Lily Tomlin Calls 5,000 Texas A&M Staffers: Close the Dog Laboratory

Update (November 4, 2022): VICTORY! Texas A&M University has confirmed that it will release the nine healthy golden retrievers it had transferred from its failed canine muscular dystrophy laboratory to the veterinary school!

This momentous news comes after PETA’s hard-fought campaign that began with our shocking exposé of the school’s deplorable laboratory. Our relentless pressure ended its cruel breeding of dogs to develop this crippling disease and led to the release of more than 50 dogs.

But we never gave up on these nine betrayed golden retrievers. We campaigned hard—and now the dogs will be in homes before the end of the year.

You can read more about our win for the nine dogs here.

Originally posted on February 26, 2018:

“Enough is enough.” That’s the message that more than 5,000 Texas A&M University (TAMU) faculty and staff heard today on their phones. And the voice at the other end of the line? Well, that likely came as a surprise. It was Hollywood icon Lily Tomlin, who made a very personal plea for their support in urging TAMU President Michael K. Young to end the school’s muscular dystrophy (MD) experiments on dogs.

The Grace and Frankie star pointed out that 35 years of these cruel tests have failed to produce a cure or even a treatment to reverse the symptoms of MD.

Video footage obtained by PETA shows crippled dogs intentionally bred to suffer from a canine form of MD who were caged, sometimes alone, in barren metal cells.

PETA’s efforts to end these pointless and cruel experiments have received support from MD patients, scientists—who have criticized the experiments’ inapplicability to humans—and public figures, including Miami Dolphins quarterback and TAMU alumnus Ryan Tannehill as well as commentator Bill Maher, who called the university “dogs’ worst enemy.”

Learn more about cruelty to dogs at Texas A&M on The PETA Podcast:

Listen to more episodes on iTunes and Spotify! Subscribe for new episodes.

As Tomlin says in her message, “Enough is enough.” Tell TAMU to shut the dog lab down now.