Story published on May 21, 2021
How can we improve mental well-being in the veterinary profession, especially related to moral distress and ethical trauma?
Ban and end declawing.
As you will see below, declawing causes moral distress and negatively affects the mental health and well-being of many veterinary professionals.
Story published on Dec.7, 2023. AAHA.org, the American Animal Hospital Association has a yearly contest to pick their AAHA Accredited Animal Hospital of the Year.
Story published on August 14, 2023. Declawing is still a BIG business in Wisconsin in many veterinary clinics but not in Marshfield. The veterinarians in
Story published June 2023. Please sign our petition! We are almost at 20,000 signatures! Michigan anti-declawing petition In May of 2023, Michigan State Representative Jimmie
Dr Cynthia Rigoni is the Secretary of the Houston Humane Society.
Dr Cynthia Rigoni has been doing declaws for over 25 years. According to an employee at her clinic, she also has declawed her own dogs. More information below in our story.
In 1991, a cat owner came to Dr Cynthia Rigoni’s All Cats Veterinary Clinic in Houston, TX for just a neuter.
Dr Rigoni performed the neuter and then started to declaw the cat. On the third toe bone, she realized she was performing an unauthorized procedure but she kept declawing the cat and then notified the owners of the “error.”
According to the veterinary medical board paperwork below, she committed gross malpractice and her license was suspended for 2 years.
A representative from the NHVMA/AVMA, Dr Jan Barlow, testified to legislators and said that banning declawing can cause veterinarians emotional harm.
Story published March 10, 2023 Here’s the March 2, 2023 email that was sent to all the ISVMA members asking them to oppose the anti-declawing
Do veterinarians lie about declawing because they know they shouldn’t be doing it?
Is Dr Wayne Anderson, AzVMA’s Advisory Council board member, ill-informed or just a plain liar?
Dr Wayne Anderson testified on March 23, 2022 against the Arizona anti-declawing bill. He owns AzPetVet which consists of 22 vet clinics in Arizona.
All but one of Dr Wayne Anderson’s 22 vet clinics declaw cats, according to employees who work there. Declawing is a big money making procedure in many AzPetVet Clinics.
Senator Justin Brown is sponsoring Senate bill 115 and Rep. Jim Murphy is sponsoring House Bill 801, and these bills will erase the declawing ban in St. Louis and St. Louis County and will prohibit any future declawing bans in cities in Missouri if they pass. The bills have made it past a few steps and is in a Senate hearing on Jan. 31, 2023 to send it to the floor for a vote.
Yes, you heard right. Senator Justin Brown and Jim Murphy are trying to eliminate bills in St. Louis & St. Louis County that are protecting cats from this animal cruelty and will prevent any future bills from passing that would protect cats from this cruelty in Missouri cities.
If you are one of their constituents, please send them a polite email or call and let them know that you aren’t happy with them for doing this. Ask Sen. Justin Brown if he is trying to protect a valuable source of revenue for his family’s vet clinic that is performing 3-4 guillotine clipper declaws a week according to an employee who works there. (This is the most mutilating method of declawing. The employee also said they don’t send the cats home with any pain meds.)
Sen. Justin Brown. (573) 751-5713 Email- Justin.Brown@senate.mo.gov
Rep. Jim Murphy 573 751 3719. Email- Jim.Murphy@house.mo.gov
In 2021 AAHA.org hired a new Chief Medical Officer, Dr Jessica Vogelsang.
AAHA says that they are strongly opposed to declawing, that veterinarians should tell their clients that it is a procedure that is no longer supported or reasonable yet they allow it in their AAHA Accredited Animal Hospitals. Many of them perform this inhumane amputation on a regular basis, they advertise declawing, put out declawing coupons, and lie about it and say that the cats are ok long term after they are declawed.
We are optimistic that Dr Vogelsang will be the progressive, ethical, and humane veterinary leader at AAHA who sees the value in doing the right thing, being on the right side of this issue and history, and will inspire AAHA to put the welfare of all animals first and ban declawing in their AAHA accredited animal hospitals.
