Wednesday, December 07, 2011

Pups and Downs

Bet this makes you cry.

Certainly made me cry.

Beagles released from lab, first time they have ever stepped out of their cage, walked on grass, seen the sun.

(Update: Commenter makes a good point. So let's elaborate. I could put up a video about how beautiful deer are, or how noble pigs are. But I would still quite happily kill them and eat their lip-smacking delicious flesh. This video is sweet because it shows some very gentle little dogs getting out of cages where they have lived. But we should credit the research being done, of which these dogs are a critical part. You can't let the dogs run around, because they would be exposed to all sorts of outside influences, contagions, and substances that would render the treatment vs control inference invalid. It might be possible to hold the dogs in slightly better conditions, but that would be a LOT more expensive, at a time when it is not clear we are going to fund research AT ALL. So let's all say "awww..." at the sweet beagles. But let's thank the researchers for their valuable work. These dogs were not "rescued." They were retired, after useful service, just as if they were police dogs or sniffer dogs.)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

From the comments section where the video is (not mine):

Ok, I can feel the hate for this coming on, but I actually work for a preclinical lab, and while we know not all labs are the same, I can say the few beagles we have at my work are HAMS for attention no matter how much ya give them so it was no surprise to me that these guys enjoyed some lovin'. Our dogs have names, get daily playtime with their friends and toys, and do not live in tiny little cages. But Dear Njcurtis, they "weren't the best on their feet" in the grass more likely because it's just a bizarre texture to them. Puppy mill dogs that get their freedom go through the same experience. They'll run on certain surfaces but recoil at others until they get used to it. My dog at home used to think snow was just mind-blowing.

This is not to say I love animal research or anything. We give them the best we can since they're there though. (we're vet techs and veterinarians, rescue runners and pet owners, not animal-haters) And I know there are people that are going to fire back that there are alternate methods and such, but trying to explain that there really..isn't quite yet for what we do, probably will go nowhere. Believe me, I would be perfectly fine if those new methods put me out of a caretaking job.

BUT, I absolutely love that these guys got to leave and get homes though and be the mischievous little critters that beagles are. :) It's something every dog deserves. Now if only we could save all the creatures sitting in shelters and rescues right now.

Anonymous said...

What will happen when they let children run free?

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