Should people be allowed to devocalize their pets?

When Sue Perry adopted her dog Porter two and a half years ago from a rescue group, she noticed he had a hoarse, raspy bark. Her veterinarian confirmed the dog had been devocalized.

"He really has trouble breathing even on a very short walk, and he coughs," Perry told CBSNews.com. "Before I really knew anything about this, they thought he had kennel cough. He gags so I have to monitor him closely when he is eating his food, and I have to water it down."

"It's horrible, it's horrific," she said. "Don't do it. Devocalization should never be an option."

Perry, in conjunction with the Coalition to Protect & Rescue Pets, has started a petition get the American Veterinary Medical Association to make sure it's never an option.

Devocalization, or ventriculocordectomy, is a non-therapeutic surgical procedure that is undertaken to stop a pet from making loud noises, according to the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association. As a result, the animals make either low-pitched, harsh sounds or raspy, high-pitched squeals. Normally it is undertaken on dogs, but veterinarians have seen cats that have had the procedure done.

"As far as I can see, there are no benefits to this surgery," Dr. Alex Klein, a veterinarian with the North Shore Animal League, said to CBSNews.com.

During the procedure, vocal chords are either partially or mostly removed through the oral cavity or through the larynx. With both procedures there are risks for infection, blood loss, scar-tissue growth and negative health effects from anesthesia. The Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association said success for this type of surgery is low, and it is often undertaken more than once in the same animal.

"The consequences are the animal is in chronic pain, and they can't breathe and can't eat well," Klein explained. "Then, the owners say they don't want the animal anymore and dump it."

The procedure is banned in the U.K., and in some U.S. cities and states including Massachusetts and New Jersey. It was once taught as a standard part of veterinary school education and is still legal to perform in most states. Klein doesn't know any doctors who offers the surgery, but he has treated some dogs that have had the surgery done.

In the case of Perry's dog, Porter has needed $2000 worth of surgery to remove scar tissue. While he can breathe a little easier, he can't play with other dogs or even take regular walks because he risks heat stroke. But, at least Porter is still alive: One of Perry's friends had a devocalized dog that choked and died while eating because the food went into his lungs. Perry's petition on Change.org calls for the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) to ban devocalization in the U.S., something that Klein wholeheartedly supports. At press time the petition has more than 133,000 signatures.

The AVMA states that dog devocalization should only be undertaken as a final alternative after other behavioral modification efforts have not worked and only by licensed and qualified veterinarians. A spokesperson for AVMA told CBSNews.com it is currently reviewing its policies on the subject, a process that done every five years for all of its recommendations.

Dr. Sheilah Robertson, a board-certified anesthesiologist and the assistant director of the AVMA's animal welfare devision, admitted that there are no health benefits to the surgery.

"Barking is a normal behavior for animals, and that's how they communicate," she explained to CBSNews.com "Nuisance barking or excessive barking usually has an underlying social issue. Is it because a person leaves a dog alone for 12 hours? Does it have an anger issue is it because it hasn't been socialized?"

However, for a family that is facing eviction or people who have no other choice than to euthanize the animal, it may be their only option, Robertson pointed out.

In her 30-year career, she said she's only seen four or five animals that clearly had the surgery. That was mostly at a research facility, where researchers wanted animals to be quiet in the laboratory, she said.

However, Klein said he's heard of many cases where breeders will devocalize their young animals to make them easier to sell.

"The whole thing boils down to personal responsibility," Klein said. "If you are going to get a dog that barks, the answer is not to cut its vocal chords out. You work with a trainer. This doesn't really need to be on the list of things to do."

[NeahmShelties]

Bark softening is a MUCH less invasive surgery than spaying or neutering. The dog is lightly anesthetized and the vet does down the throat and makes one or two SMALL notches in the vocal folds, using a biopsy punch, cautery tool or laser (the last two result in absolutely NO bleeding). As I have personally seen this procedure done, I can attest to the technique with far more accuracy than the alarmists who are pushing to make this procedure illegal. The dog wakes up, goes home and is barking (only softer), playing and eating that day. It is a bloodless procedure.

So, why is it okay to mandate such a severe surgery as spaying and neutering but not let a minor surgery as bark softening be done?

In comparison to spay surgery, which is major surgery where an abdominal incision is made, the ovaries and uterus are removed, the incisions are sutured or to neuter, where the testicles are removed via a surgical incision in the scrotum which also must be sutured closed, the risk of bleeding and infection are much higher. Try as you will to deny this, it is STILL the facts! Complications of neuter, besides infection and bleeding, also include increased risk (as high as quadruple) of certain cancers (prostate, bone, urinary tract, cardiac hemangiosarcomas, prostate), tripled risk of hypothyroidism and obesity, and increased risk of adverse reaction to vaccination. In females, spay also increases the risk of obesity, hypothyroidism and vaccination reaction, it also increases the risk of cancers of the spleen, heart, bone, spay incontinence as high as 20%, persistent urinary tract infections, urinary tract tumors and orthopedic disorders.

