Man tattoos pit bull: Earlier this week, a North Carolina tattoo artist put a tattoo on his pit bull, drawing the attention of local authorities.
A North Carolina man is being investigated after he reportedly tattooed his pit bull.
Ernesto Rodriguez, a disabled army veteran who owns a tattoo parlor, on Wednesday tattooed five-month old dog, Duchess, on her underbelly.
He said that he tattooed the dog to identify her.
“What do they do when they brand animals and tattoo horses on their ear and brand their cow? You’re not abusing them. You’re just protecting them so they don’t get lost,” Rodriguez told WWII-12 television.
He added that he loves Duchess and his other dogs like family. “They both have it,” he told Fox-8 TV. “They both have their tattoos on them just in case something happens to them.”
A Fox-8 reporter said they asked him if the dog was asleep when he gave her a tattoo.
“I’m an artist. I want to put art on my dog. She was already asleep so I took advantage of that,” he said.
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While no charges were filed against Rodriguez, Caleb Scott, a local animal welfare advocate, told Fox that tattooing a dog raises red flags for him.
“According to the welfare statutes, you can’t have unjustifiable pain and suffering, and I think that falls under this situation,” he said.
But Rodriguez reasoned that dog tattoos are more common than one might expect.
“If you go on Google and type up dog tattoos, you'll get a thousand images of dogs tattooed. This has been going on for years,” Rodriguez told WWII TV.
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Earlier this week, Stokes County officials sent Rodriguez a cease and desist order to stop operating his tattoo parlor until he gets the proper zoning permits.
“A ‘Cease and Desist Order’ on the tattoo business has been issued by the Health Department to the residents located at this address. Should the County’s investigation reveal any illegal activities occurring at this residence, appropriate actions will then be taken,” a statement from the health department reads, according to Fox.
And as The Inquisitr points out, on the website petsclan.com, there are several images of pets with tattoos. It also notes that tattoos on pets can help with identification. “Tattoos may quite not be as taboo today as it was a couple of decades ago though most high browed people still consider them to be uncouth,” the website said.
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