On pink, orange and purple (even green) Poodles

To be clear here, I don’t like Poodles being pink or orange or blue or purple or even green to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. But using a harmless dye is not cruelty. Frivolous, humorous, silly, or bad taste maybe, but not cruel.

I just wish that organizations devoted to the welfare of dogs would not get bogged down into picking battles with what is merely silly, frivolous, or entertaining.

There are daily cases of well-publicized cruelty that humans inflict on dogs. I don’t like to dwell on them because that isn’t the focus of this blog.

When police and animal control fine a hairdresser $1000 for putting beet juice and Kool-aid on her Poodle, the city (Boulder, Colorado) gets held up to national ridicule. The hairdresser gets her 15 minutes of fame in the national media and people wonder if animal control doesn’t have more important issues.

The law was obviously meant to stop people from tossing bunnies and baby chicks into a vat of Rit and selling them with Easter eggs.

Poodles are not like most other dogs. Because their hair continues to grow, for hundreds of years they have been clipped, coiffed, poofed and sculpted. My groomer loves to groom Poodles.

She has run her own business for 35 years. (Surprisingly, she is still sane.) As she points out, any Poodle that fought grooming would have not been bred centuries ago. As a result, Poodles today who are groomed regularly really enjoy the attention lavished on their appearance. (That doesn’t count the poor dogs who aren’t brought in until they are a mess of furry mats.)

A recent fashion show in Australia featured Poodles prancing on the runway, dyed to match their humans. The audience loved it and by all accounts the Poodles had a great time stealing the show.

Poodles performing. It’s what they do.

Animal activists objected. While they had to admit that it wasn’t cruel, they didn’t feel it was right to use living creatures to entertain. It’s exploitive, they said.

Somebody should ask the Poodles.

Comments

[schnoodlepooh]

I would NEVER do that to my boys, but they do get groomed on a regular basis. It's fun to mess around with their hairstyles, trying new things as I develop my abilities as a poodle groomer. But I don't even like the show cuts. My dogs are more the 'sporting' type of poodles, rather than show poodles.

This is almost amusing "RSPCA ... didn’t feel it was right to use living creatures to entertain. It’s exploitive, they said." good grief. do they understand how ridiculous that comment is? Can't we all think of at least 100 different ways living creatures (I suppose humans fall into that category, right?) are used to entertain? Good grief.

I wish that was the worst case of animal cruelty that was out there.

[jackie]

you notice no one ever dyes pit bulls..

[Sandra]

I think it is ridiculous! Animal control should be worrying about the people who chain their dogs up for days without any food or water.

[Tom & Icy]

Dogs don't mind what you make them look like or what silly things you teach them to do as long as you love and care for them. That's why they joined the human pack.

[rosemary]

I call Violet's collar her necklace....she loves the scarf she gets when groomed, I had her nails painted....am I a bad mom?

[Matt]

I have enough problems trying to give my dogs a bath.....now to try to change their colors...not even going to bother trying.

[cube]

This is one more example of overly officious people who like to exercise power over those around them. I believe it would behoove them to exercise their brains instead.

[cube]

If I had a poodle, I guess these officious folks wouldn't let me douse it in spinach juice today. I'll stick to green beer then.

[Fuzzy Logic]

Well now, here is the thing...

Technically, it's illegal in that town to dye an animal. and for good reason

The woman owns a Hair Salon...

Several someones called the cops...

How are they to know she used beet juice? I mean it's a HAIR salon...

[Julie]

It's not abuse if it doesn't permanently disfigure, or cause pain to the dog. In most instances, the owner looks sillier than the dog.

[Clara]

I can't believe that anyone would purposely harm her beloved poodle. Boulder, Colorado is such a joke with all their stupid PC laws. They are the ones who first started calling owners guardians. They amuse all of us who live in Colorado.

[gus and louie]

That is one silly looking dog. At least Blue Heelers are that color to begin with.. No dye needed..

Big Sloppy Kisses
Gus and Louie

[Carola]

People should worry about poodles that are never groomed and clipped. Carola

[Sling]

In one of my many incarnations,I worked as dog washer for a groomer.
I can't remember a dog that didn't enjoy the 'personalized' attention,or wasn't proud as can be when their owner 'oohed' and 'aahhed' over them when they came to pick them up.

[Coll]

My dog groomer is my hero. :-)

[Jimmy]

Sounds like the cry baby bleedin' heart liberals are trying to be the Follicley correct now days?

[Tony]

I remember when I was a kid in the early 60's there was craze for people dying their poodles. This isn't anything new and I would guess that people are using safer dyes now with pets. Really, don't these so called animal rights activists have anything better to do?

[Lora]

I think it is silly to do personally, each to his own... but it isn't doing anyone any harm. There's way too many stray dogs, dog fighters and neglected dogs to deal with for the a/c or d/w to be worrying about a bit of beet juice!

[Dog]

I bet the people who do this have no lives.