Read the transcript attached below for downloading of the discussion and vote on H.B. 344, the landmark bill that would ban devocalization of dogs and cats in Massachusetts!  

Update Mar. 3, 2010: The Massachusetts House of Representatives voted 155-1 for engrossment of the bill, H.B. 344, to ban devocalization except in the event of medical necessity. The bill passed without amendments.

During consideration of the bill, representatives were shown photos of dogs left with horrific scars from devocalization and learned of animals left unable to bark and who choked or gagged frequently as a result of this convenience surgery.  

The bill now goes to the state Senate!    

For more on this landmark  legislation, read Animal Law Coalition's reports below.

H.B. 344, An Act to Prohibit Devocalization of Dogs and Cats, is also known as Logan's Law. Devocalization is "barbaric and inhumane" as Massachusetts state Rep. Vincent Pedone has said. The Third Reading Committee which he chairs is releasing the bill, without amendments, for a vote by the full House. Let's make sure this bill passes without amendments by the opposition!  

A December 2009 poll shows Massachusetts voting age adults oppose devocalization at a rate of 21:1. There were no differences by gender, age or race.   Source: Chestnut Hill Advisors, Chestnut Hill, MA

The sponsor of H.B. 344, An Act to Prohibit Devocalization of Dogs and Cats, a coalition of concerned citizens, pet owners, veterinarians and advocates, known as Coalition to Protect and Rescue Pets (CPR Pets), issued this statement, "Lobbyists for the special interests that profit from devocalization may not be happy with these poll results. But fact is, they mirror our experience. As we canvas throughout Massachusetts, the question nearly everyone asks of CPR Pets is, 'Why on earth is devocalization legal?'"

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Meet devocalized dogs and Hear what animal experts say

Call your own State (Beacon Hill) senator. Urge him/her to vote yes to H.B. 344 without amendments! Find your Rep: 1-800-462-8683 or here.  (If you get voicemail: Be sure to leave your name, address and short message of support for House Bill 344. Try to call again till you can speak with an aide. Always be polite.)

Why this bill must pass without opponent's amendments

Those profiting from devocalization have hedged their bets. If they can't kill the bill outright, they hope to render it worthless with loopholes by adding language like the following:

1)  "Allowable as a last resort or for behavioral problems or if the owner has been charged with having a noisy animal" are all amendments that would make the law unenforceable.

• No vet can determine, and some won't try, whether a client pursued all humane options or provides proper care. (Bored, lonely or anxious dogs bark more--they may also bite!)  Also, allowing devocalization for any behavioral problem or if the owner has been charged with having a noisy animal, the bill would sanction exactly what it is trying to outlaw - inhumane convenience devocalization.  The bill would be unenforceable and pointless.
• This loophole is baseless too: Respected shelter operators testified before the legislative committee that devocalized animals are abandoned like any other. It does not save lives. There is no evidence that devocalization will prevent noisy animals from being surrendered or abandoned. In fact, we have found it's just the opposite. Nearly all the devocalized dogs we've found were adopted after their breeders, who ordered the surgery, dumped them.

  Devocalization can require multiple surgeries if tissue grows back. It also results in scar tissue and can mean health complications for the animal. Owners who do this to their animals are more likely to get rid of them if there are too many costly surgeries or health problems.

  Banning devocalization will save animals from being surrendered or abandoned.

  Surgical devocalizing or silencing does not address the problem causing the barking such as stress, fear, loneliness, frustration, illness, injury, poor socialization, lack of training, and instead is akin to cutting the vocal chords of a noisy child. Unable to bark to signal distress, for example, a dog may act out in other ways, including by biting, and as a result, end up in the pound.   

• Responsible selection, care, training and housing, not convenience surgery,  keep behavior from becoming a "nuisance."

2) An amendment that says devocalization is "permissible if performed by a licensed vet" would maintain the status quo, and animals would continue to suffer.

• It's vets who are devocalizing now! Yet animals are suffering.
• Devocalization poses serious, life-threatening risks regardless of who performs it--including the prominent Mass. Veterinary Medical Assn. member whose patient, a little Pomeranian, choked to death after she devocalized him.
• Angell Animal Medical Center endorses this bill with good reason
• More than 200 MA vets have taken an ethical stand despite MVMA's alignment with the breeding community against this humane bill. Make sure your vet is on board! For a veterinary endorser near you: CPRPets@aol.com

Watch the video below to learn about this issue and go here to watch this video and see this video for accounts of what happened to dogs that were devocalized. (Read the story of Stella featured in the attachment to this article below.)

WHAT ELSE YOU CAN DO 

Get friends, neighbors, family members, colleagues, fellow students to call their state senators and urge support of H.B. 344.  If you don't live in the state, send this link to someone who does and urge them to support, H.B. 344. Please don't wait. Do it now.

Call Mass. Veterinary Medical Assn.: 508-460-9333: MVMA is opposing this bill! Tell MVMA to support this bill to prohibit devocalization: Vets shouldn't perform or sanction medically unnecessary surgery.

