Medical Experiments Conducted on Puppies

"[We will] immediately cease research studies involving dogs [following consultation with the province]." 

"We acknowledge that this will have a significant impact on the ground-breaking research that has resulted in major strides in cardiac care and treatment, and on the dedicated teams involved in this work."

"The government of Ontario is an important partner in every aspect of our work."

Lawson Research Institute, St. Josephs Hospital, London

 

"I was deeply disturbed by last week's reports of inhumane medical research taking place on dogs at St. Joseph's Health Care London and immediately reached out to raise my concerns."

"I'm pleased that St. Joseph's has agreed to immediately stop this research. Our government will always act to ensure that any medial research is carried out in an ethical and humane manner."

Ontario Premier Doug Ford

 

"This is unbelievable. We need to keep this momentum up until these dogs are released and we see actual results."

"Some of them are completely healthy. They haven't even had their heart attack yet. But even the ones that've had heart attacks deserve a long life."

"One dog was supposed to be euthanized in a couple of weeks, so this came at the perfect time."

Lawson Research Institute employee/whistleblower 

Photos of dogs in cages taken by staff at Lawson Research Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital in London, Ont. Researchers there are inducing heart attacks in puppies and young dogs then killing them and removing their hearts for study. Photo by Supplied

 

For decades cardiac research at St. Joseph's Hospital in London secretly induced hart attacks in dogs. Their secret was revealed when Investigative Journalism Bureau undertook an investigation, and the result of that investigation was published and became public knowledge. The IJB, in tandem with Postmedia, published the details of the investigation into the dog experimentation program at the St. Joseph's Hospital that had been so shrouded in secrecy even the staff that worked on other floors were unaware of its practise.

 

Clandestine experiments were revealed where animals were forced into heart attacks lasting as long as three hours, according to internal study protocol documents reviewed by journalists and experts. Interviews with two whistleblowers, along with internal documents, images and videos, represented the base of the story detailing surreptitious purchase of dogs from a U.S. breeder, bringing them into the hospital through its receiving doors, dogs in covered cages, to be taken up to the "secret sixth floor" where the experimental lab was located. 

 

Photos of puppies in cages staff say were taken at Lawson Research Institute at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London, Ont. The dogs are induced with heart attacks lasting up to three hours, and then killed. National Post 

 

Following inducing of the heart attacks on the dogs, their hearts were analyzed with the use of MRI and PET scanning machines. Eventually the puppies were euthanized, their hearts removed for ongoing study purposes. With the death of the dogs, their carcasses were placed in garbage bags, stuffed into barrels for removal. To the whistleblowers the sudden shuttering of the program arrived as a great relief. They have hopes for the future of the eight dogs currently being held at the hospital.

 

Staff were warned not to discuss any of the work carried out at the lab; not to mention anything to colleagues. They were instructed to blast loud music in an effort to mask barking from being heard anywhere else in the hospital. They had to be careful when disposing of dog food bags lest they be seen by other, uninvolved hospital staff. Photos and a video from within the lab show the dogs in cages, feces evident, and no beds. A video documented a dog lying and whimpering in high-pitched whistles following a procedure.

 

Over a  hundred people gathered at a vigil outside the hospital to protest on the dogs' behalf and condemn the use of dogs in research on Saturday afternoon. In response to the public outcry, the hospital stated that the publicly funded research is approved and "adheres to the highest standards of, and is in compliance with, all scientific and ethics protocols". The research requires dogs, they explained,  because "other effective models don't yet exist for this specific line of inquiry." 

 

"Ending St. Joseph's cruel and outdated dog research program is a major victory for the innocent dogs who were forced to endure invasive, painful experiments and death behind closed doors" stated Camille Labchuk, executive director of Animal Justice which is calling on St. Joseph's to rehome the dogs. 

 

Puppies in a cage a whistleblower says was taken at the Lawson Research Institute at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London, Ont. The dogs are used for heart research. University of Toronto Dalla Lama School of Public Health

"Dogs are not 50-pound humans ... They have distinctly different anatomy. They have different genetic characteristics that do not translate to humans."

"You can't do anything to make them  transferable to human medicine."

Dr. John Pippin, cardiovascular surgeon  

 

"Most people understand that when the blood supply to an organ is shut off in the case of a heart attack, it's excruciatingly painful. Dogs don't get that kind of heart attack; they don't suffer from heart attacks like humans."

"[It is clear the researchers tried to keep their work] under wraps."

"Only now that it has become public, do they decide to stop these heinous experiments."

Nicholas Dodman, professor emeritus, Tufts Veterinary School, Boston