Someone already brought up the spaying, neutering, and docking of tails and cropping of ears. If it's necessary, why does it have to be pretty? Just wack the ears and be done with it.
I'm just of the opinion that if it's going to be done, better make the best of it. You can say that for anything we already do for our dogs. Collars, tags, various remedies to get rid of speuter scars, paying a lot of money for a good, nicer crop than any vet who can wack ears, grooming, heat panties, etc, etc.
Some of them are temporary, some aren't. But if they can be used to ID a pet, doesn't interfere with health, and could be a lower risk than some spay surgeries...what's the problem, really? There's far more important things to get hung up about.