To those opponents of bark softening, I have yet to see a reasonable, rational objection. Instead, I see emotional outbursts based on completely inaccurate information. I see no research to back up claims that bark softening is painful, cruel or mutilating.

The AVMA's official position on bark softening is: (Approved by the AVMA Executive Board June 2002; reaffirmed April 2008; oversight: Animal Welfare Committee) Canine devocalization should only be performed by qualified, licensed veterinarians as a final alternative after behavioral modification efforts to correct excessive vocalization have failed.
And finally, it's important to discuss canine communication. It's a well-known fact that wild dogs and wolves seldom bark once they mature past adolescence and experts state that barking is actually a result of domestication. Certain breeds have a genetic propensity to bark, such as the herding breeds. Barking is only one means of canine communication and in fact, not the major means used. Dogs communicate with body language, smell (if you watch two dogs greet each other, they usually sniff each other's hindquarters) and a series of yips and growls which bark softened dogs can still do. As has been said here repeatedly, bark softened dogs can STILL bark, just not as loudly.

Research done at the Humane Society of St. Joseph, Mishawaka, Indiana, by a team of veterinarians lead by Gary Patronek VMD, PhD, found that excessive barking was given as the cause in 41% of dogs surrendered for behavioral problems... almost HALF!! When you factor in the number of dogs surrendered in this country for behavioral issues and realize that almost half of those are due to barking, you simply cannot rationally deny that excessive barking leads to many dogs being euthanized in shelters. How many of these lives could have been saved had the owners known that bark softening was a viable option (as recognized by the AVMA.)

[SUZAMBA]

It is often not the fault of the barking dog, rather it's owner. Our neighbors have beautiful dogs, when they bark continuously, it's because they are placed outdoors. And the owners ignore them for hours, hence, they bark.
The devocalization of animals is cruel. Don't have the animals if you can't care for them or spend time with them. How would you like your vocal cords cut because you run off at the mouth! This is totally sick!

[declin30]

When I read the statement that these mutilating procedures should be decided by the owner and the vet, it is usually a vet who is writing it. Legislation has already been passed in California to protect animals against indifferent owners and the vets who are ready and willing to comply with any wish as long as there is profit. Declawing is illegal in many cities in CA in spite of the veterinary lobbyists who fought it all the way to the state Supreme Court. Someday, the rest of the country will follow suite, especially when the voices of animal activists become great in number and powerful in the voter's box.

[ccdirtdawgs]

This is so absurd. The only thing it proves is that drama sells. Seven years ago I "adopted" a happy, healthy dog who was bark softened. Now, at nine years old, she is still a happy, healthy dog. She joins in (more quietly) with her kennel mates' group howls, runs like the wind, and has never had a single health problem. That doesn't sell, though, does it CBS?

Shame on Sue Perry for trying to force her beliefs - based upon her experience of a single dog that happens to be bark softened - on all dog owners.

[WarriorForAnimals]

Shame on you and people like you! Animals DESERVE to keep their voice and not have it mutilated so people don't have to hear them.

Imagine you are having the same thing done to your kind because a certain group doesn't want to hear you talk. Would you like it?
I highly doubt and I support the petition.

If people support this very CRUEL and INHUMANE surgery then they should get devocalized.

[flughaafen]

Using hyperbole and exaggeration to persuade others unfamiliar with processes that can be made to look scary or unpalatable is really the lowest form of manipulation. If you want to build a solid constituency, do some research to find out if you're really zeroing in on a problem. We have far too many control-needy people screaming for bans on way too many things.

[Linhiril]

This is nothing but a substitute for a RELATIONSHIP!!! A dog that barks at nothing is bored and neglected. Treat the cause. Don't be stupid!

[Linhiril]

Dear lord! This is appallingly selfish. Someone who does this needs a robot not a pet.

[thinkingonetoo]

True this surgery is as archaic as abortion as birth control.

There are electronic devices one can purchase to silence dogs.

I have some annoying, inconsiderate neighbors that love to put their barking dog out as we put the kids to bed, and around 6 AM!?

Since, you liberals love taxes so much, why not impose a tax on dog owners, so that their neighbors can get free electronic bark silencers.

[GeraldineClarke]

Don't really understand your first sentence but the implications scare me.

Anyway, those "electronic devices" (when set at a humane level) work less than 50% of the time in my experience. I have tried several brands of them. They are not a solution in many cases.

I would never, ever "debark" my dogs but I am fortunate in that I work from home and can silence any unnecessary barking by vocal reasurances or commands ("training") but many people do not have that luxury. If these surgical procedures are outlawed, many dogs will die in shelters because of the ban.

BTW, what do you mean by your comment about "you liberals"? These bans are being proposed by the "animal rights" movement. AR is usually identified as a "liberal" movement. I do not agree as I find so much of the AR movement to be fascist. I'm as liberal as all get out and I oppose these bans (and many other AR proposals.)

