Lab Dog - by Brad Bolman (Paperback)

About the Book

"Tracing over a century of transformation in the relationship between humans and our 'best friend, ' from hunting companion to laboratory commodity to modern pet. Intrepid, docile, and cloaked in their characteristic coats of white, black, and tan, beagles were one of the most popular breeds in the United States by 1950. But during the same period, they emerged as something else: an ideal dog for laboratory experimentation. After researchers used the breed to test the effects of radiation exposure, scientists looking for subjects larger and longer-living than rodents began to turn to beagles, who were loyal, cooperative, and eager to please. In Lab Dog, historian Brad Bolman explains how the laboratory dog became a subject of intense focus for twentieth-century scientists and charts the beagle's surprising trajectory through global science. Following beagles as they moved from eugenics to radiobiology, pharmaceutical testing to Alzheimer's studies, Lab Dog sheds new light on pivotal stories of twentieth-century science, including the Manhattan Project, tobacco controversies, contraceptive testing, and behavioral genetics research. Bolman shows how these experiments evolved alongside our understanding of dogs, revealing why we now see them as intelligent companions who deserve moral protection and socialization--and in some cases, special food or daily medication. The book also offers a glimpse into the future of animal experimentation, one in which dogs are increasingly replaced by other species, as well as non-animal alternatives. Compelling and accessible, Lab Dog tells the thorny story of the beagle's participation in science, both its sacrifice and its contribution"--

Book Synopsis

Tracing over a century of transformation in the relationship between humans and our "best friend," from hunting companion to laboratory commodity to modern pet.

Intrepid, docile, and cloaked in coats of white, black, and tan, beagles were one of the most popular breeds in the United States in the twentieth century. From Snoopy to dog shows, many Americans loved and identified with beagles. But during the same period, as scientists searched for a standard research dog, beagles emerged as something else: an ideal animal for laboratory experimentation.

In Lab Dog, historian Brad Bolman explains how the laboratory dog became a subject of intense focus for twentieth-century scientists and charts the beagle's surprising trajectory through global science. Following beagles as they moved from eugenics to radiobiology, pharmaceutical testing to Alzheimer's studies, Lab Dog sheds new light on pivotal stories of twentieth-century science, including the Manhattan Project, tobacco controversies, contraceptive testing, and behavioral genetics research. Bolman shows how these experiments shaped our understanding of dogs as intelligent companions who deserve moral protection and socialization--and in some cases, daily medication. Compelling and accessible, Lab Dog tells the thorny story of the participation of beagles in science, including both their sacrifices and their contributions, and offers a glimpse into the future of animal experimentation.

Review Quotes

"Lab Dog: What Global Science Owes American Beagles follows beagles' paws down the neon-lit corridors of biomedical research. . . . Beyond its historiographical contributions, the book models a methodology that positions the animal as the organizing subject across diverse research contexts, offering a valuable template for future work in animal studies and the history of science."

-- "H-Sci-Med-Tech"

"Bolman's Lab Dog can take its place amongst the best histories of model organism science--alongside, say, Robert Kohler's Lords of the Fly and Karen Rader's Making Mice. It is a dog person's historiography that insists on doggy difference."

-- "Centaurus"

"A fascinating and meticulously researched history of how beagles came to be a standardized laboratory dog breed, and how these dogs and the scientists who worked with them, shaped both human and animal health in the long twentieth century. . . . Bolman makes groundbreaking contributions to animal history, the history of science/medicine, and to a lesser extent, economic history."

-- "Social History of Medicine"

"It is no accident that reports and images of dogs in laboratories have been so successful in galvanizing antivivisection groups and their campaigns. Bolman's fascinating study of laboratory beagles in American biomedicine addresses these disquieting concerns head-on, analyzing how science changed beagles, and beagles changed science. . . . An impressive account of beagle research and its complex trajectories in the United States, which tackles the challenging and emotionally charged topic with admirable rigor."

-- "Journal of the History of Biology"

"Beagles are very popular companion dogs and also very popular among breeding facilities and research laboratories where they live highly compromised lives, all 'in the name of research' to help humans. Many, if not most people, have no idea what goes on behind these closed doors. I've often wondered why these wonderful dogs rather than others wound up being used for a sorts of research, and now I know because of Dr. Brad Bolman's excellent new book Lab Dog: What Global Science Owes American Beagles."

-- "Psychology Today"

"Bolman skillfully explains the cultural, economic, and scientific aspects of the American beagle's transformation, making both this history and the science itself accessible to nonspecialists." -- "Choice"

"Lab Dog is a brilliant book. . . . Bolman's history of what might seem a niche subject is, in fact, an original and illuminating exploration of key aspects of the biological and biomedical sciences in the twentieth century. The arguments are clearly set out, and the writing is engaging." -- "Metascience"

"With its extensive scholarship and historical analysis framed by attention to issues of multispecies justice, the book is a triumph." -- "Science"

"Bolman keeps a nuanced focus on how the beagle's trajectory sheds light on what it means for an animal to be considered more 'human' than others, and on how the practices of breeders and kennel clubs intertwined in surprising ways with those of scientific research institutions. The result is an intriguing deconstruction of a little discussed, ethically complex issue."-- "Publishers Weekly"

"Lab Dog offers a comprehensive, insightful, and sympathetic account of the transformation of the beagle from a sporting and pet breed into an experimental model or tool. Bolman has addressed a difficult topic: his detailed descriptions of experimental procedures are often dismaying, along with his discussion of the mass production of beagles for what became an international scientific and pharmacological supply chain. But these vivid and clearsighted evocations are part of what makes his analysis so persuasive."--Harriet Ritvo, author of "Noble Cows and Hybrid Zebras: Essays on Animals and History"

"This isn't just a book for the beagle obsessed: Bolman has found something for everyone fascinated by our most ancient friendship in the animal kingdom. Laboratory dogs may be a side of the human-canine relationship that most people would prefer not to think about, but Bolman has a knack for finding stones others in the ever-growing literature on dogs had not thought to turn over and mixes the uplifting and the macabre with a light touch. He takes the reader from ancient hunting hounds to modern lab dogs by way of eugenics, Snoopy, the Atomic Energy Commission's appallingly named 'Project Hot Dog, ' and beagles' role in the battle to prove smoking causes lung cancer. The result fascinates, entertains, and gives pause to contemplate man's inhumanity to hound in equal measure."--Clive D. L. Wynne, author of "Dog Is Love: Why and How Your Dog Loves You"

About the Author

Brad Bolman is a member of the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.