Permanently Tattooed Children or Temporarily Dyed Poodles

A woman in Denver has been fined $1000 for dying her white poodle pink with natural beet juice. Denver has an ordinance against dyeing animals. Even though the woman did it to raise awareness against breast cancer, and even though no permanent harm has been done to the poodle (apart from the danger of an inflated ego from the cool pink fur), the law has frowned upon her. But if she had allowed her children to get permanent hideous tattoos and to dye their hair pink, she’d just be another cool mom.

Are we sometimes more concerned about protecting cute little animals than protecting cute little people?

And is it too harsh for me to suggest that parents might want to be proactive in warning their children against the risks and problems of tattoos and extremes in styles and behaviors? The world is encouraging young people to do things a whole lot crazier than getting pinked up with a little beet juice. Not that I have anything against pink. As for poodles, well, please don’t ask.

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Author: Jeff Lindsay

27 thoughts on “Permanently Tattooed Children or Temporarily Dyed Poodles

  1. He’s not really suggesting that people actually put tattoo’s on their toddlers. It’s more the idea of tattoo’s, or the glorification of tattoo’s that children tend to get.

    My 13 year old neice, who is completely awesome and surprisingly well-adjusted has only one quirk – she wants a tattoo. But her mom isn’t about to give her one!

    Maybe it’s because animals have no voice, so we need to protect them. Children have a voice and can say what they do and do not want. The poodle can’t say “Hey, I don’t want to be pink!” But a child can say “Hey, I don’t want a tattoo.”

    I really can’t believe this story. I feel bad for that poor lady.

  2. DMI Dave – I agree! Just say NO to poodles! lol

    On to the other subject… Prior to joining the Church, and many years ago I had my earlobes tattooed with little roses for ‘permanent earings.’ I actually like them, but since I know the Church teaching I always make sure to wear my hair down at Church. Someday if I can ever afford it, I’ll have them removed.

    I teach Primary and on a few occasions some of the children have seen them and really like them. So I have to explain that they are not cool and that I wished I hadn’t done it. I also take the time to let them know the Prophet teaches against them.

    Sometimes I can use it as a teaching tool of how sin affects our lives. That sin, while it can be repented of, sometimes leaves a stain that is not so easily ignored. Such as thoughts that come to our minds, disappointment, regret, feelings of shame that wash over us sometimes when we least expect it, etc. So it’s best not to sin to begin with.

  3. You know, I think (think) in most places, it’s against the law for children to be tattooed.

    Although I totally agree with your point- there was even a post recently on a particluar women’s blog about being more upset about animal cruelty than human cruelty. That bothered me. A lot.

  4. Keep in mind that a person under the age of 18 needs parental consent to get a tattoo, but not an abortion. Sick and twisted society we live in.

  5. I don’t get the Religous societies problem with tattoos, and i am a seminary student. I plan to get one if i still want one when i turn thirty, I’ve been putting it off because i don’t want it to be some thing i look back on and think man was i stupid in college

  6. jayleenb, nowhere is it written that having a tattoo is a sin. Even if it was you had it before you joined the church. While I don’t have any tattoos I am not against them but I wouldn’t encourage anyone to get one either. Some of the nicest people I know have tattoos, beards and long hair. Conversely, some of the most rotten, selfish and corrupt members of the church I have ever met are clean shaven, have short well trimmed hair and no tattoos. In the 1960’s I served a mission and then three years in the army. In the 1970’s for about five years I had a well trimmed beard and a temple recommend. The beard didn’t cause me to do drugs or go apostate. All, if I remember right, of the presidents of the church from Young to George A. Smith had beards. I think the only reason they stopped is that the church wanted to appear to the world to be more main stream. Then in the 1960s it became political. A “good Morman” had to be conservative, Republican, and look the part. I’m now 63, grey and mostly bald. I’d grow my hair out but a pony tail made with only 6 hairs would look pretty silly. Lighten up people, it’s only hair!

    Richard G.

    ps – While I don’t recommend getting tattoos I doubt having one will keep a person out of the Celestial Kingdom. There are no questions about tattos, beards or long hair asked during temple recommend interviews.

  7. Have we not been commanded to take care of our body as if it were a temple? Is getting a tattoo defacing the body – kind of like graffiti on a wall? That’s how I’ve always looked at it. So, I think Jayleen is correct – it is a sin.

  8. I pulled this from the LDS website:

    Latter-day prophets strongly discourage the tattooing of the body. Those who disregard this counsel show a lack of respect for themselves and for God. The Apostle Paul taught of the significance of our bodies and the danger of purposefully defiling them: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are” (1 Corinthians 3:16–17).

