I predict that this case is gonna get tossed. People have been cropping dogs' tails, clipping their ears and getting cats declawed for years. And others pierce their infants' ears.

[www.timesleader.com]

we had our girl's ears pierced when she was 9 months.

---

Well this is interesting. The piercing of an ear is generally done for cosmetic reasons, and it might hurt, but people do it willingly. Now to do it to a cat seems like a waste of time to me, but if that's what you want then sure. I mean yes it will hurt the cat (how much I don't know) but if piercing a cat's ear is considered "barbaric" then the act of de-clawing or spay/neutering a cat must be like complete torture.

I suppose the only difference being necessity. A three are measures that can be done to improve the chances that the cat will be adopted and therefore live.

Both of our outdoor cats have their ears 'pierced'. OK, bitten.. in fights with other cats. And one had his eyelid 'pierced' the same way by a bad cat bite. Guess I've gotta trap the bad cat and take him to PETA for a proper talking-to.

I will admit that piercing a cat's ears and neck seems very, very weird.

>>we had our girl's ears pierced when she was 9 months.

thats gross

---

It's stupid. I think it should be thrown out.

Although cropping of ears and tails and removal of dew claws do not have their roots as cosmetic altering. It could be argued that those are different than piercing a cat's ears, which I don't see having any purpose other than cosmetic.

It causes unnecessary pain to the animal. Absolutely no good reason to do it. Removing claws is also criminal in some places. It is considered physical abuse as well as damaging to the animals mind set. Don't people have better things to do?

I just had the discussion recently about parents getting their kids ears pierced when they are really young. I personally think it's wrong to do until the child has some basic understanding of what is going on and can have some informed input on whether or not they want to have it done. It shouldn't be for mom and dads enjoyment.

I think piercing a cat's ears is ridiculous. I think bringing the case to court is also ridiculous. Are we going to take all stupid people to court now?

If the kittens are otherwise healthy and well cared for I say leave it alone. I do not think this is going to start a trend.

I would venture to say there is less pain involved in a piercing than cropping ears and docking a tail. They haven't outlawed those cosmetic practices yet.

---

I sit on a man’s back, choking him and making
him carry me, and yet assure myself and others
that I am very sorry for him and wish to ease his
lot by all possible means — except by getting off
his back. - Leo Tolstoy, novelist and Philosopher
(1828-1910)

This is exactly why there needs to be an Office of Common Sense, to screen ridiculous charges such as this before they ever get filed.

---

Um.... I know the suggestion is well intentioned, but do you REALLY want a Government Office of Common Sense?

Think about that... a Government Office in charge of common sense?

---

Paul F.
-----
A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
----
Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
--

--

--
Eureka, CA

Quote
mattkime
>>we had our girl's ears pierced when she was 9 months.

thats gross

gross?

---

Quote
MacArtist
Are we going to take all stupid people to court now?

This isn't a bad idea. Maybe if they're informed of and challenged on their stupidity, we might break them of it.

I think this woman's cat transmogrification business should be shut down; it's unprecedented—not to mention cruel—to pierce and dock a feline's body for your own (warped?) visual enjoyment. Where people are concerned, modifications to their bodies is (or should be) a choice, but animals can't give consent; don't mod them.

---

Le poète doit vivre beaucoup, vivre dans tous les sens. - Verlaine

The piercing is stupid, and if painful (which I suspect it is), is cruel.

But the bigger problem to me is it sounds like she's not a professional tattoo/piercing technician (You have to be licensed for that, don't you?). She's a pet groomer, not a vet or something similar.

I'd say it's a really bad idea for uncertified dorks to go around doing stuff like this on animals (or people). That kind of thing is in the SPCA's wheelhouse, so they dd what they do. She was only charged with a few misdemeanors. It doesn't really sound like much to be outraged about one way or the other.

Quote
bazookaman

Quote
mattkime
>>we had our girl's ears pierced when she was 9 months.

thats gross

gross?

It might not be gross but I don't think it's cute at all. Sorry bazookaman if that's your daughter, but I personally get the Jean Bent Ramsey creep factor about parents who do that to their something-month old child.

