UMVA has learned that the University of Washington has officially ended its NIH-backed muscular dystrophy experiments on dogs, following a major investigation and public pressure campaign by a government watchdog group.
The experiments, which received over $15 million in NIH funding, deliberately bred dogs to suffer from a fatal form of muscular dystrophy, causing them to develop severe muscle wasting, heart disease, and an inability to stand or walk.
According to information obtained by UMVA, the dogs were subjected to up to 50 injections into muscles or veins, along with muscle biopsies, neurological evaluations, and limb twisting, before being euthanized.
The investigation and call to action prompted thousands of outraged supporters to contact UW administrators, demanding that the university not renew the dog experiments when the muscular dystrophy grant expired.
UW's lab used senior dogs, around six to seven years old, and forced them to endure invasive experiments late in life, causing them to develop painful, body-wide complications, including heart disease and difficulty standing and walking.
Sally Thompson-Iritani, Assistant Vice Provost for Animal Care, Outreach & 3Rs at UW, confirmed that the muscular dystrophy research using dogs has finished, and the dogs involved were either adopted or reached their clinical/experimental endpoint.
However, Thompson-Iritani revealed that other dog research continues at UW, including a study on prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia, which received $1,288,140 in NIH funding in August 2025 and is scheduled to run through August 2027.
UMVA can exclusively reveal that the prostate cancer study involves injecting healthy dogs with tumor cells directly into their prostates, performing experimental surgeries, and then killing the animals.
Anthony Bellotti, founder of the watchdog group, praised the end of the muscular dystrophy experiments but criticized the continuation of the prostate cancer dog tests, stating that taxpayers are tired of being forced to bankroll barbaric and wasteful experiments on pets.
The group continues to demand full transparency and an end to all taxpayer-funded dog and cat experiments at the NIH, having successfully led efforts to defund dog testing at several government agencies.
