Research Beagles go outside for 1st time

[DogKisses]

Very heartwarming video, Beagles that were used for research were released to an organization so they can find homes. This is supposedly the first time they have been on grass or outside.


I don't know what kind of research they were rescued from I was expecting them to look... frankenstein-ish but they look normal. I've seen research horses with wires hanging out and gory stuff so I almost didn't watch this. I'am glad I did though.

http://www.break.com/index/research-beagles-go-outside-for-the-first-time-2236723

 

[Saeleofu]

One of out previous clinic cats was used in a flea study prior to coming to the clinic. She had tattoos in both ears, but aside frmo that she was a perfectly normal cat. Since she had to be handled regularly for research, she was a loveable, cuddly cat. But she HATED HATED HATED having her blood drawn.

I know some vet schools keep beagle colonies. I think the vet school near me uses them for rabies research.

I do wonder if they are exaggerating the lack of experiences for these dogs. The schools that use research dogs that I know of all regularly exercise their dogs - twice a day walks/runs, often outside. I'm not saying that it's impossible the dogs have lived their lives in cages, just that it's not the way the places I know of do it.

 

[DogKisses]

Yeah I wondered about that too. I went to their website to find out and it didn't really answer the question either.

 

[Kat09Tails]

The life of the average American research dog isn't that bad under accredited protocols. It's actually a pretty good life for a dog. Fed, walked, regular attention. Yeah they may not be begging at the table or sleeping on the bed but realistically... does a dog need that? I can't speak to the labs that they're getting these dogs from in France. They may in fact be as horrible as these rescues make them sound

I certainly don't take Never been on grass as a sign of neglect or tattoos as a sign of cruelty. Shoot I have a dog does the same stumble dance here every cold wet morning on the lawn- I also have a dog that'll give you the same look if you open the crate door and put your arm inside.

 

[smkie]

THese guys look pretty weak in the hind legs. Made me tear up. Hope they all get a grand forever home.

 

[JustaLilBitaLuck]

I know some vet schools keep beagle colonies. I think the vet school near me uses them for rabies research.

I do wonder if they are exaggerating the lack of experiences for these dogs. The schools that use research dogs that I know of all regularly exercise their dogs - twice a day walks/runs, often outside. I'm not saying that it's impossible the dogs have lived their lives in cages, just that it's not the way the places I know of do it.

I looked at going to North Dakota State University for my Veterinary Technology degree. They keep a beagle colony/breeding program there. The dogs live their first two (I believe) years of life there, being used for blood draws, physical exams, spay/neuter, etc, and then are adopted out to families in the surrounding areas. The dogs are walked twice daily (as a student, you can "sign up" to walk a beagle around campus), are trained, and are extremely well-socialized with the constant stream of different people.

There are waiting lists for these beagles - everyone wants a medically healthy, well-socialized, well-trained dog.

 

[Ivy]

Vet schools are different than research labs. Schools are under more scrutiny and much more public than a research lab that no ones knows about, therefore those dogs are well taken care of, or the best they can be under the circumstances.

I think the whole tattoo thing wasn't meant to be shown as a sign of cruelty, but a sign that the dogs are just a number instead of a living being with it's own personality/quirks. That's the way I understood it.

I hope they have a great life now that they can be part of a family.

 

[WackyJacki]

I found that video extremely sad and disturbing.... not heartwarming. Those dogs looked under muscled and were very fearful. Glad they have homes now, but let's not delude ourselves about the lives of lab animals....

 

[kady05]

I went with the shelter (Norfolk SPCA) I take pictures at when they went to a research lab that was (supposedly) being closed down.. it wasn't a nice place. For once, PETA did something decent, they were the ones who investigated and got the lab to shut down.

You can read about it here: http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_news/norfolk/peta-investigation-reveals-animal-abuse

The first video is of the dogs arriving to the SPCA, second & third are clips from the PETA investigation (I'm sure if you looked into it, you could fine the actual video, I just don't have time at the moment).

I remember when we got there, it was almost like a hostage situation. We sat in the 95 degree heat for HOURS with other shelters, just waiting for the staff at the lab to let people go in to get dogs. They were SUPER paranoid about cameras (I went because they wanted me to take pictures) and said if they saw anyone taking pictures, no dogs would be released.

Our shelter was supposed to take 30 something dogs, but they only gave us 19 or so. There was a specific Dalmatian we wanted and we watched them walk her across a field, into another building. When asked about her, they said the "she was gone". Hmm..

The dogs we pulled weren't too terrible looking. They were pretty scared though. My thinking is that they gave shelters the dogs that looked pretty decent, and kept back the ones that looked bad (the Dalmatian was one who has visible sores, etc. in the PETA videos).

Scary to think that this lab was like 30min. from my house

 

[PWCorgi]

Vet schools are different than research labs. Schools are under more scrutiny and much more public than a research lab that no ones knows about, therefore those dogs are well taken care of, or the best they can be under the circumstances.

I can see why this may be true.
And as much as I HATE HATE HATE Science Diet, they also have a beagle colony that is very well taken care of given the situation. They all have names and badges that say what they like (toys, walks, snuggling, etc) and the employees that care for them also get to take dogs home overnight and stuff like that. They even have a massive playground that they get to play on for hours each day. Obviously it's not as ideal as a home, but honestly I bet it's way better than getting stuck on a chain in the backyard for years.

 

[Southpaw]

I looked at going to North Dakota State University for my Veterinary Technology degree. They keep a beagle colony/breeding program there. The dogs live their first two (I believe) years of life there, being used for blood draws, physical exams, spay/neuter, etc, and then are adopted out to families in the surrounding areas. The dogs are walked twice daily (as a student, you can "sign up" to walk a beagle around campus), are trained, and are extremely well-socialized with the constant stream of different people.

