In January 2009, the Pennsylvania House passed a law on what supporters of the law call cruelty to animals. This law was a knee-jerk reaction to the murder of 80 dogs by Ammon and Elmer Zimmerman, breeders in Berks County, Pennsylvania. At that time it was perfectly legal to kill your dog in Pennsylvania. Instead of addressing this issue, the House focused on the “cruelty problem.”

This alleged cruelty comes from docking the tails and dew claws and cropping the ears of Dobermans, Boxers, Great Danes, and any other dog that is recognized for these characteristics. These particular breed characteristics are what the American Kennel Club considers to be breed standard characteristics. In other words, when a Doberman is shown, the dog is expected to meet the required standards, including pricked ears, a docked tail, and no dew claws.

You can certainly show a Doberman or other breed that is not clipped and amputated, but the dog will not make a very successful show champion. Winning dog shows is breeders’ way of demonstrating the value of their livestock and maintaining the integrity of the breed. Champion dogs guarantee the care and quality of the lines of the breed. Until the American Kennel Club adjusts its standards, this new law will cause a lot of grievances in the ring.

The basis of the law states that any dog ​​owner must be able to prove that the ear cropping and the removal of tails and dew claws were performed by a veterinarian. Therefore, if you are walking down the street and a humane society officer or animal cruelty officer sees your Doberman or Boxer with cropped ears and a docked tail, you may be given a summary offense, unless have a certificate stating that a veterinarian did the work. If the farm/dock was done before this law went into effect, you must show a certificate from your county treasurer stating so. In Pennsylvania, you have to pay $1.00 for this certificate.

There are several problems with this new law. It is not clear how he will handle himself if he has a cut or amputated dog that he got from a rescue or shelter. There is likely to be no document available indicating when the procedure was performed or whether it was performed by a veterinarian. The law states that you will not be fined if dew tails and claws are done within 5 days of birth. If an animal cruelty officer or a humane society officer sees the puppy before it heals, that is considered evidence of a violation of the law. If the breeder is going to do dewtails and dewclaws, records should be kept. The law does not specify what type of registration or what is necessary to be exempt from being charged with a summary offense.

Instead of addressing the real issues, politicians looking for headlines and photos decided to go after innocent hobbyist breeders and non-commercial breeders. This is twisted politics at its finest. Unless it’s a large breeding operation that makes a lot of money, there’s no way you can continue to breed your dogs. This means that smaller, more personal and less competitive breeders can no longer produce litters of these determined breeds. Good, reputable breeders don’t randomly decide which dog they want to breed. They get into breeding Dobermans, Boxers, Great Danes, German Pinschers, and other clipped or amputated breeds because they truly love that specific dog and all that that breed stands for.

Many states are passing similar laws regarding this issue. Eventually this will eliminate smaller breeders or hobbyists entirely. This is really sad.