• The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has funneled nearly $12 million in taxpayer funds to the University of Utah for a series of ongoing, deadly heart experiments on dogs. 
• Documents obtained by White Coat Waste (WCW) through state and federal open records requests reveal that 180 dogs — mostly young hounds — will be cut open, mutilated, and killed in these NIH-funded studies. 
• In the experiments, dogs have their arteries tied off to create artificial blockages that induce heart rhythm disorders. Experimenters also implant pacemakers and electrodes to deliver electric shocks and blast the dogs’ hearts with radiation, intentionally damaging heart tissue. 
• Many of the experiments end in what university white coats chillingly call a “direct harvest of the heart” — dogs’ hearts cut out while they’re still alive.  
• While NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya and Deputy Director Nicole Kleinstreuer claim to be “working tirelessly” to “phase out” dog testing, they continue to sign off on renewals of Fauci-era projects and issue new multimillion-dollar grants for cruel, wasteful dog tests like these.
• WCW’s top priority for the Trump Administration is defunding dog testing. We have been leading the national campaign to hold Bhattacharya and Kleinstreuer accountable for lying to taxpayers and continuing to fund dog experiments.

Remember when the National Institutes of Health (NIH) leaders told the public they were “working tirelessly” to “phase out” dog testing in response to pressure from White Coat Waste (WCW)? 

Well, NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya and “animal testing czar” Nicole Kleinstreuer seem to have forgotten their promise, because the receipts WCW continues to uncover tell a different story. 

New documents obtained by WCW through the Utah Government Records Access and Management Act and the federal Freedom of Information Act expose how the NIH has funneled nearly $12 million to date in taxpayer funds to the University of Utah for a series of deadly heart experiments on dogs. One of those projects began in March 2025, and another was extended for an additional year in September 2025.  

According to the internal records, 180 dogs — mostly young hounds — will be cut open, mutilated, and killed in these NIH-funded studies. 

In the experiments, dogs have their arteries tied off to create artificial blockages that induce heart rhythm disorders. Experimenters also implant pacemakers and electrodes to deliver electric shocks and blast the dogs’ hearts with radiation, intentionally damaging heart tissue.  

Even worse, many experiments end in what university white coats chillingly call a “direct harvest of the heart” — dogs’ hearts cut out while they’re still alive. 

Records reveal that the hounds may also experience heart failure, weight loss, and sudden cardiac death as side effects of the experiments. 

Veterinary logs uncovered by WCW reveal the names of some of these canine victims: Caboose, Connie, Diesel, Patsy, Shyla, and Thomas — each one less than a year old. 

The University of Utah’s active dog testing grants have received $11.6 million from the NIH so far, and this funding is slated to keep flowing into 2028. 

Meanwhile, other agencies under the Trump administration have proven that canine cruelty can be cancelled. The Department of Veterans Affairs ended dog, cat, and primate testing after WCW’s investigations. The Department of Defense canceled millions in contracts for dog and cat testing uncovered by WCW, and the U.S. Navy banned dog and cat experiments altogether, crediting WCW’s advocacy. 

But the NIH continues to write blank checks for animal abuse. 

WCW’s number-one priority for the Trump Administration is defunding dog and cat testing. We’re also working with Congress to pass the bipartisan Preventing Animal Abuse and Waste (PAAW) Act, which would permanently cut NIH funding for wasteful dog and cat testing. 

The solution to the NIH’s taxpayer-funded torture is simple: