Lab Dog - by Melanie D G Kaplan (Hardcover)

About the Book

"When journalist Melanie D.G. Kaplan adopted her beagle Hammy, all she knew was that he had spent nearly four years in a research lab. Curious to know more about this gentle creature's past, as well as the broader world of animal research, Kaplan-with Hammy in tow-embarks on a quest for answers. How did Hammy end up in a research facility? Why are we still using millions of animals a year in experiments? What have we learned from them? Is there another way? In Lab Dog, Kaplan investigates the breeding and use of beagles for biomedical research, drug and product testing, and education. She takes readers on a journey, peeking behind laboratory doors and visiting with researchers, activists, ethicists, veterinarians, lawmakers, and innovators. Along the way, she finds thoughtful and caring humans on all sides of the debate, explores promising developments in nonanimal testing, and discovers puzzle pieces from Hammy's past. Equal parts journalism and love story, Lab Dog offers a nuanced view on our relationship with a species that we both love and exploit, and a reason to hope for a better future for all"-- Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

The "remarkable" (Dr. Jane Goodall) story of a beagle's past, and the future of animal research

When journalist Melanie D.G. Kaplan adopted her beagle Hammy, all she knew was that he had spent nearly four years in a research lab. Curious to know more about this gentle creature's past, as well as the broader world of animal research, Kaplan--with Hammy in tow--embarks on a quest for answers. How did Hammy end up in a research facility? Why are we still using millions of animals a year in experiments? What have we learned from them? Is there another way?

In Lab Dog, Kaplan investigates the breeding and use of beagles for biomedical research, drug and product testing, and education. She takes readers on a journey, peeking behind laboratory doors and visiting with researchers, activists, ethicists, veterinarians, lawmakers, and innovators. Along the way, she finds thoughtful and caring humans on all sides of the debate, explores promising developments in nonanimal testing, and discovers puzzle pieces from Hammy's past. Equal parts journalism and love story, Lab Dog offers a nuanced view on our relationship with a species that we both love and exploit, and a reason to hope for a better future for all.

Review Quotes

"Kaplan and Hammy raise weighty ethical questions in this important book. Animal lovers will be moved."--Library Journal

"This remarkable book moved me deeply. With a journalist's eye and insight, Kaplan brings compassion to a subject that has long needed such a voice. Her journey with one beloved beagle, set against the broader history of animal research, is both heartbreaking and hopeful. I recommend this book to everyone who cares about animals--and the future of science."--Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, Founder - the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace

"Lab Dog is among the most eye-opening and important exposés ever reported. Told with Kaplan's clear-eyed honesty that reveals surprising complexities, this is a book everyone should read. It changed the way I think and I learned so much, best of all about the boundless capacities of love."--Silas House, New York Times bestselling author of Lark Ascending

"Lab Dog is essential reading for all persons who are interested in the treatment of laboratory animals. Melanie Kaplan's viewpoint is unique. She is a dog lover who interviews activists, government officials, people who work in labs, and others associated with lab animals."--Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation

"A tender, beautifully written story that every dog lover should read. Kaplan brings heart, curiosity, and courage to a subject too often hidden from view--showing us not only what these dogs endure, but how resilient and loving they can be when given the chance."--Brian Hare, New York Times bestselling author of The Genius of Dogs

"Deep and wide, Lab Dog is a master class in the issues around the use of animals in lab research, looking at its history as well as its future, its secrets, successes, failures, and exposures. Through it all, Kaplan is guided by her love for her own dog, Hammy, a laboratory rescue, and her desire to know what happened to him in his life before they met."--Karen Joy Fowler, author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves

"Everyone who uses cosmetics or cleaners, buys dog food, supports a university, sees a veterinarian, or pays taxes needs to read this important and often beautiful book. Yes, at times you'll be shocked--but you'll also bathe in comfort and joy, as Kaplan's brave, sweet, former lab beagle, Hammy, recovers from his ordeal, and accompanies the author on her research quest. Evocatively and sensitively written, exhaustively researched, and brimming with love, Lab Dog shows us how and why we can begin to change the world for the choiceless innocents used in lab experiments. If you have ever loved a dog, you owe it to them to read these pages."--Sy Montgomery, New York Times bestselling author of The Soul of an Octopus

"Few people know the full story of how beagles have been--and continue to be--bred and used 'in the name of research.' Melanie Kaplan's heartfelt story of her tender relationship with one rescued 'lab dog, ' Hammy, tells it all. Kudos to Melanie for exposing the hidden world of beagle breeding and research--and to those who've opened their hearts to these dogs and offered them the justice and forever homes and lives they deserve. This is an eye-opening and deeply personal book, for anyone to read, whether or not you live with a former lab dog."--Marc Bekoff, author of Dogs Demystified

"In Lab Dog, investigative journalist Melanie Kaplan takes a deep dive into one of the most troubling of our relationships with other species--the use of dogs in biomedical research. Part exposé, part memoir, and part love story, Lab Dog is a compelling, often haunting narrative that will stay with you long after you have turned the final page."--Hal Herzog, author of Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat

About the Author

Melanie D. G. Kaplan is a longtime independent journalist whose travel and science writing has appeared in the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and National Parks magazine. She is a graduate of Columbia Journalism School, a 2021-2022 MIT Knight Science Journalism fellow, and a third-generation Washington, DC, native. Kaplan has lived most of her life with hounds.