"West Hollywood has had a historic record of enacting progressive policies regarding the care and welfare of animals," City Councilman Jeffrey Prang, who is a co-sponsor of the measure, told the paper.

If the ban sounds a bit too "progressive," remember that West Hollywood is the city that, four years ago, freed pets from the bondage of ownership by declaring they were merely in the custodial care of human "guardians."

This latest measure has a history, albeit several thousand miles away. A number of European countries have also introduced bans forbidding pet owners to have cosmetic surgery done on their pets.

The West Hollywood measure, if it survives, will be the first such ban in the U.S. Prang believes he's in the forefront of "public policy."

"We recognize we have an opportunity to provide leadership on public policy," he told the Times. "Somebody always has to be first. Animal welfare is something West Hollywood feels strongly about."

As you might imagine, longtime pet breeders disagree with what Duran says are the city's "core values," as they pertain to pet "guardianship."

Such procedures are "not cruel," Darla Dorr, a past president of the Los Angeles Doberman Pinscher Club who has bred the dogs for 40 years, told the Times. Following ear-clipping procedures, for example, as long as post-op care is good, "the puppies are racing around the house as if nothing's been done."

Just like movie stars.

Editor's note: