Tattoo your dog? Humane Society did it to Sophie!

[mommyofsophie]

Originally Posted by megansmomma

A few months ago MaddiesMommie had both her girls spayed together on the same day. When she picked them up that night she was panicked about the black spot of Maddie's tummy. Turned out that it was a tattoo and the vet hadn't told her about being required to do it. I agree that it should have been discussed with you but you also have to realize that there are a LOT of irresponsible owners and many dogs end up strays or in the pound. It is done for the betterment of the all animals so they do not end of have unnecessary surgeries. Do you know if it is a law in your area? Some parts of the country it is required of all spayed animals to be tattooed regardless if it is the Humane Society or private vet.

I believe that Mardelin previously mentioned about being chipped but I would like to clarify this since a chip would not indicate if a dog were spayed or not. But the tattoo would be there permanently.

Unfortunately, these types of problems are seen in rescues all the time when the scar is so small that a vet is unable to tell if a spay had already been done or not.

I called my vet: it is not the law in my state. The micro-chip data does include the fact that she is spayed. If the clinic had spoken with me about the tattoo, then I would have gone to my regular vet for the spay, in spite of the fact that the cost would have been about double. I'm not vain with Sophie. Yes, I put bows in her hair and a coat on her when we go for walks in the winter, but I don't dress her up in outlandish clothes and expect her to be a display item. I want her to be a healthy, happy dog. I realize that a tattoo won't interfere with that, but in my book you just DON'T do something like that to someone's dog without consulting him/her.

[mommyofsophie]

Originally Posted by MaddiesMommie

This is what my girl's look like. THIS IS NOT MY DOG, only using this picture to show what their tattoo looks like.

This looks HORRIBLE!! I would be so mad if my dog came home with that.

[yorkiepuppie]

Originally Posted by mommyofsophie

Here is a photo of it. It is HUGE on her tummy, and unfortunately, she doesn't really grow hair in this area. Grrrrrr!

omg! what is that!? why does it look like a blob of ink? i am so sorry this happened, i cannot believe they did not tell you about this when you were signing the paper!? i would be really upset too.

[Ellie May]

We aren't too far from you and it's definitely not a law around here! I've heard of places doing this before, but it doesn't make it right. A blob is a blob. It may mean nothing to some vets. Owners use tats as a form of identification, so it could be interpreted as that. I'll have to ask Ellie's vet what she would do if she saw something like this. If a dog was rehomed (stray or whatever) and it came in to be spayed, I somehow doubt that a blob is going to stop a vet from checking. B/c if it was another kind of ID mark, the dog is at risk of disease. And to put the actual word on the dog..it can fade.

I suppose they did inform you though, so probably not their fault. But I wonder just how hidden in the consent it was. I don't have tats myself b/c of my own feeling about them and I'd be way less than happy to see one on my baby.

[Rhetts_mama]

The problem with the information being on the microchip is that if she were to get out, she may end up in an area that uses a different reader. Around here, there is no consistency to what chips the different vets/ humane societies/ animal control uses. I've read instances of a lost dog being chipped, but the county it was found in could only tell there was a chip, but not who it was manufactured by. So reunifications were delayed or missed all together.

[mommyofsophie]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

We aren't too far from you and it's definitely not a law around here! I've heard of places doing this before, but it doesn't make it right. A blob is a blob. It may mean nothing to some vets. Owners use tats as a form of identification, so it could be interpreted as that. I'll have to ask Ellie's vet what she would do if she saw something like this. If a dog was rehomed (stray or whatever) and it came in to be spayed, I somehow doubt that a blob is going to stop a vet from checking. B/c if it was another kind of ID mark, the dog is at risk of disease. And to put the actual word on the dog..it can fade.

I suppose they did inform you though, so probably not their fault. But I wonder just how hidden in the consent it was. I don't have tats myself b/c of my own feeling about them and I'd be way less than happy to see one on my baby.

When I phoned back, the receptionist said that it's on the consent. I'm going in tomorrow morning to talk with the clinic director and to ask for a copy of the consent. I've already posted about this on every review site I could find for the Humane Society of Huron Valley, and am going to do so on my facebook page as well. Putting something about tattooing in the fine print of a form is not acceptable. Informed consent means a doctor discusses the medical care with you. I went in for, and paid for, a consultation visit prior to the surgery. I had an entire list of questions to ask (anesthesia protocol, IV line insertion, suture type, follow-up pain meds, after-care, etc.), but the doctor did not tell me about the tattooing. I did not ask about it because it never even occurred to me that they would do this to my dog.

[Mitzis Mom]

Our dogs we had in Germany had an ear tattoo to identify them but that was before micro chips could be used. It was mainly in case the dog was stolen and sold to an animal test facility. After it turned out that the thiefs just cut off the ears with the tattoo the new place of choice was the belly...

[misslissa]

i'm really sorry this happened to Sophie but let me try to put this in a different light.
someone breaks in to your home while you are at work and steals Sophie thinking they will sell her or some such thing but when they see your fliers and posters all over town about her they feel its no longer worth it and they dump her she is picked up and taken to a shelter the shelter has a different microchip scanner and it will not read her chip being as she is a yorkie and they know they can adopt her they take her in to be spayed again but they see the blob and know what it means(because the rescue groups in your area will know) and dont put her through that again
from your pics Sophie seems tiny it seems to me that having major surgery again would be way worse for her then having a ugly black spot on her belly.

[MaddiesMommie]

Mommyof Sophia, can you see if there is drawing in the blob? Maddie's looked like a huge blob too, but I could see lines. I was wondering if it was marker for the surgery. However, it was her tattoo.

All of Maddie's black blob was a LOT bruising.

[only2xnseya]

I wish you and sophie the best and just reading your situation kinda pissed me off because Im going to have to get Brooklynn spayed some day and Im glad you shared that. Another thing is, if you signed this paper did they show you where you signed stating that it was okay to give your dog a tattoo? I always ask people to show me exactly where i signed!

Im glad that Sophie did well and she is alright.

[Britster]

I'm so sorry to hear about Sophie. I would be pissed!

Jackson was neutered at a low cost spay clinic and I was so impressed with them. It was not a busy madhouse, only a few dogs in there, the office and everything was clean, there was an initial exam room for the owner and vet to discuss. They pulled baby teeth, etc. His neuter was $65, his microchip was $30, and his baby teeth (4) were $20. I still take him there to get his shots updated, etc.

I am so sorry you had a terrible experience.

[biapaiva]

They also tatoo my babe to show that she got spayed....they did a cute orange heart

[backwardsrain]

I agree that the blob is excessively large, and so vague it doesn't really mean anything. A perfect circle might at least look deliberate, but that looks like a random birthmark. Or maybe they were just too lazy to tattoo a proper circle. I'm glad you posted this, I will be careful to ask about tattooing when the next Yorkie I get needs to be spayed.

I wonder what they do for dogs with black or dark gray skin? The tattoo wouldn't show up.

[BabyGirl Rosie]

I would be furious! I would be so upset that it was not discussed with me. And a cute orange heart is way different than a black blob. It wouldn't be the tattoo; it would be the fact it was never brought up. Even if it was in the fine print you think they would mention it. I am sure you are not the only person who got upset. BTW, to have an animal fixed in your area is way more than in mine. I couldn't believe the expense!

[JESSY_RN2B]

Oh wow, that looks so gaudy

They could have at least shaped it into a heart or dot, but it looks horribly non-purposeful. I am so sorry Sophie