[FEL-L] RE: Zanesville family has tigers declawed for Make-A-Wish Foundation

[Evelyn Shaw]

Please visit www.newarkadvocate.com and make some positive comments. There are a couple of really negative comments about private ownership

Bigcats10 at aol.com wrote:      Zanesville family has tigers declawed for Make-A-Wish Foundation
Tigers to be handled by children with life-threatening medical conditions through wish-granting program
By LIZA MARTIN 
Newark Advocate 

          NEWARK - Dr. James Underwood's most recent cat declaw procedure was a little out of the ordinary.   Actually, it was downright wild.     The veteran veterinarian declawed three Siberian tiger cubs Monday at his Underwood Animal Hospital in Heath, where the tigers' owners, Terry and Marian Thompson, of Zanesville, take their tigers, lions and leopards for care. Other exotic animals go elsewhere, Terry Thompson said. 
"(The declawing procedure) is pretty much the same for a large cat as for a regular feline," Underwood said.   The 23-pound cubs, named Sophia, Sovia and Samson, were up and walking the morning after their surgery, cuddling with Underwood and rubbing against the legs of reporters.   "They're pretty darn lovey," Underwood said while cradling one of the two-month old cubs.   Thompson said he owns 21 tigers, including seven who have been born in the past year.   "They're a passion of mine, and I like the animals," he said.   Thompson said the three tigers were declawed Monday so they could be handled by children who have their wish granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions.   He said he has sent two other declawed tigers to an Akron hospital in the last three months to be part of children's wishes being granted.   "It's pretty gratifying," he said.   Siberian tigers are an endangered species, indigenous to
 eastern Russia, northeast China and parts of North Korea. The largest of all living cats, males can grow to weigh an average of 650 pounds, while females tip the scales at about 350 pounds, according to www.tigerhomes.org.   It's estimated that there are only about 350 to 410 Siberian tigers living in the wild, with another 490 managed in conservation programs.   There are no laws in Ohio regulating the private ownership of any exotic animals, unless they are used as part of a business. State law requires only a permit to possess native endangered species, such as the bobcat, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.   However, an Ohio House bill introduced in August would require people who possess dangerous wild animals or exotic animals to obtain a personal possession permit. The bill would also establish requirements regarding the possession and care of dangerous wild animals and exotic animals.     
  
  Originally published September 13, 2006

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