Clawless in West Hollywood

In a dog-eat-dog town like Hollywood, fights sometimes include teeth and claws.

That's how it is for real in the battle that's going on between California veterinarians and the city of West Hollywood.

West Hollywood, sometimes known as San Francisco South, was the first town in the nation to outlaw the removal of claws from cats (the removal of claws from agents, publicists and managers has not, as yet, been debated).

The city of West Hollywood would also like a ban on the tail docking and ear cropping of our four-legged friends.

In response to the furry flap, the California Veterinary Medical Association has filed a lawsuit. It is challenging the existing law and also trying to stop the proposed tail and ear legislation.

West Hollywood Mayor John Duran told Reuters that the city had led the way in outlawing animal cruelty. He touted the 2002 decree that pet owners should be known as "guardians" and their pets as "companion animals."

Jon Klingborg, president of the vet organization, said, "This is not an issue that has anything to do with whether a procedure is unkind or cruel. The city of West Hollywood is overstepping its bounds. It is taking away a pet owner's freedom to choose how they want their pets cared for."

But Jennifer Conrad, a practicing vet who actually supported the declawing ban, said that the California vets "should be spending their time on something more constructive when there are so many animal problems, like overpopulation."

Conrad added that "fighting for the right to amputate the fingers off cats is really a waste of their money."

West Hollywood has cats with fingers? That might be of interest to Garfield.

The Left Coast Report suspects that if a cat or dog could actually voice a complaint, it would be about a snip in another part of their anatomy.