Got this in an e-mail from change.org...

"I can’t even imagine if my beloved cats suffered the same fate as Alley, Fiddle and Kiki.

Alley, Fiddle and Kiki are three cats used in pediatric intubation trainings at the University of Virginia medical school. The details are horrific: they’re immobilized and helpless as plastic tubes are repeatedly forced down their throats -- sometimes as many as 20 times each session. And Alley, Fiddle and Kiki have been enduring this torture for the last seven years.

As a pediatrician with over 25 years of experience, I know just how important proper intubation can be for premature babies. But it’s far more realistic to practice on a human simulator than a cat -- which is why almost every other medical school has stopped using animals in trainings. I can’t believe UVA would keep abusing these defenseless creatures rather than following universities like Yale and Johns Hopkins.

There are only weeks before Alley, Fiddle and Kiki will be subjected to yet another year of this torture -- a new round of pediatric residency students will start orientation on June 14. I’ve started an urgent petition on Change.org asking the university to stop using cats for training before classes start. Will you join me?

The university claims the cats are treated well -- but I can’t imagine anyone agreeing to let his or her cat or dog at home suffer this sort of procedure month after month, year after year. I don't see the difference between Alley, Fiddle, and Kiki at UVA, and my cats Beeto, Binky, Pounce, and Spooky at home.

I know from experience just how vital intubation can be -- it saves lives. I’m simply asking the university to stop using this outdated and unnecessarily cruel method of teaching.

At least 94% of pediatric residency programs have stopped using cats because more ethical, effective methods are available. I’m convinced that if UVA hears from thousands of people across the community, it will realize it should do the same.

Help me make sure Alley, Fiddle and Kiki don’t endure another year of this torture.

Thanks for your help,

Dr. Roberta Gray"

I'd like something more substantial than a email before I comment on this, I have many friends from UVA & I've never heard of this.

Ya I dunno if it's legit or not

Agreed. This stuff gets sent out all the time, and I even got that email today. I think it's good policy to verify things before blindly passing them along, because I refuse to give in to the shock tactics and fear mongering that seem so prevalent these days. Show me proof, and I might be more upset.

Brady, if you don't know if it's legit or not and you aren't going to bother verifying, at least say it's unverified when you post.

I'm just the type of person that doesn't take things for face value.

Yea not sure. Never got an email from change.org nor would I understand the point of making a fake article on something like this but... I would delete the topic, but on my phone. Don't know how.

Lol shoot maybe I should share the one I got about how Oprah is actually a man :p

MetalMama wrote:

Lol shoot maybe I should share the one I got about how Oprah is actually a man :p

Haha that would be funny!

I understand making up stories of famous people but fake stories about animal abuse... Whats the point...

brady.law wrote:

I understand making up stories of famous people but fake stories about animal abuse... Whats the point...

Hunny, people make up stories about their make believe kids being murdered, kidnapped etc.

Thats just the world for ya.

Change.org is a leftist group and the actions of PCRM lead me to believe they're not far off in beliefs. When dealing with fanatical ideologues you will often find that the ends justify the means. Even if a little embellishment and character destruction are in order. Hell, five minutes of Google searches paint a very different picture of this. Take, for instance, the response from UVA and the accompanying links including the letter from Albemarle Commonwealth's Attorney...

http://www.virginia.edu/catsmedical


People are really out there buying this crap, eh? Simulators will NEVER replicate life. And we've got many times more advanced simulators out there than what they're talking about.



Research is your friend.

blueeyedghost wrote:

Brady, if you don't know if it's legit or not and you aren't going to bother verifying, at least say it's unverified when you post.

Meredith you took the words right off my keyboard.

We can waste a whole lot of time reading crap reports in this Husky forum about many many things that people never take the time to verify. At least give it a feeble attempt to make sure, there are a whole bunch of web sites out there that can put a lie, hoax or truth tag on it.

Ex.: http://www.truthorfiction.com/search.htm

Snopes.com is my friend.

Koda wrote:

Snopes.com is my friend.

Likewise

I really don't understand those emails. I get them all the time, and it's NEVER proven, just hear say. I hope this one is the same way.

I have to agree with others, and I don't think it's appropriate to post these things, especially if we have no idea if they are true or not.

If it really concerns you, research it first, and then present it to the forum.

I didn't post it as fact. I've never gotten an email from them so I posted it. As I said I would have deleted it a long time ago but don't know how. Calm down people.

Well, it shows up on the first page of a Google search on "uva cat torture" so I say it stands. In fact, it's over.

C'mon with the treats folks. The statement he made there may in fact be true. I don't know if he gets their emails. But I'll err on the side of believing what he said.