Were dogs that are used in medical classes(and ultimately euthanized) ones that were going to be anyways?

Question

Sixty dogs are going to be examined internally while anesthetized at the Medical College of Wisconsin for a class this month. Then they'll be put to sleep and there is an uproar. The Humane Society puts dogs to sleep every week, so are they using dogs that would have been euthanized anyway? This hasn't been mentioned in the articles I've read about this issue.

Answer 1

i have never heard about something like this .why do people have to be so cruel you would think they already done enough to animals in this world but i guess i was wrong..bummer

Answer 2

There is an experimental lab here where I live that uses Beagles as test subjects. They graft different animal skin to these dogs to see if the immune system will grow that particular skin or reject it. Chicken skin, pig skin etc. They do many other tests on them but this lab in on a military base and apparently not subject to the laws that govern this type of testing.

It is located on a part of the base where most civilians never go so no one hardly knows anything about it, except if you are near you can hear them barking, whining, crying etc.

The dogs that they use are euthanized when they get so that they can no longer use the dog or if the dog just goes down hill because of the testing.

When I first was aware of what the place was it made me vomit. Tore at my heart strings, I cried. I had just eaten lunch with a friend who worked on base.

The dogs they use are specifically breed for their purposes. It is susposed to be a secret lab but there are not too many people who know about it.

It is a very sad state of affairs.

Answer 3

The real issue isn't whether or not they'd have been put down anyway, its the fact that are better, more humane, and more cost effective ways to teach what they are trying to teach.

I don't think dogs should be used in this way when there are better methods.

As far as veterinary colleges that used to do the same thing, alot of them are now having students spay and neuter dogs and cats as part of schooling. This way they get surgery anatomy experience, and they help save lives as well.

Answer 4

Perhaps its not as widespread nowadays, but labs used to pay for dogs they used. There were actually individuals that would go around and steal family pets and sell them to labs. A lot of research places do have their own kennels and raise their own dogs so that they can predict the type of dog they are going to end up with. For instance, Purina raises beagles and those are the dogs the Dog Chow foods are tested on. I never let my dogs run loose. Would hate for one to end up being an experiment.

Answer 5

Yes, they likely would have been euthanized anyways. Sometimes they have severe behavioral issues or sometimes the owner donates their dying dog. Sometimes they come from shelters...I'm hopefully going to vet school next year and that is one of the questions they asked us about in the interview. Us future vets have to learn somewhere and at least then we will be able to save future lives because of those animals' sacrifice.

Answer 6

Most vet schools take about to be euthanized dogs, but I hear of some who don't. If it's an experment, they need to buy dogs from the same litter to have it as controlled as possible.

Answer 7

Usually these animals come from shelters. Research laboratories actually buy specially bred animals for their research. Unfortunately, not every animal can be saved. So to answer your question, I believe these animals would have been euthanized anyway.

Answer 8

This is not normal and not how vets are trained, they learn while working at vets offices and in school not killing animals. I can tell you that for sure. I am in an uproar over this. It makes me sick.