Opinions about animals

chirpchirp

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[QUOTE]I'm against any alteration unless it would increase/protect the animal's quality of life. I think declawing cats just to save your furniture in the stupidest thing I've ever heard.  We didn't intend to declaw our cats but it was recommended (just the fronts) by our vet when poor Charley was hurting herself.  She is prone to infections and irritation due to a wonky ear structure.  The poor thing was tearing up her skin and hair whenever she had even a tiny ear problem.  Now she can massage her ear as much as she wants without having all the deep scratches that hurt and the nasty antibiotic cream that apparently was torture whenever i put it on her.
Posted by anna.oskar[/QUOTE]

Anna, I just posted in the E thread about my cat tearing her neck up with her incessant scratching.  I still feel like an asshole for doing it, but it certainly was to protect her and for her well being.

kimheartsscott

I do think dobermans look awesome with docked tails, cropped ears because they look like some of the Egyptian breeds which I love.  But, that doesn't mean I would do it unless I had a medical reason.

nda_roxybabe

Debarking is awful, we got a dog that had been  debarked and it was the saddest sounding thing EVAR. She still "barked" but it was all hoarse sounding.

Oh, and the reason she was debarked? Because she was kept outside all the time (in ALASKA, she was a mini schnauzer...not an outdoor dog) and barked all the time (probably was freezing!) and neighbors complained so they got her debarked.

pirategal03

We have two birds and we clip their wings.  Not so short that they can't fly at all, but enough that they can safely glide and have a little bit of lift.  My birds can fly from the floor to my shoulder, but they can't circle the room. 

We did it when our first bird was young because he had never had space to fly and we planned to let him out of his cage but didn't want a young and scared bird stuck on a curtain rod.  We've kept his wings clipped for years because that's what he knows, it's what he's use to and it's safer for him now.

I wouldn't do any of the other things you've listed.  But trimming a bird's wings is, in my mind, similar to trimming a dog's fur.  You're removing part of their natural defense against the elements, but you're providing a safe space where they don't need that protection.  It's not a permanent change, and doesn't cause any pain. 

nda_roxybabe

Pirate- what kinds of birds do you have? I really want a little bird.

katiewhompus

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_opinions-animals?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:17Discussion:5033b11b-9ab1-45ad-baa5-511d85fb9e4bPost:e4cc645f-969d-4d9f-8d66-cf31274c9e11">Re: Opinions about animals</a>:
[QUOTE]Pirate- what kinds of birds do you have? I really want a little bird.
Posted by nda_roxybabe[/QUOTE]

Ditto :) Well, except I don't want one, just want to know what you have. Even though I worked as "the bird expert" for 3 years I'm am incredibly terrified of anything bigger than a finch. Having to work with conures was torture.

I once had a customer who was adamant about not clipping her birds wings (Sun Conure). The one day she brought him into the vet because he had flew into the blades of a running ceiling fan.

nda_roxybabe

I want a yellow finch (I think. It was some adorable teeeny bird at petsmart). They don't make very much noise, right?

kimheartsscott

You could always have them de-tweeted.  Like Demi Moore.

katiewhompus

Eh...yes and no. They are going to chirp constantly and depending on the species (I'm trying to think of what yellow finches our breeders offered, is it a Canary?) need to have at least 1 bird because they are social). They aren't screamers and the volume isn't huge, but they aren't silent either.

nda_roxybabe

Hmm, nope it was not a canary. I don't know what it was I guess.

katiewhompus

I'm trying to think of some, although they could (and probably) use different breeders in your area.

I would love to have finches one day, but H is not a fan of birds and I don't have the time to give them the care they need. Some people get annoyed by all of their chirping but I think it's nice. One of my friends built an outdoor aviary (with an indoor climate controlled section) and has about 200 finches of all types. It's so awesome to walk in there.

kimheartsscott

OMG Katie.  That sounds like my childhood dream.  (I had a thing for Jasmine... did your friend also have a tiger by chance?)

nda_roxybabe

Ahh that would be amaziiiiing!

katiewhompus

Haha, no tiger. BUT she does have a German Shepherd/Corgi mix. German Shepher coloring/head structure on the body of a corgi. The cutest dog in the freaking world. And he looks incredibly ferocious because he'll stand on the couch and stare out the window, so you think you are looking at this huge GS, then you see his little 8" legs and go "awwww you're so cute"

leayn

My dobie has the following: cropped ears, cropped tail, dew claws removed AND a tattoo.  All of these things were done by the breeder before we even knew she existed.  That said, I would never do this to an animal I already owned.  I also think she looks damn cute with all her croppings and is not in the least bit threatening, but that may be a mother's love talking.

