# Massachusetts man charged with animal cruelty for cutting off puppy's ears. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 15, 2006, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/massachusetts-man-charged-with-animal-cruelty-for-cutting-off-puppys-ears/368773 "2006-08-15T03:59:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/massachusetts-man-charged-with-animal-cruelty-for-cutting-off-puppys-ears/368773/61 "2006-08-16T23:05:15Z")
Youse guys would faint dead away if you ever saw a cow dehorned. Ya should of seen what my parents had cut off of me without so much as a shot of whiskey first. Course I was kinda young at the time.\>\>\*\* Will Repair\*\* Actually, I helped a friend out with one of her Barbados rams- one of his horns had grown into his eye so it was a necessary operation. He was full grown and that was one bloody, horrible procedure (but he was much happier when it was over). ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/massachusetts-man-charged-with-animal-cruelty-for-cutting-off-puppys-ears/368773/62 "2006-08-17T19:03:36Z")
What a piece of shit, this guy. Wonder how he’d like his ears trimmed…starting at the elbow. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/massachusetts-man-charged-with-animal-cruelty-for-cutting-off-puppys-ears/368773/63 "2006-08-17T22:22:06Z")
[QUOTE=Unregistered Bull] I think that it is a serious problem and a significant threat to cultural and economic freedom in the US. [snip] Rodeo has been affected, especially Mexican rodeos known as Charreadas. [/QUOTE] Oh, yeh, that proud old tradition of [horse tripping](http://www.idausa.org/facts/horsetripping.html), right? ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2006, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/massachusetts-man-charged-with-animal-cruelty-for-cutting-off-puppys-ears/368773/64 "2006-08-18T00:19:49Z")
[QUOTE=mhendo] Sorry, but cutting a dog’s ears off, or even cropping them, for primarily aesthetic purposes, is cruel. Period. [/QUOTE] Speaking for my Dobegirl, [Silky](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v259/OwnRules/P1010008.jpg), we both say Amen to that! We both also send a hearty “fuck you with a rusty spoon” to **Unregistered Bull**. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2006, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/massachusetts-man-charged-with-animal-cruelty-for-cutting-off-puppys-ears/368773/65 "2006-08-18T01:09:59Z")
[QUOTE=RedFury] Speaking for my Dobegirl, [Silky](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v259/OwnRules/P1010008.jpg), we both say Amen to that! [/QUOTE] :dubious: But - but - but she looks utterly sweet and adorable, not savage and tough! How can you possibly intimidate anyone with a dog like that, huh? Answer me that! ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2006, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/massachusetts-man-charged-with-animal-cruelty-for-cutting-off-puppys-ears/368773/66 "2006-08-19T15:58:01Z")
[QUOTE=EddyTeddyFreddy] Oh, yeh, that proud old tradition of [horse tripping](http://www.idausa.org/facts/horsetripping.html), right? [/QUOTE] Well, shit. People just suck. They really do. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2006, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/massachusetts-man-charged-with-animal-cruelty-for-cutting-off-puppys-ears/368773/67 "2006-08-19T23:35:28Z")
[QUOTE=EddyTeddyFreddy] :dubious: But - but - but she looks utterly sweet and adorable, not savage and tough! How can you possibly intimidate anyone with a dog like that, huh? Answer me that! [/QUOTE] Well, she not only looks “sweet and adorable,” but in fact, is just that – albeit she’s **extremely** energetic and demonstrative and can play fetch or tug for, literally, _hours_. Which is fine by me, 'cause that’s why I wanted a dog to begin with: a loyal companion. In that sense, she’s got my two exes beat by a country mile. 🙂 Funny thing is, when I take her out on walks, ears flapping, tail wiggling like mad, most people still realize she’s a Doberman and will go to such extremes as walking across the street from us. Goes without saying said behavior gives me more than a chuckle. Unless, of course – and I just thought about this – it’s _me_ they’ve been running away from all this time. \*:::::mumble mumble::::: \* Naaw, couldn’t be. Right? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2006, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/massachusetts-man-charged-with-animal-cruelty-for-cutting-off-puppys-ears/368773/68 "2006-08-19T23:53:28Z")
[QUOTE=RedFury] Well, she not only looks “sweet and adorable,” but in fact, is just that – albeit she’s **extremely** energetic and demonstrative and can play fetch or tug for, literally, _hours_. Which is fine by me, 'cause that’s why I wanted a dog to begin with: a loyal companion. In that sense, she’s got my two exes beat by a country mile. 🙂 Funny thing is, when I take her out on walks, ears flapping, tail wiggling like mad, most people still realize she’s a Doberman and will go to such extremes as walking across the street from us. Goes without saying said behavior gives me more than a chuckle. [/QUOTE] Quick note: how a dog acts toward the owner is not a reliable predictor of how the dog will act toward a stranger. One day, one of my housemates had a friend over. The two of them had gone out for coffee, leaving the friend’s rottie in our house. When I opened the door, that dog stood me the fuck down, growling and staring at me; I am convinced that if I’d made a single wrong move, it would’ve torn out my throat. I was eventually able to get the dog locked into a sideroom until the two friends got home. WHen they did, the dog’s owner assured me that her puppy was sweet as could be and would never hurt anyone. Bullshit. I wasn’t part of that dog’s pack, so that dog saw me as meat on hoof. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2006, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/massachusetts-man-charged-with-animal-cruelty-for-cutting-off-puppys-ears/368773/69 "2006-08-20T02:42:19Z")
[QUOTE=Left Hand of Dorkness] Quick note: how a dog acts toward the owner is not a reliable predictor of how the dog will act toward a stranger. [/QUOTE] He was describing how the dog reacts to strangers, not the owner. The dog is out for a walk. It sounded to me like he was describing a dog who wants to say ‘hello’, not ‘back off’, (ears up, tail wagging vs. ears back, tail stiff.) ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2006, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/massachusetts-man-charged-with-animal-cruelty-for-cutting-off-puppys-ears/368773/70 "2006-08-20T19:56:35Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] He was describing how the dog reacts to strangers, not the owner. The dog is out for a walk. It sounded to me like he was describing a dog who wants to say ‘hello’, not ‘back off’, (ears up, tail wagging vs. ears back, tail stiff.) [/QUOTE] Yes, but how a dog reacts when a stranger approaches can also vary, just as how a dog reacts when the owner is not there. If you really want to know how friendly your dog is to strangers, for better or worse, have an acquaintance who’s never met your dog before go to your house when you’re not home. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2006, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/massachusetts-man-charged-with-animal-cruelty-for-cutting-off-puppys-ears/368773/71 "2006-08-20T22:22:57Z")
[QUOTE=Left Hand of Dorkness] Yes, but how a dog reacts when a stranger approaches can also vary, just as how a dog reacts when the owner is not there. If you really want to know how friendly your dog is to strangers, for better or worse, have an acquaintance who’s never met your dog before go to your house when you’re not home. [/QUOTE] And be sure to offer to pay for the leg reattachment. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2006, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/massachusetts-man-charged-with-animal-cruelty-for-cutting-off-puppys-ears/368773/72 "2006-08-21T00:11:21Z")
[QUOTE=Left Hand of Dorkness] Yes, but how a dog reacts when a stranger approaches can also vary, just as how a dog reacts when the owner is not there. If you really want to know how friendly your dog is to strangers, for better or worse, have an acquaintance who’s never met your dog before go to your house when you’re not home. [/QUOTE] You know, I just had this happen to me yesterday. I went to my grandma’s house to get a washing machine from her garage, but she’d gone out to make a copy of a key, so I tried her back door, but it was locked. Then I went a few feet to the right and tried her sliding glass door, which was unlocked, and went inside to get the keys to the garage. I walked into the living room (which has the sliding glass door), turned left through a doorway into the kitchen, and turned left again to go to the counter in the laundry room (which has the back door that was locked) – and there was a giant copper-colored dog staring at the back door intently (my brother and brother-in-law were both still standing outside the door rattling the doorknob). I made it back out to the backyard, sliding the glass door behind me, in about 3.8 nanoseconds. “BIG DOG! BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE! STRANGE GIANT DOG IN THE HOUSE!” Then my brother and I poked our heads in and whistled and called for the dog, ready to slam the glass door shut if it came tearing in … but nothing happened. We kept that up for a minute and then walked in and found that dog still staring at the back door, even as we walked up behind it. It turns out the dog belongs to some couple that’s staying with my grandma and helping her fix up her new house, and it’s like 18 years old and can barely hear or see anything, but let me tell you, when I came around the corner and saw a giant wolf-like dog not three feet in front of me, well, I think my cerebellum just fused. Oh, and actually ON topic, I think cutting anything’s ears off is a hideous thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2006, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/massachusetts-man-charged-with-animal-cruelty-for-cutting-off-puppys-ears/368773/73 "2006-08-21T15:50:25Z")
[QUOTE=Left Hand of Dorkness] Yes, but how a dog reacts when a stranger approaches can also vary, just as how a dog reacts when the owner is not there. If you really want to know how friendly your dog is to strangers, for better or worse, have an acquaintance who’s never met your dog before go to your house when you’re not home. Daniel [/QUOTE] I used to own a greyhound that my father would come over to walk every day. One day, I found Dad sitting out in front of the house (I lived in a basement apartment in the back.) He told me that the dog was snarling and growling and would not let him in the door. I told him he was nuts. I was wrong. He indeed was being aggressive, although as soon as I entered the room he was perfectly gentle, as if a switch had been turned on. I returned him to rescue where he was adopted out again, but eventually had to be put down because the behavior reappeared. I understand that dogs can respond differently to strangers than they do to the owners, especially when they are on their home turf. However, that is not the situation **RedFury** described. He was walking his dog on neutral ground and the dog was displaying normal, friendly, playful behavior. Not at all the situation you describe. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/massachusetts-man-charged-with-animal-cruelty-for-cutting-off-puppys-ears/368773.md?page=3)