  9. Tattoos aren’t a sin, but blatently disregarding the Prophet’s council might be. Whether any particular person’s tattoos fit under that heading I leave as an exercise for the Pharasitical.

    On a slight tangent — those temporary henna tatoos can be permanent (Snopes)

  10. I teach high school, and for years I’ve seen tons of freshmen–these are 14-year-olds–come in with tattoos. Boys will have a couple on each arm, and far more girls than we’d think have lower back tattoos.

    Few classes don’t have any tattooed kids anymore (facial piercings are even more prevalent). I’d be afraid to see how many kids have these warped disfigurements in 7th or 8th grade, now…

    Richard G, no, a beard may not keep you out of the Celestial Kingdom, but if you’re letting your young teen get multiple facial piercings and tattoos, as a sizable and growing fraction of parents clearly are these days, you’re being irresponsible.

    “Body modification” is not a harmless trend. These symbols are brandished as a sign of sexuality, drug use, and allegiance to the media’s youth cult. They’re permanent, and I’ve seen how they scar such branded kids more than physically…

  11. I think ranbato said what I was going to. I don’t view people who have tattoos before they were members to have committed a sin. Much like I don’t view people who drink coffee before they are members to have committed a sin. I’m a little saddened that jayleenb feels she needs to hide her relatively innocent tattoos, although I understand her reasons.

    I also know someone who decided to get rid of her eyebrows and tattoo some on instead, because she thinks it looks better. I disagree, but I don’t think it’s sinful. (or perhaps mildly sinful in other ways–such as vanity–but I don’t think the tattoo itself is sinful).

    Also, this is another case of where do we draw the line? Is it wrong to have a small tattoo that look likes an earing? If so, why isn’t it wrong to pearce your ears? Isn’t that also defiling your body?

    My point is that I think sometimes we judge to harshly on this matter. It is true that the prophets have “discouraged” it, but let’s not overstate the sinfulness of it, which could do more harm than good.

  12. Tattoos are also often associated with gangs. Some of the tattoos are permanent markers of gang loyalty. Horrific, really.

  13. You have a point. The law will throw the book at people who really don’t do any harm (such as dying a poodle–what does the poodle care?), but those that do harm others–whether it be by tattooing their kids when they are too young to understand or something as simple as getting a baby’s ears pierced–the law looks the other way. That parent is looked at as being “involved” in their children’s lives. It’s sickening. We want laws stating when someone is an adult, but we sure want our children subjected to “adult” behavior when they are young. Kids shouldn’t worry about attractiveness and their looks when they are little. The line between adult and youth is fuzzy here and it shouldn’t be.

    Great job with this article. It was interesting!

  14. agreed. A reshuffling of priorities would be nice. I find it sad you can get a stiffer sentence for animal cruelty than for manslaughter or murder

  15. Whoever said tattoo’s aren’t a sin? You should consider reading:
    Lev. 19:28, “Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord.” (KJV)

  16. Actually, the pink poodle in question is from Boulder, Colorado not Denver. Only in Boulder does that stuff happen. In Boulder, you’re not the “owner” of a pet, that’s demeaning to the pet. You are it’s “guardian”.
    If only Boulder treated children as well as they do animals…

    http://www.denverpost.com/
    Search on “Pink Poodle” for the gory details…

  17. First off I have to say that I always find it pretty disingenuous when people feel they have to make it an issue of protecting animal welfare versus protecting children’s welfare. I work 40 plus hours a week in a profession where I work to protect children from situations of abuse and neglect. What I do with my own time, which is work on rescuing abused and neglected dogs — poodles in particular, is my own darned business. How many of the, IMO, sanctimonious people who protest so much about people caring more for animals than children spend half as many hours a week as many of us do working to protect children and animals? How many people even realize that the child protection laws we now have came about originally as part of laws that were developed and promoted by people who were working on animal welfare…guess they were tired of seeing animals killed and tortured for someone’s amusement or profit?! Finally, as to tattooing being a sin, I know you all are gentiles, so probably this doesn’t apply to you, but orthdodox Jewish law (halacha) teaches that piercing is wrong as well as tattooing. Haven’t checked this out recently, but it used to be that you couldn’t be buried in a sanctified (Jewish) cemetary if you were tattooed. Much of that was dealt with a little differently after so many holocaust survivors came out of the camps with numbers tattooed on their arms. Still, just thought it was an intersting point to make. If you don’t believe in tattoos for religious reasons, you maybe should rethink pierced ears, etc.

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