VA: Fatal dog experiments moving ahead despite criticism from Congress, veterans groups

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs is pushing forward with invasive and ultimately fatal experiments on dogs as part of the VA’s medical research program, according to documents obtained by USA TODAY.

The controversial procedures previously sparked outrage and opposition from some veterans’ advocates and prompted strict restrictions from Congress. The VA says the studies could produce discoveries that may help veterans suffering from spinal cord or breathing problems.

In Milwaukee, the experiments call for researchers to remove sections of dogs’ brains to test neurons that control breathing before the animals are killed by lethal injection, research records show.

In Cleveland, tests involve using electrodes on dogs’ spinal cords to measure cough reflexes before and after severing the cords.

In Richmond, Virginia, experiments include implanting pacemakers in dogs, then inducing abnormal heart rhythms and running the animals on treadmills to test cardiac function before euthanizing them by injection or draining their blood. 

VA spokesman Curt Cashour said former secretary David Shulkin approved the continuation of the experiments on March 28, the same day he was fired by President Donald Trump.

But Shulkin told USA TODAY on Monday that he “wasn’t asked, nor did I request a review for an approval,” of the ongoing dog experiments. He said he delegated that responsibility to the agency’s research specialists. 

Whether he – or his successor – signed off on them is important because a law Trump signed on March 23 requires that dog experiments be “directly approved” by the VA secretary to receive agency funding. It doesn’t specify written permission. Cashour said Shulkin gave the go-ahead orally in an early-afternoon meeting March 28 with five other top VA executives.

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Revelations that the tests are set to continue under new VA Secretary Robert Wilkie are sure to trigger a fresh round of debate. The records reviewed by USA TODAY show there are nine active experiments at four VA facilities, and more are likely  in the future. 

More:VA tightens oversight after outrage over conducting experiments on dogs, then killing them

VA: ‘Ethically sound’

VA officials contend the research could lead to discoveries that may help veterans with heart conditions or breathing problems, which can accompany paralysis. Cashour said researchers use dogs “only when no other species would provide meaningful results and the work is ethically sound.” The VA says more than 99 percent of agency studies involve rats or mice.

When asked to cite the most recent breakthroughs credited to the VA dog research, Cashour pointed to the invention of an implantable cardiac pacemaker and procedures that led to the first successful liver transplant. Those experiments date to the 1960s, according to the VA’s website.

Lawmakers who have been pushing to end invasive dog experiments at the VA say they are disappointed the agency’s new leadership is moving forward with the testing.   

“Why there’s this commitment to it, I don’t know because it doesn’t yield any results,” said Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., lead co-sponsor of a bill with Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va., that would stop the experiments. “It’s not economically sound, they could be looking at new technologies, and morally people just don’t support testing on puppies.”

Although they were glad Trump signed the legislation in March requiring the VA secretary’s approval to fund the experiments, Titus, Brat and Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., said they will continue pushing to stop them altogether.

“We haven’t executed what we wanted as intent, which was to bring this to an end in its entirety,” said Mast, a veteran who lost both his legs in Afghanistan and is now a member of the House VA Committee.

Botched surgeries

The issue started gaining traction with lawmakers in spring 2017, when an advocacy group, White Coat Waste Project, released documents showing VA researchers in Richmond had botched surgeries on dogs.

Within months, the House unanimously passed legislation to defund the experiments, but the measure stalled in the Senate after VA officials launched a public campaign to stop it.

That campaign included getting support from veterans’ groups, such as The American Legion and Paralyzed Veterans of America. It also included an op-ed by Shulkin, the now-former VA secretary, published in USA TODAY outlining the need for the canine testing.

Before he was fired, Shulkin said his views on the subject had changed, and he put a moratorium on new experiments beginning without his permission. In March, he ordered that all ongoing studies be reviewed by VA research executives. 

Cashour, the VA spokesman, said that review concluded dogs are “the only viable models” for nine experiments. 

In a letter to lawmakers obtained by USA TODAY, the VA said they include the tests on spinal cords in Cleveland, brains in Milwaukee, the five heart experiments in Richmond and another cardiac study in St. Louis.

Four studies were discontinued or paused after the review. Researchers determined mice could be used instead of dogs for a Los Angeles experiment on narcolepsy, and pigs could be used for a Milwaukee study on blood flow. Another brain experiment in Milwaukee was put on hold for further review, and a second Los Angeles experiment was closed out.

When asked what the new secretary’s views are on dog experiments, Cashour pointed to Shulkin’s op-ed from last summer and said the VA’s position is unchanged under Wilkie.

Still, the VA recently commissioned a $1.3 million study overseen by the National Academy of Sciences to evaluate the need for dogs as research subjects.

“This is important to ensure that the debate surrounding this issue is grounded in careful analysis that takes into account the full context of the issue,” Cashour said.

Call to suspend experiments

White Coat Waste Project, the group that started the campaign to end the experiments, says they should be suspended until the study is completed.

“I think it calls into question the integrity of the VA’s intentions if it is going to continue funding and conducting dog experiments that it has just paid an organization over a million dollars to scrutinize,” said Justin Goodman, the vice president of advocacy and public policy for the organization.

Some veterans’ groups that supported the experiments last year did not return messages seeking confirmation of their continued support, including The American Legion and Vietnam Veterans of America. 

Paul Rieckhoff, CEO and founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said his group still backs the experiments as long as they are done the right way. 

“We’re not advocating all dog research per se, but when done ethically, it can lead to medical breakthroughs,” he said.

But Paralyzed Veterans of America, which initially expressed support for continuing dog testing, told USA TODAY its position has since evolved. 

“We no longer oppose efforts to end VA fatal medical research on dogs,” spokeswoman Liz Deakin said.

The group’s former executive director, a Marine veteran who was paralyzed in a vehicle accident as he prepared to deploy to Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks, also has rescinded his support.

Sherman Gillums Jr., who is now chief strategy officer at American Veterans, said after reviewing the science and speaking to experts at the VA and elsewhere, he concluded the dog experiments haven’t translated to human medical advances for decades.

“It’s time for us to look at better ways and spend money smarter than we’ve done it in the past – especially if it’s going to involve causing pain to the same animals that most veterans need as service dogs,” he told USA TODAY. “To imagine them in cages being tested on with no real outcome that gives anybody hope, it just seems cruel.”