Friday. July 15, 2005

DOGS GIVE THEIR LIVES… AND GET THEM BACK… TO BENEFIT HUMANS by SCOOPS, News Hound

Here’s a story from the “land down-under” written by Nick Buchan of NEWS.com.au that’s a spin on dogs giving their lives to save man.

According to the article, the Safar Center for Resuscitation Research (SCRR), part of the University of Pittsburgh, has been reanimating dogs after they’ve been clinically dead for three or so hours.

Using a technique that it developed, SCRR drains the dogs’ veins of blood and refills them with an ice-cold salt solution bringing body temperature to about 7C, compared with the usual 37C, thereby inducing a state of hypothermia before death. While the dogs’ tissues and organs are perfectly “preserved”, the animals are considered scientifically dead, as they stop breathing and have no heartbeat or brain activity.

About three hours later, the dogs’ blood is replaced and they are given 100% oxygen and electric shocks to restart their hearts. According to tests done afterwards, the resuscitated dogs are “perfectly normal” with no brain damage.

A statement posted on SCRR’s web site, http://www.safar.pitt.edu/content/news/2005/news/statement.htm, dated 6/30/05 declares “All investigations using animals at the Center are carried out with general anesthesia comparable to the standards used in the treatment of human beings. Rigorous attention is paid to the use of pain medications, national standards for ensuring the general welfare of the animals are adhered to, and there is stringent oversight by the veterinary staff of the University of Pittsburgh.” The statement continues with “The University's biomedical research programs have a rich history of improving the human condition through landmark discoveries such as the Salk polio vaccine, organ transplantation and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). None of these achievements would have been possible without research employing animal models.”

The bottom line is that once again dogs are making a difference in the lives of their best friends and the efforts of Safar Center’s dogs will ultimately save the lives of battlefield casualties and the victims of stabbings or gunshot wounds, who have suffered huge blood loss. Now if only we canines could only make the world a better place by eliminating stabbings, shootings and war!