Stray Dog Dissected In Class

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School Regrets Dog Vivisection

Salt Lake City, Utah - A Utah high school expressed regret on Thursday for the vivisection of a stray dog as part of a biology lesson.

Some parents and students complained after a substitute biology teacher at Gunnison Valley High School took eight girls, aged 16 and 17, to a local veterinary clinic on Tuesday to watch abdominal dissection on a dog under general anesthetic. The lesson was aimed at teaching students about the digestive system.

"It just makes me sick and I don't think this should go on anywhere and nobody is learning from it," said student Sierra Sears

Donald Hill, assistant superintendent of the South Sanpete School District, said: "This shouldn't happen again. Our schools will not participate in this again. We don't condone this."

Vet Tom Anderson said the incident, reported in local television and newspapers, had been blown out of proportion.

"It was about a three-minute procedure involving abdominal surgery. It was done under general anesthetic. It was an aggressive and abandoned dog. It was not fit to be adopted," Anderson said. The dog was put to sleep after the procedure.

The school said permission had been sought and obtained from parents of the students, and that two students had exercised their right to opt out of the visit.

"All they did was view it. They did not remove or dissect any parts. It was not barbaric," said assistant principal Trevor Powell. "But we will have to find a better way next time."

It was not clear what action, if any, would be taken against the substitute teacher, who has not been named.

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Class Dissection Of Live Dog Outrages Parents, Students
Student: 'It Just Makes Me Sick...'

A biology class lesson in Gunnison, Utah involving the dissection of a live dog has outraged some parents and students, according to a report.

"I thought that it would be just really a good experience if they could see the digestive system in the living animal," Biology teacher Doug Bierregaard said.

Biology teacher Doug Bjerregaard, who is a substitute teacher at Gunnison Valley High School, wanted his students to see how the digestive system of a dog worked.

Bjerregaard made arrangements for his students to be a part of a dissection of a dog that was still alive.

The dog was still alive, but the teacher said it was sedated before the dissection began.

With the students watching, the sedated dog's digestive system was removed.

"It just makes me sick and I don't think this should go on anywhere and nobody's learning from it," student Sierra Sears said.

The teacher said the lesson would allow students to see the organs actually working.

"I thought that it would be just really a good experience if they could see the digestive system in the living animal," Bierregaard said.

The school's principal, Kirk Anderson, said notifications went to parents explaining the dog was going to be euthanized and that the experiment would be done with the dog's organs still functioning.

The teacher is standing by his decision and calls it the ultimate educational experience.

Principal Anderson said he supports the lesson and it will be allowed to continue because the students are learning.

The dog used in the experiment was going to be euthanized despite the class project.