A Deadly Study For Animals

[lizbud]

Couldn't they use already injured dogs in this study? This
method is as stupid as it is cruel. I want to congratulate these
future Vets. for their good sense & their compassion.


http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20031231_1072.html

[magcpen]

Why do they need to kill the dogs?! I agree, why don't they use already injured dogs (and not kill them)?! How will causing more injuries prevent injuries?! How could someone convince themselves it's right to do this?!

Go protesters, go (cheesy as that sounds)!

Grrr!

:mad: :mad: :mad:

[tikeyas_mom]

That's so terrible. :( The only thing I could think of the entire time was how Iams does the exact same thing. :mad:

[clara4457]

This is especially disturbing for such a well regarded school.
Lizbud - you are absolutely correct, they could have easily used animals that already have existing fractures for their study. What is so frustrating is the total disregard for the life of the dogs. It is totally unnecessary and inherently evil.

Would they break people's legs, fix them differently and then put them to sleep once the study is over. You don't kill people to save other people, so what could possibly make it acceptable for animals?

Burns my boat :mad:

[trayi52]

clara, I agree with what you said, I was thinking the same thing as I was reading the article. How did they further the studies on humans? Did they do these little experiments on them?

I just can't see the purpose in killing the animals to find answers. We aren't usually dead when we break a bone. I broke my foot earlier in 2003, glad they didn't decide to put me to sleep to see if it was healing properly, they just took x-rays. Go figure.....

[G.P.girl]

:mad: :mad: :mad: i don't even know what to say about it. it just make sme so mad that some people have such total disregard for anything that's not humans life. why they can't use dogs with already broken bones:rolleyes: like people who can't afford a doctor can sometimes go to colleges adn have students do it for cheaper.:mad: :mad: :mad: sick people.!#$!%$#%#

[smokey the elder]

They don't need to kill the dogs to see how the bones heal. Why not use xray or MRI??

Good on the future vets for taking a stand. Maybe this kind of teaching is what changes some vets from compassionate people to biomechanics.

[Pam]

Originally posted by lizbud
This method is as stupid as it is cruel.

:mad: :mad:

[lizbud]

Tufts University Vet School is not the only University that
use live homeless dogs for studies like these. This is the first
case I've read about that talked of the open objections of some
vet students to this practice. And it was published by a National News group like ABC. Behind the scenes there has been an
ongoing debate for years now between Vets, researchers and
the whole medical community concerning using live animals as
research/study tools for supposed human or animal enrichment.

[iceyshiver21]

I read the first two paragraphs and was sickened.

[CathyBogart]

Good for them for standing up against such procedures! Hopefully it will make an impact! There ARE many better alternatives out there, in fact I wrote an eight page paper on alternatives to vivisection for my final English paper this semester.

[IttyBittyKitty]

Their justification is that so many dogs suffer broken bones as a result of traffic accidents etc, that it is necessary to preform these cruel experiments. If there are that many dogs out there with existing broken bones and so many people who would be too poor to treat them, why not kill two birds with one stone.........

Honestlly, some experiments are just cruel to be cruel.:mad:

[lizbud]

Originally posted by WolfChan
Good for them for standing up against such procedures! Hopefully it will make an impact! There ARE many better alternatives out there, in fact I wrote an eight page paper on alternatives to vivisection for my final English paper this semester.

Good for you WolfChan.:) I'd like to read it sometime.Do you
have it in pdf format to share? As I said earlier, there is an
ongoing & very exciting dedate going on in medical/research
circles & hopefully this practice will be a thing of the past. The
sooner the better IMO. In medical studies & especially pet food
studies, there is absolutely no need to kennel dogs for months
in isolation , bleed them, & then in the end, kill them when the
studies have ended. Maybe they are reluctant to change because
there seems to be a seemingly endless supply of dogs available
to use like this. It's just very cruel & unnecessary.

[Cheshirekatt]

Actually in other countries they do perform this type of experiments on people.

I once worked closely with a docor from China who was appalled to find out there was a waiting list for organ transplants. Apparently in China when someone needed say a kidney they'd simply take a prisoner, shoot him, and harvest whatever they needed. :(

Keep in mind that most of the 'prisoners' there aren't guily of much of anything.

[dukedogsmom]

:o This makes me sick

[Foam]

Why would someone do that!? Ah, people can be SO stupid!!! :mad: :mad:

[DJFyrewolf36]

I marvel at how cruel humans tend to be...
I fail to see with the medical technology we have now how in the hell is killing a dog going to help you assess its healing...wouldnt studying how it walks and recovers be better? How bout focusing on WHY youre healing the dog...to give it a better quality of life...death does not count towards the quality of life duh...

