Suffering should never be inflicted on a companion animal for convenience. Dogs and cats are born with a bark or a meow as their most valuable and effective means of communication. Canine and feline vocalizations communicate distress, discomfort, or looming trouble that an animal will sense long before it becomes known to their human companions. When such vocalizations become a "nuisance", it's time for the people in charge of care for that animal to get to the heart of the trouble, which nearly always boils down to a need for proper socialization, interaction, exercise, and training.

What is convenience devocalization? Commonly known as debarking, this surgery is supposed to reduce the volume of a dog's bark or even a cat's meow by cutting off tissue from the animal's vocal chords. The procedure is invasive and requires general anesthesia. The procedure is outlawed as a form of mutilation in many states and other countries.

Even performed correctly by a qualified veterinarian, devocalization can be dangerous. Animals undergoing the surgery risk painful complications and side-effects that can last throughout the remainder of the animal's lifetime, including:

· chronic cough, gagging, even choking
· pain when swallowing
· internal bleeding
· increased risk of infection
· trouble breathing from lung complications
· scar tissue which can lead to additional surgeries

Not only can this procedure leave an animal in pain and with compromised immunity, it does not solve the original problem. Debarking does not eradicate the animal's compulsion to be vocal, which is usually a sign of lack of proper socialization and training, stress, boredom, fear, or frustration. The procedure does not solve the behavioral factors that drove an animal to bark or meow in the first place, and now that animal is further hampered in trying to communicate with their caregiver. Worse, without a vocal outlet, those behavioral factors can lead to other unwanted behaviors as the animal attempts to communicate or relieve its frustration.

"Debarking" should never be used as a convenience for people; it is a serious surgery that should be used only when medically necessary. Urge Massachusetts legislator to support H.R. 344 to end this practice.

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