WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina | Doggie do-over - plastic surgery for pets

Doggie do-over - plastic surgery for pets

(Columbia) Feb. 15, 2005 - Bode is a beautiful dog. Marjorie Dye says her dog didn't come by his looks naturally. He had a face-lift, "A lazy mouth that fell way down like a St. Bernard."

Bode went in for a little work and Dye is thrilled, "Just with a few stitches, he took that up, and you can see it's just perfect."

Bode's not alone. Vet Alan Schulman say more and more pets are getting plastic surgery, "Pretty much anything that is being done to people can be done to your pet."

Dr. Schulman says vets are being asked to perform everything from liposuction, to tummy tucks, to breast reduction and eye jobs. He says he'll only do a procedure if it's medically beneficial, like Bode's face-lift, "You're pulling the lips up and back and taking out some of the skin folds that are responsible for a lot of excessive drooling and secondary infection."

When does he say no? "When you have some sort of a mild scar or because somebody doesn't like the shape of their cat's nose and they start asking for botox or collagen."

Bonnie Beaver is president of the American Veterinary Medical Association. She says pets should never be put under the knife for vanity's sake, "They're not concerned about their appearance. We are the ones that are concerned about appearance."

Appearance is important to Shawna Johnson. She had testicular implants put into her dog, Toby, when he was neutered, "I wanted, I wanted the appearance of a natural, intact dog."

Dr. Jack Mannix performed Toby's procedure. He admits there may not be a medical benefit, but says there is a plus, "If you're more proud of your dog as you walk him and because he looks more normal to you, then I think it's a psychological benefit to the animal."

After his face-lift, Bode seems to feel great with no more infections or antibiotics. Marjorie hopes to use Dr. Schulman again, but not for Bode, "Like myself, I was hoping he could make me a deal, you know, help me a little bit, just give it a little nip and tuck."

Reported by Judi Gatson
Posted 10:01pm by BrettWitt