A large, mixed-breed dog was anesthetized for purposes of demonstrating a medical device at a Cleveland Clinic. Afterwards it had to be euthanized because of the damage inflicted by the aneurysm to its brain.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is now launching a probe into the death of the dog.
The surgeon had requested permission for use of the dog from the clinic's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. There seem to be conflicting statements from the clinic as to whether permission had been granted or as to what type of permission was granted, however.
In one statement, the committee claimed it had not yet even reviewed the surgeon's request when he went ahead and performed the procedure on the dog. In fact, they claimed they would have rejected the request.
In a released statement, the clinic said: "As an academic medical center, Cleveland Clinic does not allow procedures with animals for the sole purpose of sales training. The situation that occurred yesterday was unauthorized and not in compliance with our policy."
A slightly different version was given in a letter sent to the USDA by the clinic. There it was stated the committee okayed the aneurysm being induced in the dog but did not give permission for the use of the medical device. At the same time, the clinic said the committee did not give approval for the use of the dog in the workshop.
PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals),had been tipped about the neurosurgeon's procedure by an insider at the clinic. It is now attempting to get the doctor's medical license and board certification revoked.
If you understand that in an aneurysm the blood vessels or arteries bulge and eventually burst, then what the neurosurgeon did is disgusting. Whether the committee permitted the use of the medical device or not, the aneurysm itself would have caused either death or such severe brain damage that the dog would have to have been euthanized as it was.
This is nothing short of callous disregard for life.
