Group claims U. hurts dogs

A photo of a dog on a respirator being injected with narcotics and other kinds of drugs is representative of "a dog's life" at the University, according to an advertisement that has appeared in The Daily Pennsylvanian over the last two weeks. The ad -- paid for by the American Anti-Vivisection Society -- states that Anesthesia Professor Norig Ellison is using dogs in a laboratory class in order for medical students to observe the effects of narcotics and other drugs on the dog. After the lab sessions, the dogs are killed and discarded, the advertisement claims. But Ellison, who is also vice chairperson of the anesthesia department, does not use dogs in his lab class anymore, according to University spokesperson Barbara Beck. "The University is constantly in search of new and different technology so animals don't have to be used at all," Beck said. AAVS Director Dean Smith said his organization had not been informed of the Medical School's decision not to use dogs in their curriculum when the ad was placed. According to College junior Carrie Kramer, president of the Penn Society for Animal Rights, the information for the ad was obtained from University medical students and Peg Carlson, a member of the Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine, who had interviewed Ellison about the dog labs earlier this year. "Indications were that they had not stopped the dog lab and as of yet we still haven't heard anything from the University," Smith said. Beck said that the decision was made last fall to discontinue using dogs. "The University has pledged to uphold the highest standards in medical research," she added. But Beck did not know if any of the public interest groups had been informed of the change in policy. "Had we heard from the University we would have been happy to pull that ad," Smith said. "We just wanted to see the end of the dog labs." A protest will be held tomorrow at noon on College Green in conjunction with the last day of World Lab Animals Week. There will also be a public forum on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Houston Hall. Ellison was invited to attend the forum but he informed AAVS that no one would be able to represent the Medical School. Last semester AAVS sponsored a protest opposing Neurosurgery Professor Thomas Gennarelli's head injury research that involves pigs and baboons.