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Doggie Do-Overs

Feb 20, 2005 9:22 pm US/Central
CHICAGO (CBS 2) Nose jobs, liposuction and facelifts are everyday stuff at a plastic surgeon's office. But now more people are asking for a little nip and tuck from their vet! That's right. Doggy do-over's are the rage, but can pet lovers go too far?

Meet Bode. Sure, he’s beautiful, but he didn’t come by his looks naturally. He had a facelift.

He used to have “a lazy mouth that fell way down like a St. Bernard,” said dog owner Majorie Dye.

So Bode went in for a little work and viola. His owner is thrilled.

“Just a few stitches, he took that up, and you can see it’s just perfect,” Dye said.

Bode is not alone. Vets say more and more pets are going in for plastic surgery.

“Pretty much anything that is being done to people can be done to your pet,” said Veterinarian Alan Schulman.

Dr. Schulman says vets are being asked to perform everything from liposuction to tummy tucks and breast reduction to eye jobs. But he says he will only do a procedure if it’s medically beneficial, like Bode’s facelift.

“You’re pulling the lips up and back and taking out some of the skin folds that are responsible for a lot of excessive drooling and secondary infection,” Schulman said.

When does Schulman say no?

“When you have some sort of a mild scar or because somebody doesn’t like the shape of their cat’s nose and they start asking for Botox or collagen,” he said.

Bonnie Beaver is president of the American Veterinary Medical Association. She says pets should never be put under the knife for vanity’s sake.

“They are not concerned about their appearance. We are the ones that are concerned about appearance,” Beaver said.

Appearance is important to Shawna Johnson. She had testicular implants put into her dog, Toby, when he was neutered.

“I wanted the appearance of a natural, intact dog,” Johnson said.

Dr. Jack Mannix performed Toby’s procedure. He says there may not be a medical benefit, but there is a plus.

“If you’re more proud of your dog as you walk him and because he looks more normal to you, then I think it’s a psychological benefit to the animal,” Mannix said.

After his facelift, Bode is looking and feeling great. No more infections, no more antibiotics. In fact, Dye hopes to use Dr. Schulman again, but not for Bode.

“Like myself. I was hoping he could make me a deal, you know, help me a little bit. Just give it a little nip and tuck,” she said.

These nip and tuck procedures are not cheap. A typical face lift on a dog can run $1,500 or more.
Same with an eye or nose job. And to implant neuticles, add about $300 on top of the neutering bill.



Sylvia Gomez

http://cbs2chicago.com/special/local_story_051222430.html