Sadly, Mass Veterinary Medical Assn. implied in its denunciation of the bill that ASPCA opposed H.B. 344.  ASPCA, however, has announced it supports the bill and has called on MVMA to remove ASPCA's name from its opposition papers. 

Some vets make money from these devocalizations especially those performed for breeders and thus the MVMA's opposition to this bill which would make convenience devocalization illegal.  

More About Logan's Law

Animal Law Coalition has drafted this bill to ban devocalizing or silencing of dogs and cats in Massachusetts except in the event of a medical necessity circumstances. In dogs it is called "debarking".

A grassroots effort led by  the Coalition to  Rescue and Protect Pets (CRPets) is underway to pass the bill, H.B. 344, An Act to Prohibit Devocalization of Dogs and Cats. There are numerous co-sponsors. Numerous veterinarians, rescues and citizens have endorsed this bill.

The bill, H.B. 344,  if passed, will be called Logan's Law, named for Logan, a dog that underwent devocalization surgery and was later abandoned. Tom and Gayle Fitzpatrick adopted Logan. Gayle is the founder of Friends of the Plymouth Pound.

Demi is another example of a dog who was devocalized. Cynthia M., Taunton, explains, "We rescued Demi after a breeder had her vocal cords cut to stifle her voice. Devocalization is inhumane." And more common than you think.

"When Demi was spayed, scar tissue from devocalization made it difficult to keep her airway open. Just a little exertion stresses her, and she can't bark at all, only whine. Cutting the vocal cords of a healthy animal is immoral. It should be illegal."

You can read Stella's story in the attachment below. These are just a few examples of the widespread practice particularly amond breeders of devocalizing dogs, a convenience surgery that is cruel and inhumane. 

CRPets adds, "Some breeders devocalize routinely to keep many dogs without complaints from neighbors. Occasionally, an uninformed or irresponsible pet owner will order this convenience surgery, rendering his or her "best friend" mute or chronically hoarse. These animals face serious risks regardless of the vet's skill or how the vocal cords are cut. Some die. Others gag uncontrollably...choke on food or water...struggle to breathe the rest of their lives. And they don't benefit at all: Devocalized dogs and cats are abandoned like any other".

We need your help right now.  Lobbyists for commercial breeders are working overtime to convince Massachusetts legislators to vote no on this bill.  There is stiff opposition to this bill from puppy millers, cat millers, backyard breeders, hoarders, dog fighters, and owners who believe they should be able to do what they want with their animals.  Attached is a Download outlining the fictions they are spreading about devocalization and the facts.

What is devocalizing or silencing? 

Devocalizing or silencing is a painful surgical procedure to remove or cut the vocal chords. This procedure can cause paralysis of the larynx, difficulty in breathing, and adverse reaction to anesthesia. An animal may be forced to undergo multiple surgeries because of regrowth of tissue. This is not a simple procedure as some may tell you.

The proposed legislation would make it illegal for anyone to surgically devocalize or silence a dog or cat. There are exceptions to protect the health of the animal. Only in rare instances would surgical devocalizing or silencing be medically necessary.

More typically, surgical devocalizing or silencing is a cruel, inhumane act done for the convenience of the owner. It does not address the problem causing the barking such as stress, fear, loneliness, frustration, illness, injury, poor socialization, lack of training, and instead is akin to cutting the vocal chords of a noisy child. 

Dogs and cats that cannot vocalize their intentions, moods or needs present a risk to the public and increased liability to pet owners.

People may not realize a dog is about to bite or attack, for example, because the dog has not barked, and because he has been debarked or silenced, can only make a wheezy, rasping sound.  A dog that cannot bark also cannot signal danger to family members, for example, from an intruder or a fire.  

Dennis Oakley, Federal Police Canine Handler, explains, "I cannot begin to tell you how many times barking has changed a potentially dangerous situation just by sounding an alarm. We would teach (military guard) dogs when it was "ok" to bark and when to be quiet." 

"The whole deck was on fire...near the gas line. Thank God I have a dog who barks, who does a good job of protecting us." This from Bob Mohr, Pet Owner, Plymouth

Devocalizing does not mean a noisy animal is more likely to be adopted. Just the opposite.  CRPets says, "Nearly all the devocalized dogs we've found were adopted after their breeders, who ordered the surgery, dumped them."

Devocalization can require multiple surgeries if tissue grows back. It also results in scar tissue and can mean health complications for the animal. Owners who do this to their animals are more likely to get rid of them if there are too many costly surgeries or health problems.

Devocalization does not address the underlying behavior that may be causing the barking. Unable to bark to signal distress, for example, a dog may act out in other ways, including by biting, and as a result, end up in the pound.   

Also, devocalizing or silencing enables illegal activities associated with dogs and cats: Owners trying to avoid pet limits, licensing or nuisance laws may simply debark their pets. Worse, commercial breeders hiding the numbers of dogs or cats they have and the squalid conditions in which they are kept, notoriously rely on devocalizing or silencing. 

Making surgical devocalizing or silencing a crime will, in fact, give law enforcement and prosecutors another tool in investigating and prosecuting animal cruelty as well as enforcing regulations for commercial breeders.    

Please support this important legislation.