Depriving a dog of their freedom to speak by "debarking" them is legal?

[Nevernose]

39. We seriously considered it with one of our dogs

But I dismissed it as being too cruel.

She just barks all night long. Not every night, but often enough that it was seriously disturbing our life. Imagine how tired parents are when they have a newborn that cries all night. Now make that newborn cry all night for four or five years.

This dog is a little crazy. We even know when it's going to be an extra bad night, because she gets the Crazy Eyes. Apparently she's hunting witches. She barks at an empty spot on the wall, at the toilet, at a TV that's off, at the ceiling fan, at the oven. All goddamned night long.

Rather than surgically remove her vocal chords, we just bought her a bark collar. It makes an annoying vibration whenever she barks. Granted, eventually we had to buy the one that's sized for bull moose (she weighs 13 pounds), but after two weeks all we have to do is put it on right before bed time -- without the batteries in it.

We're happier that we get to sleep all night long; she's happier that we're not mad at her. No dogs had to be surgically altered to bend them to my will.