Another disturbing investigation by White Coat Waste (WCW), released on World Day for Laboratory Animals on Friday, has uncovered the ongoing use of taxpayer dollars through grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund horrific experiments on dogs deliberately bred to suffer from a crippling and fatal disease, all inside a federally funded laboratory in Seattle.

Based on videos and other documents obtained by WCW through the Freedom of Information Act, experimenters at the University of Washington (UW) have been breeding and maintaining a colony of dogs with muscular dystrophy for decades, using them as living test subjects for invasive and often deadly experiments. 

The grant, which dates back to the early 1990s, has received more than $15 million in federal funding and continues to operate today. These dogs are selectively bred to develop the canine version of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, causing progressive muscle degeneration, weakness, and ultimately death. 

Once confined within the lab system, the animals endure a series of painful procedures. Records reveal that dogs are subjected to repeated muscle injections, up to 50 injections per muscle, as part of the experiments. They are also injected intravenously with experimental substances, undergo repeated muscle biopsies, and are forced through neurological and strength testing that involves electrical stimulation of their nerves while under restraint or anesthesia. 

Documents obtained by WCW reveal that many of the dogs used in recent experiments are older and already suffering from advanced stages of the disease. Symptoms documented in records and videos include difficulty walking, muscle wasting, and an inability to control basic bodily functions. Some footage shows dogs limping, struggling to move, or unable to keep their tongues in their mouths—clear signs of severe physical deterioration. 

After months of experimentation, the dogs are ultimately killed so their tissues can be dissected and analyzed. 

Even more disturbing, documents indicate that the colony is actively maintained, and that experimenters intend to expand studies, with ongoing breeding to ensure a steady supply of diseased animals for future experiments. The dogs are also used across multiple federal grants, further extending their suffering.

UW’s dog experiments received another $655,475 from the NIH in April 2025, and the current budget is set to expire on April 20, 2026. WCW is urging the agency not to renew the funding for these inhumane and cruel tests.

“White Coat Waste’s new Tax Week investigation exposes how the National Institutes of Health is still bankrolling cruel experiments that deliberately breed puppies to suffer from a crippling and fatal disease. Since 1991, the NIH has wasted over $15 million in taxpayers’ money to fund a University of Washington lab that uses pets as walking petri dishes, subjects them to invasive and painful procedures as their health deteriorates and they struggle to walk, and then kills them. The tax funding for this UW dog lab is about to expire, and we shouldn’t be forced to foot the bill for this barbaric university’s puppy mill any longer. The solution is simple: Stop the money. Stop the madness!” Kailey Mauro, White Coat Waste’s Research & Investigations Manager with a master’s degree in animal science and behavior, told WAN. 

World Animal News has previously highlighted numerous investigations by WCW exposing how the NIH has continued funding cruel dog and cat experiments despite repeated denials and a commitment last year to phase them out. This latest investigation adds to mounting concerns about the continued use of funds for painful animal testing, even as public opposition grows and alternative, non-animal research methods become increasingly available.

These dogs are not experimentation tools, they are sentient beings capable of pain, fear, and distress. Deliberately breeding animals to suffer from debilitating diseases, only to subject them to invasive procedures and eventual death, is a horrific practice that has no place in modern science. 

TAKE ACTION! Please support the PAAW Act and help stop the NIH from funding cruel experiments on dogs and cats in the U.S. by signing WCW’s petition HERE!

You can also help by calling RFK Jr.’s office at (202) 690-7000 and urge him to cut all NIH funding to laboratories that conduct experiments on dogs and cats.