Actually, science may be providing us with the perfect ghost-hunting companion for Barry and his UV camera:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/04/29/2556351.htm

Now if only we can switch them from UV to IR…then we could have dogs for the whole team… 

alicat said:

What a sad commentary on life that we feel we can do this just because we can and then say we are doing it to cure disease. 

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Yes, I understand your point of view.  I own two dogs myself.  Yet…I must disagree.  I am not defending using dogs to study deseases.  It is your use of the word "we" and what it implies.

The word "we" implies mankind.  I understand the sentiment, but mankind is certainly not united by shared morality.  One can also make a strong argument that mankind is deeply divided by territory.  The study is being done is South Korea.  Different culture, different history, different outlook on life.  You may disagree with it, yet, it will unforunately change nothing in South Korea.

The only reason I bring this up, Alicat, is because a friend of mine's wife came after me like a mother Bear protecting her cubs.  Apparently, I am her representive of "science" (sadly…not a paid position).  I got blasted with "How can you scientists to do this?" and "Science isn't above God" and…wow.  I just sat there and let her vent.  I finally said "Um…I've got nothing to do with any scientific experiment being done in South Korea.  I haven't the slightest clue what South Korean scientists are up…beyond making dogs glow (and for the record…probably not the best time for that joke…)."

So really, I'm right with you with the outrage.  Yet, it's going to fall upon deaf ears…      

Thanks for your response Revenant.  You are correct.  I should have singled them out and not implied mankind.  It was their tinkering with science that produced these results.  Yes, it is frustrating and I understand your friend's venting.  I'm glad you gave her the opportunity to express her outrage.  It is South Korea, and the world is filled with different cultures, different histories, etc.  One can never guess why anyone does anything these days here or abroad.  However, one would think that given the state of South Korea, they would have better things to do with their time and efforts such as trying to help their country instead of trying to spin science under the guise of curing disease.  People there need the help.  The puppies don't need to glow in the dark.  It scares me as to the ramifications of these types of experiments and our future.

Not to get on a high horse here (this isn't show related) but on the other hand, the US is not blameless.  Thousands of dogs are bought and sold for laboratory experiments every day and some dog track owners give them away for this purpose because once they are no longer making money for them, they are a liability and they instantly want to get rid of them.  More tracks and owners are working with rescue groups but there are only so many dogs they can take.  Haulers are overcrowded and dogs are constanly dying while being packed in like sardines into these hauls going cross country with no heat in the winter or air conditioning in the spring through fall.  There was even a man who was jailed in Florida when they found over 3,000 greyhounds dead and dumped all around on his property.  I'll stop now because this is not the correct forum.  But if people in the US cannot feel compassion for these animals, what does it say about the compassion they feel for people? 

I'm happy you have dogs who are lucky to be members of your household.  Feed them well and give them attention.  That's all they ask.

Edited:

@ Oubliette:  I saw your post after I finished and posted.  You know I totally agree with you.

@ Revenant:  Hope you had a good walk.  Your post made me smile. 

I realized at one point in my life that every person I felt comfortable to be around and/or considered my friend, was a pet owner of some sort.  Generally they were "dog people" but having had a variety of pets in my lifetime (sadly down to 1 dog and 1 cat now), I realized there is a certain compassion and respect for life we all shared whether it be dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, ducks, birds, iguanas, snakes, fish or even a chinchilla.  Oops!  I'm giving away the secret to previous family pets!  I was brought up to believe in a duty and responsibility to take care of all animals and have a difficult time with those that don't respect it.

I applaud you and your friends for your convictions.  Initially it's a hard decision to make but once you make it, you know you did the right thing.  I'm glad to see things changing.  We just have to keep pushing it along and hope it comes about sooner rather than later.

I'm hearing the "I'm  hungry" chorus now which means I'm late in feeding the troups.  Thanks for the encouragement.

Liz M said:

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I thought there were some whistles that only dogs could hear.  If they do exist, wouldn't it be possible for them to utilize one of these whistles and get the dog to react?  The bonus would be if it got picked up as an EVP, which of course they would turn into some phrase not remotely sounding like what we heard.  Win win for GH.

So even if the dog isn't hoaxing, I wouldn't put it past someone to use the dog in the perpetration of a hoax.

Yes, there are certain ranges that canines can hear and humnas cannot.  I would also not put it past GH to "use" the dog in this fashion. 

I am glad to hear of the decline of testing using animals.  I have had a lot of pets over the years, mostly strays who have found us.  Living out on a farm you would be amazed the number of people who dump their unwanted dogs in the country expecting them to "return to nature" or something.  They have been wonderful pets.  I am glad to say that the dumping has tapered off over the years, and our current dog is from an animal shelter.   

@ Stephen:  I agree, the dog would be innocent and wouldn't be hoaxing.  They have no capacity to make those distinctions.  You can train dogs to do almost anything as we have seen in numerous tv shows and movies.  One fun event to watch on tv is agility event and also flyball.  There are all types of programs on Animal Planet and even ESPN.  There is one which shows a dog's capacity to go through mazes underground (Jack Russell Terriers) to get to it's prey.  It's based on the rat/mouse in a maze trying to find the cheese at the end but with the dogs, they actually build tunnels underground with cameras and then the dogs are timed trying to find the prize.  I think the best is the agility because it shows a variety of tasks in a timed environment.  The key is the trainer who has to keep pace and communicate with the dog as to where and when to go on the course.  It's extremely fast paced for both dog and trainer/owner but it also shows the dog's trainability with the right individual.

As a side note, there was a post in the "Grant's on Twitter" forum where now it looks like Jason and Tango are also now on Twitter.  Apparrently Jason posted a picture of his German Shepherd.  As I noted there, I wonder if he is laying down the beginnings of GH bringing in a dog.  Maybe it's a stretch but nothing would surprise me.  Living with Jason, he must have picked up on those same paranormal "feelings".

@ Hannah:  Thank you for caring for all those unannounced animals that came to the farm.  It upsets me greatly when I hear about the dumping of animals.  Also, it is wonderful that you adopted from a shelter.  I won't go into a rant here but I just want to say thank you and your family for showing such kindness.

@ blinddog50,

Sounds like you've gotten the "scoop"! 

blinddog50 said:

alicat said:

@ blinddog50,

Sounds like you've gotten the "scoop"! 

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Just overhearing the usual flea gossip.
The dog has his own method of detecting spectral footprints and it doesn't involve flour.
This is usually followed by some amazingly profane evps.

Blinddog can help me keep an eye on Jason's pooch.  I'll check on Twitter occasionally, and he can keep up with the flea gossip.