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John Fetterman Calls Out Dr. Oz Following Shocking Reports of Oz Cruelly Experimenting on Dogs

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Ugh, just writing about this topic is unbearable to me, and the details are horrific.

Last Monday, the website Jezebel reported that that Dr. Mehmet Oz oversaw medical research in which dogs were abused and killed for studies published between 1989 and 2010. Soon after the article was published, Oz’s Senate opponent John Fetterman tweeted a link to the article with the comment, “BREAKING: Dr. Oz is a puppy killer.”

Of course, we need to look into this and determine whether this is true, and People magazine did just that.

PEOPLE spoke with veterinarian Catherine Dell’Orto, who says that within weeks of her start as a post-doctoral fellow in the research labs at Columbia’s Institute of Comparative Medicine in July 2001, she was horrified by what she saw.

Dell’Orto tells PEOPLE she witnessed the inhumane treatment of dogs in lab experiments investigating aspects of heart function over which Oz served in the role of “principal investigator” — including leaving dogs in pain and paralyzed for weeks, with no discernible research benefit, before they were euthanized or died.

When someone makes the choice to use an animal in a research experiment they should be 100 percent committed to reducing any suffering that animal will experience,” says Dell’Orto. “And I did not see that happening with Oz. I saw the opposite.”

Okay, that sounds pretty damned horrific.

People did reach out to Oz’s campaign and spokesperson Brittany Yannick said in an email: “Dr. Oz was not personally involved in these incidents and to say otherwise is a lie. His name was on some forms due to his role within the Department of Surgery.”

However, according to PEOPLE’s research, “Columbia’s website says that when one is named principal investigator of a research study, he or she ‘has overall responsibility for safety and compliance in his or her laboratory.'”

As for Fetterman, he hasn’t stopped slamming Oz for what he did. Fetterman sent several tweets referencing the content of the Jezebel article.

“I LOVE my dogs. Apparently some sick people like Dr. Oz get their jollies by harming animals…” Fetterman wrote in another tweet. “We have a close race here in PA and I could use your help to keep the #PuppyKiller out of the US Senate.”

Fetterman also retweeted on Tuesday a photo dated May 13 of Oz holding a therapy dog. “Has anyone seen this dog since May?” Fetterman questioned.

And Fetterman, who is a master at trolling, launched a new piece of campaign merchandise — a 2.5-inch sticker of a golden retriever with the words “Dog Lovers for Fetterman” on it.

Oz hasn’t responded to any of Fetterman’s tweets, because really, how could he?

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