I worked in a vet's office for 1 year.  I walked out the day they cropped a litter of puppies tails.  They do feel it...they actually scream when it is done.  I will never forget that sound.  I never thought I would own a dog who had it done, but I love dobies and always wanted one and to find one without these things as a pup is kind of difficult.

I also watched declawing.  I will NEVER have this done to a cat and wish people would stop doing it.  If anyone wants to know how it is actually done, just ask.  I don't want to give gory details if you'd rather not know, but it is NOT normal surgery for sure.

nda_roxybabe

LEayn- a tattoo??

pirategal03

We have two parakeets.

H got the first one while we were in college.  He's about 6 years old now and very social.  He likes to cuddle (I know it sounds crazy) and sits on our shoulders often.

About 2 weeks before the wedding FIL found a stray parakeet at a job site (he does tree removal).  He was too weak to fly, we took him in and fed him and had a vet check him and put him through 30 days of quarantine.  We just introduced him to our first bird last week.  The old bird thinks the new bird is the best toy we've ever brought him. 

The new one isn't scared of us, but he's very attached to his cage (which is understandable, after getting himself lost in the wild).

pirategal03

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_opinions-animals?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:5033b11b-9ab1-45ad-baa5-511d85fb9e4bPost:ff8432a7-da56-4477-b138-1ab48ee132fe">Re: Opinions about animals</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Opinions about animals : Ditto :) Well, except I don't want one, just want to know what you have. Even though I worked as "the bird expert" for 3 years I'm am incredibly terrified of anything bigger than a finch. Having to work with conures was torture. I once had a customer who was adamant about not clipping her birds wings (Sun Conure). The one day she brought him into the vet because he had flew into the blades of a running ceiling fan.
Posted by katiewhompus[/QUOTE]

H really wanted a green-cheek conure as our second bird.  But...see above.

But yes, the ceiling fan thing is a lot of why we keep wings clipped, well that and we evidently have an escape artist.  We're very careful to turn the fans off before the birds are let out, but the way our apartment is wired, sometimes you have to turn the fan on to turn the light on and it takes a second to get the fan to stop turning again. 

nda_roxybabe

Aww poor birdy

leayn

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_opinions-animals?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:17Discussion:5033b11b-9ab1-45ad-baa5-511d85fb9e4bPost:4bbc54f5-717b-4f77-91d7-03b7a8e71a92">Re: Opinions about animals</a>:
[QUOTE]LEayn- a tattoo??
Posted by nda_roxybabe[/QUOTE]

Yea...I thought it was weird too.  It's her litter letter and puppy number. 

nda_roxybabe

OH weird

LessThanZero

Declawing - Insanely inhumane and I would only do it as a last resort (aka, cat will be euthanized without it) <---- Agreed.

Debarking - Insanely inhumane and not happening period <---- Agreed.

Body alterations (docking) - I'm a bit iffy on this. I would never have it done to my dog, but I don't really have much of an opinion on those that do. My aunt used to own and train dobermans and all of hers always had their ears and tails clipped/docked, so I just don't know.

Wing trimming - I'm wishy washy on this. Yes birds love to fly and it's what they do, but it does keep them safer while in captivity and doesn't hurt them (as long as it's done correctly) <---- Agreed. Although, I don't see why people need to keep birds as pets to begin with. My grandparents always had birds when I was growing up. They took good care of them and like to have animals around. But frankly, when you break it down, it just seems unnecessary to take an animal that naturally flys and keep it locked in a cage for it's whole life.

Tail amputations for rodents - I think these people need to go to jail.<---- Agreed. I don't even see a reason to keep a rodent as a pet to begin with.

leayn

I actually think all of those things attributed to her coming down with Demodectic Mange.  They said her vaccines lowered her immune system, but I said "all the mutilating crap YOU did lowered her immune system."  I followed their vaccine chart.  They just won't admit she has a lowered immune system passed on from breeding/appearance alterations.

reddy123

I had zebra finches and I couldn't stand them. They chirped constantly, "beep beep beep beep" and then the male did a woody woodpecker sound over and over. I just put a lot of energy into cleaning (they were sooo messy) and I didn't get much from them. I promised myself I wouldn't own an animal I couldn't hold/pet after that.