Oregon ranchers asked to pay damages ~ Tibetan Mastiffs to be debarked !!

‘Barking dogs seldom bite’ – Proverb means – not to be afraid of dogs that bark at people 0r not to worry of people who threaten – for they are unlikely to take further action !!!! ...... the common Q is does the dog know this proverb ?

Elsewhere in Oregon, a couple - John Updegraff and Karen Szewc have  been ordered to pay their neighbours for years of being annoyed by their barking dogs.   Their neighbours,  Dale and Debra Krein, filed suit in 2012 in Jackson County Circuit Court due to what they claimed was “ceaseless barking” by the dogs, according to the Mail Tribune. Two other neighbors also filed suit at the time, but were later dismissed as plaintiffs.  On April 2, 2015, a jury decided in favour of the Kreins, awarding them $238,900 in damages for what the Krieins say was more than a decade of listening to the dogs bark. The Kreins also sought to prevent Updegraff and Szewc from keeping any dogs on their property, but the court found against them in that injunction.

illustrative photo of a Tibetan Mastiff

Updegraff and Szewc claim that the Tibetan mastiffs they owned were necessary to protect their livestock from predators, but the court found that the dogs were not suited to be livestock dogs, and in addition to awarding the Kreins a huge settlement, ordered that the dogs be debarked or replaced with a suitable breed within 60 days.

The Tibetan Mastiff’ is an ancient breed and type of large domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) originating with nomadic cultures of Tibet, China, Nepal, and India.   Nomadic families have long used mastiffs as nocturnal sentries against livestock thieves and marauding wolves. A primitive breed with a deep guttural bark, they are inured to harsh winters and the thin oxygen of the high-altitude grasslands.  I had earlier posted on a Chinese millionaire by name Wang  buying a Tibetan Mastiff for a whopping £350,000 in 2011  –Rs. 3.28 crores at today’s exchange and how in  a couple of years, the value has diminished leading to many Mastiffs remaining with the breeders, unsold.

Devocalization (also known as vocal cordectomy) when performed on dogs is commonly known as debarking or bark softening -  is a surgical procedure  where tissue is removed from the animal’s vocal cords to permanently reduce the volume of their vocalizations.  Debarked dogs continue to bark, but at a much reduced volume. 

The Oregon ranchers  are  forced to subject their massive Tibetan mastiffs to the controversial “debarking” procedure after losing a lawsuit, according to a court ruling.  Her army of dogs at Liongate Farm, whose names are Squirt, Ronan, Kya and Trila, protect their flock of sheep and goats from predators, such as the cougars spotted near their Rogue River home as of late.

Devocalization for dogs is illegal in Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania, but is allowed in some situations when medically required for the pet’s health. The court order is part of last week’s injunction that deemed the dogs ill-suited as “livestock guardians.”

Animal activists with PETA call the procedure “a surgery for human convenience.” “Many veterinarians condemn this surgery and refuse to perform it because it produces post-operative pain.

Besides the dog, there is also deers that bark.... Muntjacs,  are  known as barking deer,  a  small deer of the genus Muntiacus. Muntjacs are the oldest known deer, thought to have begun appearing  million years ago.  Muntjacs are called "barking deer" due to the dog-like calls they sometimes emit to warn their friends and family members of danger.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

20^th Apr 2015.