Muskogee Woman Files Complaint Over De-barking Of Dog

MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) -- A Muskogee woman says her neighbor -- a veterinarian -- took her 10-week-old puppy without permission and neutered and surgically quieted the dog's bark.<br/><br/>Nancy Miller

Tuesday, June 6th 2006, 12:46 pm

By: News On 6

MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) -- A Muskogee woman says her neighbor -- a veterinarian -- took her 10-week-old puppy without permission and neutered and surgically quieted the dog's bark.

Nancy Miller says in a complaint to the Oklahoma State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners that James Risch took the dog from her back yard and maimed it and calls Risch a menace.

Risch says he took the pup from his front porch. He says he provided vaccinations, a bath, treatment for ear mites, neutered it and performed a procedure to reduce the volume of the dog's bark.

Risch wrote a letter of apology to Miller saying he impulsively took the pup and admits he was wrong. He says in the letter he's getting counseling to correct his impulsive behavior.

Risch also wrote that a dog's barking at nothing is "like fingernails on a chalkboard" to him.

The veterinary board declined comment, but State Veterinary Medical Association director Doctor Charles Helwig says it appears there definitely should be an investigation.