What to Know
Simone Biles and husband Jonathan Owens recently added a new member to their family, but the couple is being raked over the coals for their choice. On Sunday, a dog breeder shared a photo of Simone and Jonathan with the new puppy they adopted from them — a Doberman with their ears cropped.
Not only has purchasing animals from breeders been a controversial practice for a long time, but so has cropping dogs’ ears, and now, Simone is catching heat for both from fans and animal rights groups.
Simone and Jonathan posed with their new puppy on December 14.
A breeder called Regal Empire Dobermans shared a photo of Simone and Jonathan with their new puppy on Instagram. Simone is standing in the middle of the photo, while her husband is next to her, cradling their new addition in his arms.
So far, Simone herself hasn’t posted about her new dog, but it seems like word is spreading fast.
They were quickly called out by PETA.
PETA took to X to share the photo of Simone and her new puppy, calling her out for supporting a dog breeder.
“@Simone_Biles could’ve gone for gold by adopting, instead, she fueled the homeless animal crisis by getting a dog, whose ears were cut off, from a breeder,” said the post.
The organization also spoke out against Simone’s decision in a statement issued to Us Weekly.
“We were stunned when we saw you purchased a dog from a breeder, and judging from the comments online, we weren’t alone,” said the statement. “Then you went another step further and had the puppy’s ears chopped off? Ear cropping is excruciatingly painful and, as cruel as it sounds, permanently disfiguring them for no reason other than to achieve a certain look.”
“Many veterinarians refuse to perform the procedure, which has been banned in many European countries,” PETA added. “Dogs love us just the way we are — the very least we can do is return the favor and never subject them to mutilation surgeries like the one your new puppy endured.”
Simone’s followers aren’t happy, either.
Though Simone has already deleted a post including her and two of her other dogs where the comments were getting wild, it hasn’t stopped people from sharing how they really feel in the replies to PETA’s message on X.
“I worked for a vet many years ago and helped with one ear cropping surgery,” one person wrote. “From that day on I vowed never to be involved with this barbaric procedure ever again. Absolutely no reason to do this! Same goes for declawing cats — it’s actually cutting off fingers at the knuckles.”
It’s totally possible this is what the Olympic gymnast needed to educate herself about the dangers of ear cropping, so hopefully, she’s learning from this experience.
