It is a painful surgery. The dog is put under anesthetic and the vet cuts triangular pieces off of the dogs vocal chords, which causes the bark to be very rhaspy. . I think its just gross laziness that makes people want to do this to their dogs. 99% of the time dogs bark because they're bored, anxious, or untrained. . and the owner doesn't want to spend the time and effort solving these issues, so they just cut up their vocal chords . There are tons of lethal complications involved with the surgery which is why a lot of good vets (including ours) refuse to do it and why its banned in some states.

I feel bad for the poor Sheltie pup. . . yes, Shelties are prone to bark when they're startled or anxious. The pups owners should've read up on Shelties BEFORE buying one, and they would've known that T_T. Have you asked them why they did it? If they were really facing having to give up their dog because it barked incessently and neighbors were complaining, it might be understandable. . but to do it just because they're annoyed by the dog, is just sick.