Dreams

Two Friends 

In the later part of the 1940's, there were a couple

of dogs that were brought to the attention of the of

the people of Russia.  "Style", as translated was a

beautiful black and tan, female German Shepherd

that didn't know she was supposed to be vicious.

The lack of a mean streak was in fact the

reason for her fate, as well as that her companion.

Tobius, the Dobberman Pincer, although much more

intimidating was even friendlier.  This male could never

do the bidding of his masters, because he had never

grown out of puppy-hood.  The only thing that he exhibited

any skill for was annoying the shepherd.  Sometimes he

paid the price for his playfulness when messing with the bitch,

but more often than not, she simply tolerated his painful nips

and other intrusions.  Inseparable, the pair had unwittingly

locked their destinies.

    Showing a modicum of compassion, the state pampered

these two canines; treated them better than sixty percent of

the population in what was then, the Soviet Union.  Each dog

had the equivalent of an au pair, that attended to their every

need, which was determined by the behavior patterns

observed over a period of several years.  As for the pairs

nutrition, both ate better than the very people commissioned

with their training, which consisted solely of sitting still while

electrodes and conduction pads were attached to shaved

areas of their bodies.  When compared to the average dog,

they had it made and had things ended differently, both would

have, most likely lived longer than the average dog.

    Longevity however would not be a word that could be used

to describe the lives of these two friends, at least one of them.

And quality of life would not be an appropriate phrase for the

other one, as will be detailed in the following paragraphs.  And

though the experiment was intended to advance safety in 

aviation, this would be of little consolation to its detractors, who

condemned the scientists, engineers and government officials

who sanctioned and financed it.  Their protestations however,

would come too late to save either animal, but the conscience

of the scientific community was put on trial in the court of public

opinion:  The outcome of which was a scathing report on the

moral and ethical ramifications of animal experimentation, which

to sweeping reforms and the Animal Testing Act of 1950.  How

this all came to pass is simply a matter of information becoming

declassified.  In 1946, footage of the experiment conducted on

these dogs was released to the public, causing a halstrom of

protest by animal rights groups, country wide.  It was this

reaction that caused the Kremlin to re-evaulate what, if any

information it would share with the public.  In essence, it was

the fallout that lead to the iron curtain mentally that perpetuated

the distrust that would plague the relationship between the Soviet

Union and the United States into the 1990's.  Some argue that

it was this incident and not the actual relationship between the then

two largest super powers in the world that started the cold war. 

 (To Be Continued)