a divorce.
Maybe it's a move. Perfectly good dogs, loving and well trained, and they'll be so grateful. Don't think for a second that they won't bond with you.
When you take them from a shelter or a rescue place, or even even a home that can't keep them anymore, they know what's happened. They know they've lost everything. And then they found you.
So the sun will rise and set on your head for the rest of their life. That's how important you'll be to them. So do it.
Go out and get a dog. Go out and get a cat. If you're grieving, like I will be saying, put that love channel, that love into a new animal that needs a home.
Because there are so many animals out there who need homes. And they're wonderful animals. And sometimes you can foster one, get to know it, make sure it really fits with your life before you adopt it.
That's available here at Camp Good Dog. If you're in the lower mainland and you want to try Golden Doodle, see if the allergies are okay. See if it works out with your family.
Just give us a call 604-515-2267. But wherever you are, there are good dogs and good cats available. So don't think you have to spend life without a pet.
Just because the beautiful soul you love so much, that you bonded with so much, that fit you like a glove has passed on. There will be another and it won't be the same. But it'll be amazing too.
All right, from me and Animal Party and Pet Life Radio, ciao meow. Be good to your animals.