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April 25, 2005

Italian Poodles Cheer, Move Focus to France

You know, whenever I see an animal with one of those ridiculous poodle haircuts, I wonder why PETA isn't jumping in there with accusations of animal abuse. Well, apparently in Italy they have finally realized the great detriment to society of allowing such ridiculousness and made steps to get the law involved.

Dog owners in Turin will be fined up to $650 if they don't walk their pets at least three times a day, under a new law from the city's council.

People will also be banned from dyeing their pets' fur or "any form of animal mutilation" for merely aesthetic motives such as docking dogs' tails, under the law about to be passed in the northern Italian city.

"In Turin it will be illegal to turn one's dog into a ridiculous fluffy toy," the city's La Stampa daily reported.

My question is why we are stopping with dogs? Why aren’t there laws prohibiting parents from dressing twins in identical clothing or putting their infant sons in sailor outfits?

Posted by illuminaria at April 25, 2005 02:00 PM

Comments

You should be aware that the traditional poodle cut has very pragmatic origins. Poodles were used for hunting, and the purpose of the cut was to trim their coats short so as to not collect burrs, but to leave all the fur around the joints, because poodles' joints are very sensitive to cold, and the dense fur served to insulate their joints as they hunted in cold, swampy areas. (You really can learn something from watching the Westminster dog show on Thanksgiving day.)

Posted by: dweeb at April 26, 2005 11:24 AM