As first reported in Military Times, White Coat Waste Project has just filed a complaint with the Department of Veterans Affairs Inspector General requesting an investigation into new evidence of abuses in dog experimentation laboratories at the McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in Richmond, Virginia.

WCW’s new investigation has documented that McGuire VAMC staff currently conduct experiments on dogs as young as 1-year-old that include:

• implanting devices in dogs’ chests to induce irregular heartbeats
• severing their nerves to cut off brain control of their hearts
• forcing them to run on treadmills to stress their compromised hearts, and
• killing them and cutting their hearts out

If these details weren’t horrific enough, WCW’s research has revealed that at McGuire VAMC:

• Staff repeatedly botched invasive surgeries on dogs resulting in deaths and injuries, in violation of federal law
• An incompetent doctor who was banned from performing animal experiments for being “reckless” has apparently been allowed to continue treating vulnerable veterans
• Management has inaccurately reported the number of dogs used in experiments, in violation of federal law
• Management has failed to publicly disclose the costs and other details of dog experiments

Congresswoman Dina Titus (D-NV), who co-hosted a briefing this winter to help release WCW’s “Spending to Death” report on dog experimentation, told Military Times that WCW’s Veterans Affairs complaint outlines an “apparent pattern of dog abuse” and tweeted,

Congressman Ed. Royce (R-CA), chairman of the powerful Foreign Affairs committee and outspoken advocate for VA reforms and critic of secretive and wasteful federal dog experimentation also told the paper:

Just as the VA was held accountable for delivering subpar care to our nation’s veterans, it should answer for the possible abuse of animals and waste of taxpayer funds on haphazard research. Members of both parties have asked the federal government to take a closer look at the animal research it administers, in an effort to save innocent animals from harm and reduce expenses when viable alternatives to animal-based testing exist.

The Inspector General has confirmed that the agency will be reviewing the evidence, but we need your help, too.