[lizbud]

I was remembering an article I read some time ago by a
Veterinarian who was was reflecting back on his student days.


"What we did to Rodney"

~ Peter M. Henricksen ~

"We called him Rodney.
He was a tall, gangly, flea-bitten shepherd mix. One ear stood up, shepherd style, and the other flopped over and bounced against his head like a rag doll when he ran. His head and feet were too big for his thin but muscular body. A stale, musty odor accompanied him from flea-infested skin and neglected ears. Altogether, he wasn't much to look at - one of thousands of dogs facing the world without the luxury of an owner.

I was in my third year of veterinary school, and he came from the local dog pound. For the next quarter, four of us students would practice surgery training. He was always happy to see us - tail thumping widely against the walls of his small steel cage.

Rodney hadn't much of a life, so a pat on the butt and a little walk around the college complex made his day.

The first thing we did was neuter him, a seemingly benign project, except it took us an hour to complete the usual 20-minute procedure, and an anesthetic overdose kept him out for 36 hours. Afterward, he recovered his strength quickly and felt good.

Two weeks later, we did an abdominal exploratory, opening his abdomen, checking his organ inventory, and closing him again.

This was the first major surgery for any of us, and, with inadequate supervision, we did not close him properly. By the next morning, his incision had opened and he was sitting on his small intestine. Hastily, we sewed him up again, and he survived. But it was a week or more before he could resume walks he had come to eagerly anticipated.

He would still wag his tail when we arrived and greet us with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.

The following week, again when he was under anesthesia, we broke his leg and repaired it with a steel pin. After this, Rodney seemed in almost constant pain, his temperature rose, and he didn't rebound as he had in the past. His resiliency gone, despite antibiotic treatment, he never recovered completely.

He could no longer manage his walks, and our visits generated only a weak thump of his tail. The shine was gone from his brown eyes. His operated leg remained stiff and swollen.

The quarter was ending, and Rodney's days were numbered. One afternoon we put him to sleep. As the life drained from his body and his eyes lost their focus, my attitude toward animal research began to change.

I am a scientist weaned on the scientific method. ... But after 15 years in the veterinary profession, I now believe there are moral and ethical considerations that outweigh benefits.

Because we happen to be the most powerful species on Earth, we humans have the ability - but not the right - to abuse the so-called lower animals. The ends do not justify the means."

[dukedogsmom]

Now that really breaks my heart. I would have refused to participate in anything like that. I'm so proud of those future vets. I just don't see how, when you know you're going into a profession to help animals, you could ever justify the cruelty/mistreatment of them. As I said before, it sickens me and makes me realize how dogs are much better than a lot the the humans that walk this earth.

[lizbud]

Latest Update on Tufts Students Trying to Save Dogs:

Tufts Students Announce Death of Dogs (January 2, 2004)

Regrettably, we have been informed that, despite the efforts of students and the New England Anti-Vivisection Society (NEAVS), as well as the enormous outpouring of public opposition, the five remaining dogs in the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine's osteotomy/bone-breaking study have been killed. Dean Philip Kosch made the announcement in a campus-wide email at 1:00 PM today.

Despite the sad end to this unjustifiable experiment, we are hopeful that the plight of the six dogs will serve to inform us all that more thorough review of all future research protocols must be undertaken at Tufts and at other schools and laboratories across the country. We trust that because of this campaign, the public has become more aware of the inhumane nature of some experimentation and the need for reform to ensure that all research is conducted with the highest level of dignity and respect for the animals involved. Our collective efforts on the dogs' behalf and their death must inspire scientists to actively search for alternatives, including the use of clinical patients, rather than using experimental animal models that cause suffering and death. In addition, we hope that other students and faculty everywhere will come forward and address their administrations when they find ethically questionable activities. Change can only occur if concerns are brought forward and we work together to set a higher standard for the ethical treatment of animals.

The students, NEAVS and many concerned citizens will continue to work with the administration and faculty at Tufts to improve ethical standards of scientific experimentation. We hope that the dialogue inspired by this controversy will motivate those at Tufts to return the veterinary school to its roots as a leader in humane veterinary practice, education and research. We hope that this issue will unite our campus in pursuing this goal.

Thank you to the public for your enormous support. Our courage in making this matter public was upheld by your calls and letters and the well wishes you gave us. We ask that you continue to demand a higher ethical standard for animal experimentation at Tufts and all other research universities and institutions. Finally, we wish to express our sincere gratitude to NEAVS whose work for these dogs and animals in labs everywhere is an inspiration to us and all compassionate people.

Sincerely,
Tara Turner, student co-ordinator
Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine
Animals and Public Policy Program

[ramanth]

:( :( :( RIP sweet pups.