Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 6, 1991 TAG: 9103060046
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Mark Morrison
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Kathy Davieds, a veterinarian in Floyd County and Bent Mountain, is one of a few people in Southwest Virginia who tattoos dogs and other animals with identification numbers.
A few years back, her favorite dog, Angel, a purebred Doberman pinscher, was one of about 18 purebred dogs stolen from the Bent Mountain area. The only two recovered were Angel and another dog with tatoos.
Since then, Davieds has been a tattoo advocate.
\ Name: Kathy Davieds.
\ Age: 34.
\ Occupation: Veterinarian.
\ Training: Graduated from Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech in 1985.
\ Marital status: Married to her work.
\ Children: None.
\ Pets: Dogs, cats and two goats, Jethro and Juanita.
\ Other training: "Basically, I've learned how to tattoo by practice. It isn't something they teach you in vet school." She estimates she has tattooed six to eight dozen dogs, most of them show dogs, breeding dogs, hunting dogs or treasured family pets.
\ Does it hurt? "I've tested it on my own skin without ink and I'd say the sensation is best described as annoying."
\ Where does the tattoo go? The inner right thigh.
\ How do the dogs like it? They don't.
\ Why? It doesn't hurt, but in order to make a clear tattoo, the dog must be restrained and dogs don't like to be restrained. They don't like the high-pitched sound of the equipment, either.
\ How long does it take? About five minutes.
\ Rates: $20 per dog. "I'm not looking to get rich from this. I love my own dogs and I know through practicing how dearly other people love their dogs."
\ Is it the cure-all against theft? There's no substitute for responsible pet control. A leash, confinement and constant supervision are the best guarantees.
\ And what about cats? They can be tattooed, but they must be sedated first. Cats can't be restrained like dogs.
\ Has anyone ever requested something unusual? Only twice. A woman wanted a small rose tattooed on her dog's ear. Another woman wanted to give her dog a heart tattoo.
\ Did you oblige? "No. Something extremely simple I might do because it isn't painful to the dog, but that's not something I would ever promote. And I wouldn't do it without doing an identification number, too, and only if the owner had his or her heart set on it for some reason."
by CNB