There are waiting lists for these beagles - everyone wants a medically healthy, well-socialized, well-trained dog.

I just don't like the sound of that. =/
At my school we had cats and dogs from various shelters and rescue groups. We socialized them, trained them, did bloodwork and any other procedures or treatments they needed, thus making them more adoptable. It was a great way to help out the animals and the shelters, and oftentimes students would fall in love with the animals after working with them so frequently and would adopt them themselves.
That makes more sense to me, to help out the dogs that already need it, than to create more for the same purpose.

I had a hard time believing at first that this was really their first time evarrr out of the cage/on grass, but they do look really weak.

 

[JessLough]

I don't know what kind of research they were rescued from I was expecting them to look... frankenstein-ish but they look normal. I've seen research horses with wires hanging out and gory stuff so I almost didn't watch this. I'am glad I did though.

Generally, if they are going to be rehomed, there is strict guidelines on what could have happened. Like, nothing harmful injected into them, etc.

When we got the lab ferrets, they had to gaurentee that there was nothing injected into any of them that would be harmful to their health and/or decrease their life span... in our case we just had a few that were injected with something that is similar to baby aspirin in humans.

 

[JessLough]

I just don't like the sound of that. =/
At my school we had cats and dogs from various shelters and rescue groups. We socialized them, trained them, did bloodwork and any other procedures or treatments they needed, thus making them more adoptable. It was a great way to help out the animals and the shelters, and oftentimes students would fall in love with the animals after working with them so frequently and would adopt them themselves.
That makes more sense to me, to help out the dogs that already need it, than to create more for the same purpose.

I had a hard time believing at first that this was really their first time evarrr out of the cage/on grass, but they do look really weak.

This. Also rabbits and rats and guinea pigs XD

 

[Aleron]

I can see why this may be true.
And as much as I HATE HATE HATE Science Diet, they also have a beagle colony that is very well taken care of given the situation. They all have names and badges that say what they like (toys, walks, snuggling, etc) and the employees that care for them also get to take dogs home overnight and stuff like that. They even have a massive playground that they get to play on for hours each day. Obviously it's not as ideal as a home, but honestly I bet it's way better than getting stuck on a chain in the backyard for years.

Same with Iams, except they don't have a Beagle Colony and have an adoption program as well.

 

[JustaLilBitaLuck]

I just don't like the sound of that. =/
At my school we had cats and dogs from various shelters and rescue groups. We socialized them, trained them, did bloodwork and any other procedures or treatments they needed, thus making them more adoptable. It was a great way to help out the animals and the shelters, and oftentimes students would fall in love with the animals after working with them so frequently and would adopt them themselves.
That makes more sense to me, to help out the dogs that already need it, than to create more for the same purpose.

I had a hard time believing at first that this was really their first time evarrr out of the cage/on grass, but they do look really weak.

That's what we do at my school, too. We get them from various rescues/shelters (we get a lot of animals from Northwoods Humane Society), and our teachers often bring their animals in for us to "practice" on as well.

Plus, then we get experience working with various types/sizes of animals, with varying temperaments - they're not all 2-year Beagles.

 

[AgilityPup]

Those "first steps" look pretty legit to me. And then the sling shot one of them makes out of the crate and to the human. Made me tear up a little.

 

[GoingNowhere]

There's a bunch of beagles at the vet school here as well. They also have a few smallish mutts, but most are young adult beagles. To be completely honest, while I do feel bad for the lives of the dogs, especially considering how "people-oriented" beagles are, I almost consider them service dogs in their own right. They "serve" the vet student body for a few years and are then adopted out and replaced with new beagles. It can't be a nice life for the dogs during their stay, but they're comfortable enough and the students need to learn somehow. Granted, I do think that a rescue type idea might be smart (i.e. pulling dogs on death row and using them instead), but I'm sure it's been brought up before and denied for one reason or another. I don't honestly have a clue, but my best guess would be that it has something to do with the lack of background/knowledge on the dogs. Apart from their use for practicing exams, blood draws, etc, I'd imagine that some of the dogs are also part of various research projects, and being able to say that they are all 'X' breed, 'Y' age, and have 'Z' medical history creates far fewer confounds for any research experiment.

The dogs at the vet school here are all quite human and dog friendly albeit quite under-socialized with the greater world since they probably don't get outside more than once every few days or so. I used to walk them now and again when I could through a club set up for that purpose, but recently it hasn't worked out logistically with my schedule.

In my mind, it's a "lesser of two evils" type of situation. Fortunately, from what I've seen, the requirements are pretty stringent for performing research on vertebrate non-human animals in the USA these days.

 

[stafinois]

It really varies according to the research they are being used in. A lot of medical research facilities can't have any cross contamination or risk exposure to a variety of things. The dogs were walking like adult dogs that have never been exposed to a certain type of surface. It's likely that these dogs may not have ever been outdoors before.

 

[Dekka]

I do think that a rescue type idea might be smart (i.e. pulling dogs on death row and using them instead), but I'm sure it's been brought up before and denied for one reason or another. I don't honestly have a clue, but my best guess would be that it has something to do with the lack of background/knowledge on the dogs. Apart from their use for practicing exams, blood draws, etc, I'd imagine that some of the dogs are also part of various research projects, and being able to say that they are all 'X' breed, 'Y' age, and have 'Z' medical history creates far fewer confounds for any research experiment.

Lab beagles are like lab rats and mice. They are very particularly bred to have certain known characteristics/genetics. So depending on what the research is you kind of need to go with them.

 

[Linds]

Is there a reason Beagles in particular are used upposed to another breed?