From: "Terry L. Clark" <terrylc@sbcglobal.net>
Date: 5/19/05 1:07PM
Subject: Dog Dissection: Editorial From The Salt Lake Tribune
Letters to the Salt Lake Tribune, and I hope there are many, should be sent to:
Public Forum
Salt Lake Tribune
90 S. 400 West
Salt Lake City,
Utah 84101
E-mail: letters@sltrib.com (NO attachments)
Fax: 801-257-8950
My letter to the editor of the Salt Lake Tribune follows their editorial.
_________________________________________________
The value of dogs: People angered over biology lesson should take another look
DISSECTION CONTROVERSY Salt Lake Tribune Dogs are more than pets to many people
who own them; they are beloved members of the family. That could be one reason
for the outrage expressed over a biology lesson in which Gunnison Valley High
School students witnessed the dissection of an anesthetized dog.
Hundreds of angry phone calls and e-mails to South Sanpete School
District officials over the experiment show the emotional depth of the
callers' belief in the value of dogs as companions and their intrinsic
worth as living beings.
That is understandable, as far as it goes. But the most vehement
seem to believe that using a dog to teach high school students about
anatomy and to let them see for themselves how a digestive system works
is tantamount to desecrating a human body.
That attitude is unrealistic. And it is particularly unfair to
characterize the teacher and the veterinarian who organized the lesson
as barbaric and unfeeling. Threats to sue and demands for the vet's
license and the teacher's job are a gross overreaction unjustified by
the facts.
The students were in an advanced biology class and had presumably
learned a great deal from their textbooks about the inner workings of
mammals and were ready to see the real thing. The teacher had obtained
their parents' permission.
The dog was a homeless animal that the vet, Dr. Thomas Anderson, had
found to be unadoptable due to her aggressive personality. She was to be
euthanized. Gene Baierschmidt, executive director of the Humane Society
of Utah, has allowed that since the dog was fully anesthetized, it did
not suffer from the procedure.
The teacher, Doug Bjeergaard, who is retired and was substituting
for the regular instructor, is respected and even beloved by his
students and former students. He is also the mayor of the tiny town of
Mayfield. Anderson has arranged for other student groups and Boy Scouts
to observe procedures at his office as a community service.
Considering the circumstances and the people involved, it seems
reasonable to assume this experience was not one that might harm the
students' respect for the sanctity of life or desensitize them to the
realities of death, as some have charged.
On the contrary, these students undoubtedly know that animals are
not only valuable in their own right but invaluable in experiments that
have led to many medical advances.
The angry callers would do well to learn that lesson.
Source: http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_2744437
_________________________________________________________________
Dear Editor,
Concerning the dissection of a living dog at the Gunnison Valley High
School in Utah:
Sadistic acts have no place in schools or in civilized societies.
Josef Mengele did dissections of sentient living beings too.
Would you likewise term what Charles Manson and his followers did a
harmless little science demonstration? Another little "misconception"?
Your euphemisms and minimizing reminds me of Propaganda Minister Josef
Goebbels and "The Big Lie". Saying it doesn't make it so.
If you are lucky, should you become homeless for even an hour, you will
not find yourself near Gunnison Valley High School or the executioner,
Thomas Anderson.
Both the school principal and the teacher should be immediately fired,
and not
given the opportunity to resign. Thomas Anderson's license to practice
veterinary medicine should be revoked.
Disgusted,
Terry L. Clark
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