To the story at hand, I loved this quote: “My name’s ruined, my reputation’s ruined, my business is ruined,” she said.

Yeah, and that's the fault of you getting arrested, right?! Grounds for a lawsuit, totally! 'Cause I'm sure once the community found out what you were doing (even if it wasn't considered illegal or cruel) they'd blacklist you.

Idiot!

~A

but I personally get the Jean Bent Ramsey creep factor about parents who do that to their something-month old child.

Now *that's* a huge leap. Not even close.

A few cultures pierce the ears of their infants girls. I don't care for a female of any age to have pierced ears, but one per ear I can tolerate. I don't care for the multiple ear piercings, and piercings in general.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

Quote
RAMd®d
but I personally get the Jean Bent Ramsey creep factor about parents who do that to their something-month old child.

Now *that's* a huge leap. Not even close.

Well, RAM, I didn't say you get that, I didn't say EVERYONE gets that, I said that [b*]I*[/b] get that feeling. Maybe no one else does and I'm just easy to set off, but then I owned that statement as mine and mine alone when I said it.

~A



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/23/2009 07:21PM by tahoedrew.

Quote
tahoedrew
It might not be gross but I don't think it's cute at all. Sorry bazookaman if that's your daughter, but I personally get the Jean Bent Ramsey creep factor about parents who do that to their something-month old child.

Judgmental much?

I'd say it's a really bad idea for uncertified dorks to go around doing stuff like this on animals (or people). That kind of thing is in the SPCA's wheelhouse, so they dd what they do. She was only charged with a few misdemeanors. It doesn't really sound like much to be outraged about one way or the other.

It's pointless cruelty, for profit, with the victims sold to any creep with a credit card: I don't know if outrage is the word, but it's disturbing and disgusting. This person should not be allowed to have contact with pets until she's had some counseling. Probably not even then. And what the hell is she doing "docking" a kitten's tail herself? I hope they throw her pierced a$$ in jail.

She clearly views companion animals as toys that she can modify as she sees fit.


"The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Luzerne County raided Crawford’s home last month after getting a tip from PETA that she was marketing the pierced kittens on the Internet. SPCA Officer Carol Morrison said the kittens had 14-gauge piercings through their ears and submission rings at the napes of their necks. One kitten’s tail was docked.

Morrison charged Crawford on Tuesday with three misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty, three summary counts of cruelty, and three counts of conspiracy.

Crawford, who sports her own body piercings, said she decided on a whim to pierce the ears and neck of a stray kitten she took in last fall and named Snarley Monster.

“I really thought he looked cute,” she said. So she got two other black kittens and pierced them, too.

She said she docked Snarley Monster’s tail because it was badly damaged.

“That one was my daughter’s cat. That one was never going to be sold,” she said."

The only thing I would waste my time piercing on a cat is its heart.

---

Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

Well, RAM, I didn't say you get that, I didn't say EVERYONE gets that, I said that *I* get that feeling. Maybe no one else does and I'm just easy to set off, but then I owned that statement as mine and mine alone when I said it.


I know what you said.

I'm just taking issue with what it means and it's conclusion. Ownership is not in dispute.

You feel what you feel, and still, it's a huge leap to compare piercing a little girls ears to making one up as in the case Jean Benet Ramsey.

Some cultures pierce infant girls' ears to define them as female (where "we" generally do "blue for boy, etc"). That's not the same as dressing a little girl up to look like a woman-child and parading her in front of an audience.

The two situations aren't even close.

I'm not a fan of the former and I dislike the latter, but I understand the difference.

And I certainly don't see b-man, his wife, or his daughter as part of your JBR assessment.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

Hummm....

Quote

the kittens had 14-gauge piercings through their ears and submission rings at the napes of their necks. One kitten’s tail was docked.

Submission rings in the NECK and a tail docking!? It's all silly, but the ears are nothing compared to these other two. Eeccchh.

I don't like docking and cropping in dogs either, but at least there is some historical "basis" for doing it in hunting and working dogs (much like docking the tails on harness/working horses, to keep them from becoming entangled in the lines). Docking and such on a cat? No good reason for that at all.

---