Unthinkable! Couple Caught Selling Hundreds of Dogs to Labs

The illegally purchased dogs came from shelters, the street, even "free to a good home" pet ads. What the hell?!

You might have never given much thought to how medical researchers get dogs for their labs. The truth might be worse than you imagined. 

On Thursday, according to a story by Philly.com, Floyd and Susan Martin pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally purchasing dogs to sell to research facilities. How many dogs? Hundreds of them. To what institutions? Big ones, like Johns Hopkins and Columbia University.

And they received hundreds of thousands of dollars for those dogs, between 2005 and 2010.

The case throws light on the sordid world of dog-dealing for biomedical research. 

According to the Philly.com, the Martins, who are "random source" dog dealers, "bought their animals by the hundreds from shady individuals known as 'bunchers,' who collect dogs from auctions, shelters, the street, theft, and 'free to good home' pet ads."

Authorities say that two bunchers bought hundreds of dogs from different sources in 10 states, then sold them to the Martins for $50 to $75 each. The Martins then sold the dogs to labs for hundreds of dollars in profit per dog. 

"We’re talking about an abuse-ridden system of acquiring animals for research,” said Nancy Blaney, senior federal policy adviser for the Animal Welfare Institute, a national advocacy group. “‘Random source’ is what it sounds like it is. They can get animals from individuals who respond to ‘free to good home’ ads or animals being stolen. We know because they have been traced through microchipping.”

This is not what people had in mind with the Animal Welfare Act of 1966, which attempted to establish humane standards for animals in labs and regulate dealers who sold to them. 

The Martins are Class B or “random source” dog dealers, a designation that is federally sanctioned but controversial. These dealers may purchase dogs from unlicensed bunchers, but no more than 24 dogs per buncher per year. The Martins ran into trouble by buying hundreds of dogs from just two bunchers. 

The silver lining in all this is that only 3 percent of dogs used in biomedical research in the U.S. come from random-source dealers, and that number is decreasing because of the controversy of using former pets as lab subjects. 

Most labs buy from facilities whose dogs are bred for research.

As for the Martins, they made a deal with prosecutors, with Floyd pleading guilty to one count of mail fraud, for which he will serve a year in prison, and Susan pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy, for which she will be placed on probation.

Via Philly.com

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Bigotry, Meet Road Rage: Man Attacks Gay Couple for Walking a Pink Poodle

He verbally and physically assaulted the men, who were doing nothing but walking their dog.

Last Friday, Oregonian David Beltier was walking with his boyfriend, Jeremy Mark, and their pink Poodle, Beauty. (Beauty was pink thanks to a Kool-Aid dye job. Don't worry about that right now.)

They were doing nothing but walking their dog. 

Beltier said, "We weren't holding hands or anything. Just walking the dog like normal."

A man drove by in an SUV and screamed terrible things at them; he used gay slurs, he called them un-American, he said it's "not right for that dog to be that color."

A complete and horrible person, in other words. Also, a violent one. He made a U-turn in his SUV. 

"When he made the U-turn, I knew this was not going to end well," Beltier said. "He burned rubber. He sped up. There was no way he did not want to attack me."

And he did. He jumped out of the truck started swinging, hitting Beltier on the shoulder. Then he returned to his truck for a metal wrench and continued the assault, hitting Beltier behind the ear. Then he drove off.

"Honestly, I feel like the pink poodle provoked him," Beltier said. 

"I'm just thankful he didn't have a more serious weapon like a gun and pull it out," said Jeremy Mark, Beltier's boyfriend.

Thankfully, it didn't take long for police to find him, thanks to many witnesses who recorded his license plate number (and honked, stopped, and generally put a stop to the assault). George Allen Mason Jr. is now in Washington County Jail on a slew of charges, one of them "second-degree intimidation," which is Oregon's bias-crime statute. 

As for that dye job, Beltier says it's non-toxic, harmless fun. It comes out after a few washes. 

Via the Oregonian

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Singing “Therapy” Dog May Get Couple Kicked Out of NYC Co-Op

From left, Julie Hyman, Murray Hyman, Rita Hyman, and Sal Markowicz with Maltese poodles Rocky (in blue plaid) Vegas. (Photo: NY Daily News)

A wee Maltese who likes to accompany his human “grandmother” when she sings may end up getting grandma and grandpa kicked out of their Bronx, NY, co-op.

Rita and Murray Hyman are being evicted from their no-pets co-op because of frequent day-long visits from their daughter’s two Maltese pooches, Rocky and Vegas, reports the Daily News. Rocky is the one whose voice has worn out its welcome around the building, but no dogs means no dogs, say building officials. The Hymans say there are signs for rules for visiting dogs, and think they’re being singled out.

“Rocky gives me a whole different outlook on life and keeps me going,” Rita Hyman, 62, told the newspaper. The paper reports she was left disabled after a 2003 car crash and that she considers Rocky her “therapy dog.”

“They’ve hurt me so much by trying to take away our special relationship,” she said. “Who will I sing with?”

Neighbors would prefer Rita Hyman sing solo, and an appeals court supported their desires. The legal dogfight continues, with the Hymans saying Rocky will keep visiting until their case is completely resolved.

“He’s family to us, and he makes our lives worthwhile,” Murray Hyma, 69, told the Daily News. “We’ll keep fighting until we win.”.

So for now, at least, neighbors will have to deal with the dynamic duo.

What do you think, Dogsters? Is Rocky giving therapy dogs a bad name? Or should he be allowed to visit the Hymans any time and sing his heart out? I’m not so sure there will be a Dogster landslide on either side of this case. I’m interested in seeing the breadth of opinions this story may bring in.

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