In surgery-happy Brazil, fido gets a face-lift

SAO PAULO, Brazil — Is Fido in need of an face-lift?

Come see Edgado Brito, who is advancing the practice of pet plastic surgery in a land with a worldwide reputation for making people beautiful by any means.

MEI-LING HOPGOOD/Cox News Service (enlarge photo) Anita Alt with her dog Brutus, a mini schnauzer in Sao Paolo, Brazil, who received plastic sugery to fix a flopped-over ear.

Brazilians have long been known for their penchant for cosmetic surgery, and Brito has been adapting those techniques for use on animals.

"Plastic surgery is good for dogs!" said Brito, 45, a Doberman breeder who has worked as a veterinarian for 20 years.

He can make protruding ears droop and uses Metacril to straighten bent ears. He uses Botox to fix inverted eyelashes. He has even tightened the mammillae of a couple female dogs, whose owners wanted to show them after they had given birth.

"It's a real situation," Brito said. "When the dog is very, very good and has won a lot of shows, the owner wants to keep the dog in perfect condition."

In Brazil, the United States and Europe, pet plastic surgery is increasingly in demand, despite objections from animal-rights activists and some dog breeders.

The American Kennel Club, which sets the rules for the recognized breeds that compete on the U.S. dog show circuit, prohibits any surgery that alters a dog's appearance, other than the cropping of ears and tails to meet breed standards.

But the prohibition on surgery is difficult to define and enforce. Two years ago, an award-winning Pekingese in Britain was the subject of an inquiry when rumors swirled that its face had been surgically enhanced. The dog and its owners were acquitted and allowed to keep the award from the 2003 Crufts Dog Show.

In Brazil, Brito keeps abreast of human plastic surgery trends and attends human surgeries to develop treatments for his pet patients.

He has performed thousands of operations. A collage of pictures on his office wall features curvaceous Brazilian stars who have sought nip and tuck services for their pets.

Brito insists that animal health is his top concern, but beauty also is important to the animal's well being.

"Good symmetry is very important," said Brito. "All that is not symmetric we don't like." He pointed out that a crooked ear on a Doberman, for example, is not only more susceptible to infection, it also could incite attacks or deter mating because "the ears say all (dogs) want to know."

Brito said that if the owner thinks the dog is attractive, the relationship is better.

One of Brito's more famous patients is Brutus, a miniature Schnauzer imported to Brazil from Argentina. He is grey, sleek and muscular and perfectly groomed.

"Brutus was perfect in all details," said his owner Anita Alt, except for one. One ear, thanks to a bad ear job from another veterinarian, flopped open. Fearing infection and hoping to show and breed Brutus, Alt turned to Brito five years ago. The doctor injected a substance used to eliminate human wrinkles into the base of Brutus' ear, which straightened instantly.

"No trauma, and you can see the results immediately," said Alt, who breeds mini Schnauzers. Brutus became a grand champion, retired early, and now lives a happy life as a handsome stud in Sao Paulo.

Simple surgeries usually cost from about $100 to $200.

Some animal rights and veterinary organizations say pet plastic surgery is dangerous and deceptive. City officials in West Hollywood, Calif., are trying to ban cosmetic surgery for pets on the grounds that it is inhumane.

"It's what the owner wants, not what the dog wants," said Flávio Prada, president-elect of the Regional Council of Veterinary Medicine in the state of Sao Paulo. For example, the lack of a tail can throw off a dog's balance, he said. Botox could numb a dog in ways unintended, he said and added, "A dog can't tell you what feels wrong."

He said the practice is not honest, especially when a dog is bred or shown for its perfect features.

Brito insists that "we don't work for human satisfaction, we work for the health (of the pet)."