A Russian family has caused outrage across the internet after taking their Jack Russell to a plastic surgeon to get his ears pinned down - because they wanted it to look more like the dog from The Mask.
But just... WHY? Vets reluctantly agreed to carry out the surgical procedure to lower the dog’s ears after the family had attempted to do it themselves at home using glue, weights, coins and a patch.
Sadly, it wasn’t anything to do with improving the dog's health, and the DIY attempts done at the Russian family's home must have caused the dog some serious discomfort - as the mother of the family admits. Surgeons broke the cartilage of the dog’s ears so it would fit the brief set by its owner, Marina Esmat, who bought the dog for her seven-year-old son. The boy wanted a dog that looked like the superhero Jack Russell 'Milo' from the 1994 film starring Jim Carrey. Milo's ears pointed downwards, and this Russian family wouldn’t stop in their efforts until they got the same look.
Mrs Esmat also wanted to enter the pup into dog shows, and claimed he wouldn’t qualify if his ears pointed up (it's actually pretty common for Jack Russells to have pointy-up ears - the condition is called 'prick ears'). She also said they wouldn’t be able to find a mating partner for the dog if his ears weren't lowered (I mean, what?), and used this as another excuse to get the vets on board with the surgery.
She said: ‘At a family meeting we decided that we would fix his ears with the help of a surgeon. The doctors tried to convince us not to do it, but we decided that it would look more aesthetic. We would like him to reproduce, but with his ears lifted we could not find him a mate for breeding. Also, we would like to go to dog shows. Now, everything is great.’
The internet has reacted in favour of the pup, with one user saying ‘That’s beyond cruel, I hope animal welfare services save the poor pup. Some people □’.
Same.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.