[Dr_Hail]

As for not tolerating an animal's bark it is the neighbors who make trouble for the pet owner. By the time the owner winds up asking for this surgery they have already had the animal to several different trainers with no success. To stop a dog from barking some resort to electric shock collars, sprays that burn the sensitive nose lining and many other small tortures. Which is better a lifetime of abuses or a five-minute non-invasive procedure that widens the opening of the vocal chords? Common sense should tell you. Did you know that 92% of all pets are already spayed or neutered which means the dog and cat are coming to near extinction. 12 million people are looking to purchase a pet each year. 54 million are in pet homes now. There is no way that responsible pet breeders can ever meet that need. These radicals are now forcing the closure of pet shops under the guise of poorly bred animals claiming to the public that all animals should be perfect. Every living thing has 30 or more genetic defects there is no such thing as perfect health. Look at human beings we all suffer from some issue, some small some large. Animals are no different and to lead the public to expect perfection from a pet is false and is intended to force increased expectations and lawsuits based upon false assumptions. Disease states can never be avoided entirely and vaccines on puppies do not always work until the animal is older. Did you know that in some states feral mixed breed dogs are being shipped in tractor trailer rigs in the middle of the night and sold to people in parking lots as rescued shelter dogs because people can no longer find a pet to purchase. Did you know that the big radical animal rights groups who take their animals by making false charges are now attacking rescue groups? Then they get the money from selling these animals as rescues. It's easy to call any shelter or rescue group a hoarder because they already by their very nature have a lot of sick animals. HSUS is the master at doing this and they closed a cat sanctuary in Florida with the help of the neighbors who did not want a cat sanctuary on very valuable land. Here is how humane HSUS is they took $600,000 dollars from this man through a court order to pay for the care of the cats they stole and dropped on the local shelters. Then the neighbors came in and shot the remaining cats not caught. Real wholesome enterprise. We have several large non-profit organizations that are raising money with no oversight and no accounting of where the money goes. Although it is against the law for a charity to lobby these groups lobby with impunity. Its so bad that many states are now moving to protect your rights from these groups by putting the right to raise animals into their constitutions. These national groups rake in millions of dollars a year with no government oversight as to how this money is spent. The news media and the law has no thought about their disreputable activities. Makes the Mafia seem tame, but hey what better place to laundry drug money than a charity that has no government oversight.

[Dr_Hail]

Just as no two people are alike no two dogs or cats are alike. This movement against pet ownership was started by the radical animal rights movement and you can see from the many websites that these people do not believe one should own any animal. They prefer the more dangerous spay and neuter surgeries which cause early death and serious health problems throughout the life of the animal. They always advocate the end of anything from crates to bark softening that allow one to keep a pet in the home. They want raising and keeping of animals to become so difficult that people will no longer be interested in having a companion animal. This isn't about animal welfare this is about causing the extinction of all domestic species. That is the end result of mandatory spaying and neutering. These groups have been raising money by pretending to care about the welfare of animals when in fact their goal is the extinction of the dog and cat or any species that collaborates with human beings for its survival. Note that PeTA kills more animals than it protects or cares for and that the HSUS actually gives less than 1% of its budget to the direct care of animals. News medial outlets and bi partisan courting of politicians makes these so called non-profits able to rake in millions of dollars a year tax fee. We are now at the point where people are losing their businesses, their pets and their rights yet these groups march on like nazis through this country professing to care about animals when their goal is to eliminate them from out lives. Well they are so brazen now that one group ISAR's approach to the dog breeding clearly states on their website that their goal is to end all breeding of dogs in the United States and to prohibit the importation of canines bred elsewhere. *End* the breeding, not perpetuate it. These groups meant to eliminate all human animal relationships. They say they speak for these voiceless animals, but I refused to believe that any animal chooses death rather than a comfy home and food daily plus love. These groups are also trying to make people believe that a strict vegan diet is health when we know for a fact that the human brain requires active VB12 that only comes from meat. Inactive VB12 comes from plants and does nothing for the human body. Being vegan is not natural nor biologically preferred. Vegan people have the same rates of disease as non vegans. Over eating can cause disease states not meat despite the fake study from two vegans reported in the news this past year. This campaign is so devious that these groups are entering our schools and propagandizing our children under the guise that their polices will save animals when their policies and beliefs will actually cause the extinction of all domestic species. Commenters who think bark softening surgery is evil but think that invasive surgery that remove vital hormones from the body of any animal is nice are dangerous and ill educated. Spay and neutering shortens the life of the animals and causes terrible disease states to occur in the dog and cat. Study after study show these two surgeries forever damage the animal and cause numerous types of cancer especially when done before puberty. These hormones tell the long bones in the body when to stop growing. Studies show these surgeries actually make animals more aggressive and more fearful. A ruse used by these radical members is to always present their personal experience as a warning. Stories of having a dog with a pipe shoved down its throat is a myth perpetuated to gain sympathy and push hatred against all dog breeders. Another is to show a dog with a big scar on the outside of the throat and claim it was a bark softening surgery when it was a cancer surgery. The only time a dog is operated on from the outside is when a cancer tumor is to be removed and that often means the vocal chords sometimes. These people are so ready to make up stories about their rescue pet to gain more sympathy that they imagine all sorts of horrors to make themselves seem more heroic for saving this animal.