Cosmetic Implants for Dogs

by Stephanie Feldstein · 2010-01-10 09:00:00 UTC
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As if the concept of Neuticles wasn't bad enough ... Actually, you can't really get any worse than a testicular implant which "allows the pet [or owner anyway] to retain his self esteem and aids in the trauma associated with neutering." But inventor Gregg Miller isn't one to rest on his laurels. His latest creation is the PermaStay Ear Implant.

No more embarrassing floppy ears that defy breed standards or refuse to stand up after being cropped. No more bulky, ugly taping contraptions to achieve that coveted prick-eared look. Instead, all you need is a $400 prosthetic implant, plus $300-500 veterinary surgery. The PermaStay Ear Implant has been in development for five years, and is supposedly in high demand. As Miller says, "For decades attempts have been made by many to successfully create a product that restores a dog's ear but have failed."

Maybe they've failed because floppy dogs' ears don't need to be "restored." PermaStay Ear Implants, and all the wire, rod, and tape contraptions that came before it, are a cosmetic alteration, not a restoration. And despite Miller's claim that "the canine doesn't even know it's there," the process is not without pain, and is totally unnecessary.

Even if the implant surgery is relatively painless, as surgeries go, a huge part of the droopy-ear market is from breeds such as Dobermans and Great Danes whose ears are cropped as part of the breed standard (yet another way that the AKC values appearance over health) and tend not to stand upright after half of the flesh has been hacked off. When ears are cropped, so are nerve endings, making it a long, painful healing process for the puppies. What needs to be "restored" is the dog's natural ear.

Apparently Miller, and his clients, missed the growing trend in the veterinary industry against cosmetic procedures.

Photo credit: Stephanie Feldstein

Stephanie Feldstein is a Change.org Editor who has been part of the animal welfare and rescue community for over a decade, and most recently worked for an environmental organization.
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