The Dog Days of Summer Spells DEATH for the Dogs at OSU

Every month, since 1994, P.O.E.T. attends the OSU animal care and use committee meetings where we learn about the protocols that have been approved and other information concerning animal use on campus. Prior to the meeting is another task we do which is a review of the Animal Disposition Records. The Animal Welfare Act states that records for dogs and cats be kept and maintained. The record indicates who supplied the dog or cat, the sex and type of dog or cat, and when the dog or cat arrived at the facility, who will be using the dog or cat, and the disposition of the dog or cat. That is the worst part, knowing that each piece of paper that we turn and document was a living dog or cat that is now dead.

During the P.O.E.T. review on August 23, 2007 we turned over 24 pages. These are the dogs killed between the July and August reviews.

Five animal researchers used the dogs which this month all came from Robert Perry, a USDA Class B dealer.

Richard Tallman, who had been chairperson of the OSU IACUC until he was replaced when OSU was placed on probation by AAALAC, used one dog for protocol, 2004A0143, a class CT513 - Applied Circulation Technology. This class is to teach students whose job duties will include maintaining the movement of oxygen rich blood (extracorporal circulation) under circumstances where the body is unable to perform these tasks.

Dog ID #2774 arrived at OSU on August 1, 2007. He was delivered by Robert Perry who had obtained the dog from an individual in Hazel Green, Kentucky on May 31, 2006. By the end of Wednesday, August 1st, the dog was dead.

George Billman used three (3) dogs for his exercise protocol. P.O.E.T. has held and will continue to hold demonstrations against Billman's experiments and his use of dogs. More information can be found by going to our site, http://www.poetwill.org/billman_dogs.htm

Dog ID # 2900 arrived June 11,2007 and killed July 27, 2007
Dog ID # 2911 arrived June 11,2007 and killed July 23, 2007
Dog ID # 2927 arrived June 11,2007 and killed July 10, 2007

Chandan K. Sen used six (6) dogs in protocol 2006A0248, Treatment of Canine Focal Cerebral Ischemia with Natural Vitamin E. Funded by NIH and previously using mice the experiment is to investigate "neurodegeneration following brain stroke and the efficacy of natural forms of vitamin E to prevent such damage." Seventy-five (75) dogs were approved for this work.

The dogs are placed on a vitamin E deficient diet 10 to 12 weeks until the time of the stroke surgery. During that time the dogs will receive a supplement of vitamin E or a placebo for vitamin E. To produce a stroke a micro-balloon is implanted and the balloon inflated for 60 minutes to produce a stroke. The dog is maintained under anesthesia while MRI imaging is performed to verify the stroke. The dogs are allowed to recover. On day 7, the dogs are killed.

There will be a small number of dogs who will be used as training to establish the balloon stroke technique. The dogs recently received are assumed to be for that training.

Dog ID # 2878 a male 2 year old black & tan coonhound arrived July 9, 2007 and killed July 13, 2007
Dog ID # 2932 a male 3 year old white & black coonhound arrived July 9, 2007 and killed July 13, 2007
Dog ID # 2850 a male 2 year old foxhound arrived July 13, 2007 and killed July 27, 2007
Dog ID # 2933 a male 4 year old foxhound arrived July 13, 2007 and killed August 2, 2007
Dog ID # 2934 a female arrived August 6, 2007 and killed August 9, 2007
Dog ID # 2860 a male 2 year old white & brown coonhound arrived August 8, 2007 and killed August 17, 2007

Jeffrey Hazey used twelve (12) dogs in protocol 2006A0112, Novel Repair Techniques of Gastro-Intestinal Perforations: A Feasibilty Study. The aims of the study are to "develop and test a technique for the repair of perforations of the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract using minimally invasive approaches, to validate the use of GORE Inc. soft tissue patch for the treatment of upper GI perforation and develop an endoscopic delivery system for using our prosthetic biomaterial for repair of upper GI perforations."

Dogs will undergo a gastronomy and the perforation repaired. Dogs are observed after surgery and killed at 1, 2,4,6, and 12 week intervals.

Thirty-five (35) dogs were originally approved for use but already the investigator has filed an amendment requesting an additional twenty (20) dogs. The additional dogs were requested as some of the dogs are not showing the symptoms normally associated with such a perforation.

Dog ID # 2811 a female foxhound born June 7, 2006 arrived July 13, 2007 and killed July 19, 2007
Dog ID # 2810 a female foxhound born June 7, 2006 arrived July 18, 2007 and killed August 10, 2007
Dog ID # 2821 a female foxhound born July 21, 2006 arrived July 18, 2007 and killed August 10, 2007
Dog ID # 2938 a 16 month old female foxhound arrived July 18, 2007 and killed August 10, 2007
Dog ID # 2896 a female foxhound arrived July 13, 2007 and killed August 10, 2007
Dog ID # 2816 a foxhound born July 21, 2006 arrived July 25, 2007 and killed August 17, 2007
Dog ID # 2804 a male foxhound born May 28, 2006 arrived July 25, 2007 and killed August 17, 2007
Dog ID # 2952 a male 2.5 year old, white with brown ears and brown around the eyes foxhound arrived July 15, 2007 and killed August 17, 2007
Dog ID # 2837 a male 2 year old foxhound arrived July 31, 2007 and killed August 17, 2007
Dog ID # 2645 a male 16 month old foxhound arrived July 31, 2007 and killed August 17, 2007
Dog ID # 2962 a male 2 year old coonhound arrived August 6, 2007 and killed August 23, 2007
Dog ID # 2828 a foxhound born July 14, 2006 arrived August 6, 2007 and killed August 23, 2007

Jay L. Zweir - used two(2) dogs in protocol 2002A0107, Free Radicals and Post Ischemic Injury. Originally approved to use 4,324 rats and 1,026 mice over the years the protocol has increased the number of rats (+218) and mice (+2,760) and added new species of 5 pigs, 100 rabbits, and 13 dogs. During the August IACUC meeting an amendment was introduced to add an additional 60 dogs.

The goal of the project is to characterize the interactions between the pathways of oxygen free radical and nitric oxide generation, and determine how this influences cardiac injury following a heart attack. A portion of the study will use an animal model of heart attack. This is an NIH funded experiment.

In addition to additional animals being used procedures have also been added. In December of 2005 an amendment was approved to place mice in a cigarette smoke inhalation device to understand if smoking might "exacerbate ischemic injury."

The amendment to use dogs was approved in June 2006. The August 2007 amendment will create a heart attack in the dogs with the procedure to induce a heart attack having a mortality rate of 20%, the dogs will not recover from the procedure, therefore those dogs are not used in the experiment.

Dog ID # 2796 a male 2 year old foxhound arrived July 14, 2007 and was killed August 2, 2007
Dog ID # 2877 a male 3 year old beige & light red greyhound arrived July 31, 2007 and was killed August 5, 2007

The above record of our review occurs every month. The dogs identified here are just a small sampling of the hundreds of dogs killed every month on the OSU campus. Classes begin September 19th which means the dog numbers will continue to rise as dogs are used in the Wet Labs and other instructional courses which use animals.