Joseph Sabino Mistick: Dr. Oz's cruel experiments dog his campaign

“Every dog has its day” means that sooner or later, everyone will have a moment of great influence. For actual dogs, that moment might be the upcoming election between Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz and Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman for Pennsylvania U.S. senator.

A recent ad paid for by the Senate Majority Super PAC claims that Oz directed a lab at Columbia University where over 300 dogs were treated cruelly and killed during medical experiments. The graphic video highlights one beagle, who “wasn’t given a name, only a number,” and who was subjected to “29 days of unimaginable pain and suffering until Oz took her for the last experiment.”

In a race that is now rated a toss-up by some political pundits, the explosive 30-second spot could be the difference.

PolitiFact has reported that the Oz campaign “did not dispute a report that more than 300 dogs were euthanized during experiments between 1989 and 2010 in a Columbia University research lab Oz supervised.” The Oz campaign claims that the lab was actually run by grad students and veterinarians.

Still, Oz was the principal investigator for the research grant, which means that he was in charge. Columbia was fined $2,000 in 2004 after settling the case with the government. PolitiFact rated the campaign allegations “half true,” which is enough to make Oz the Cruella De Vil of the 2022 midterm elections.

Allegheny County Treasurer John Weinstein understands how important dogs are to our families and community. His office issues 125,000 dog licenses to county residents outside of Pittsburgh every year, and he figures there are another 75,000 dogs out there. One million dog licenses are issued across Pennsylvania. That’s a lot of voters in the race for the Senate.

Weinstein, who has been on the board of Animal Friends, the region’s no-kill animal shelter, for 24 years, says, “People are so passionate about their pets. It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen. They dig deep to protect and provide for them.”

Ask Sen. Mitt Romney if the Oz story is a big deal politically. During Romney’s unsuccessful run for president in 2012, he was hounded by a report that he placed his Irish setter Seamus in a dog carrier that he tied to the roof of his station wagon for a 12-hour family trip to Canada. When Seamus took sick, Romney hosed him down at a gas station.

The story stuck and prompted the formation of a group called “Dogs Against Romney.” When ABC’s Diane Sawyer interviewed Romney on the evening news, she said that viewers wanted her to ask about the Seamus incident more than anything else. And Romney’s bad judgment was mild compared to the charges against Oz.

When it comes to our family pets, it doesn’t matter if you are a Republican or a Democrat — all they do is love us. If there is one issue that crosses party lines and political ideology — one issue that is neither red nor blue, neither conservative nor liberal — this is it.

Will Rogers, the street philosopher of the Great Depression, said, “I love a dog. He does nothing for political reasons.” But that doesn’t mean that dogs are out of politics — especially when they are part of people’s families. Then, Oz’s treatment of dogs may be enough of a political reason to vote against him. We shall see.