I've heard from another source about the vivisected dog story. There's also a local report on the incident. I have to say that this story looks like it was driven by the irrational hysteria of one person, Linda Sears. Here's her part of the story.

On May 10, Linda Sears received a phone call from the high school, asking permission for her daughter, Sierra, to watch the procedure, a laparotomy, on the dog, which was scheduled to be put to sleep because of its aggressiveness.

After finding out the details, Sears refused to give permission.

"They were slaughtering an animal in front of these kids," said Sears. "He [the teacher, Doug Bjerregaard] was just a substitute, and this was not part of the curriculum.

"I'm concerned about this because they don't care about life. First, it's a dog then it'll be a kid. This kind of thing is inhumane—it's cruel to animals and unethical. They should have found a home for the dog.

"The school lied to us," Sears added. "They didn't tell us that the dog was alive. That's what bothers me as much as anything, that the school told us a bald-faced lie. Then they called the kids into a conference and pushed the kids into hiding what really happened."

There are some inconsistencies already. How did the school lie? They explained the procedure to her, and that was sufficient for her to refuse permission. And other parents say the situation was clearly explained to them.

But parents of students who did participate in the surgery observation dispute Sears' statements. Gay Bastian, whose two daughters were present, said she was fully aware of what was happening.

"The office called and told me about it. We were fully informed and wholeheartedly supported it. They said it was a live dog that would be fully anesthetized. My thought was that it was an incredible experience for my daughters, and they are lucky to have someone as caring as Mr. Bjerregaard."

Neither Sears nor her daughter were present, but they've got a horrific tale to tell.

Sears claimed she got involved partly because her daughter's friends came to her house following the surgery in hysterics. "They couldn't breathe, they were sobbing over the poor dog. They told me that the dog was sedated and that they cut into it and the poor thing started flopping around on the table."

When you read the veterinarian's account below, you'll see that this story is false. Throughout the story, we see another thing: Linda Sears proudly patting herself on the back for being so brave.

There is a dispute as to whether Sears or another Gunnison woman called KTVX. But the next day, Marcus Ortiz and a camera crew were in town. "They came out and met me, then Sierra and me talked to them," Sears said. "Now all the media wants to talk to me because I'm willing to stand up and none of the other parents are because they're too scared. "

Sears believes pressure from the school is causing parents and students not to speak out on the issue. "All the parents around here are afraid that it's going to be taken out on the kids. I spoke to one parent who is scared that her kids aren't going to graduate. She's afraid that teachers will grade her kids harder because she stands up for what she believes.

This is absurd. Students were given an opportunity to excuse themselves from the exercise; it clearly wasn't something that was going to be held against them. This woman is making up nonsensical stories of persecution to make herself look good, nothing more. It doesn't even jibe with what other people are saying.

Kirk Anderson, the school's principal, says he is not allowed to comment, but other teachers and office staff who did talk with the Messenger (but who have asked not to be named) appeared to be firmly behind Bjerregard. One teacher said, "I keep thinking that there have got to be some people in our town who have got to be upset by this but I can't find any."

Now look at Bjerregaard's side of the story. Note that Sears was downplaying this guy, calling him "just a substitute teacher". He's also the mayor of her small town, with 30 years teaching experience and some good credentials.

Doug Bjerregaard, the teacher who arranged the procedure, had been substituting for three weeks in the biology class when the opportunity arose to show students a lesson they could not learn from a textbook.

Bjerregaard, a one-time "Utah Science Teacher of the Year" who retired after more than 30 years in the classroom, is known to be a hand-on teacher who takes students outside to study moss on trees, measure silt in streams and examine various kinds of rocks.

"The greatest joy for me is to get a call late at night from a student that I taught 20 years ago and who lives hundreds of miles away but wants me to walk outside and look at a star."

Bjerregaard continued, "I don't fear judgment and I don't care about rewards. The only judgment that I fear is the judgment of my students and the reward is that I can open a student's mind. I've never had a student say, ‘This textbook really inspires me.' I want to teach so that wherever they go they'll have experiences that they never would have had otherwise."

The veterinarian who did the surgery also backs him up.

Dr. Tom Anderson, owner of the animal clinic where the procedure was performed, disputes Sears' statement that the dog was in any pain or that it was flopping around.

"I was morally, legally and ethically required to make sure that the dog was not in any pain. There was nothing inhumane about it. I agree that it was graphic—surgery is—but they were told about it beforehand," he said. "It was not a dissection. It was not a mutilation. It was a laparotomy [an incision made into the abdominal cavity]."

Anderson said the dog was a stray, and was not adoptable because of its aggressiveness. The dog had been kept for 14 days (three days is the legal minimum to keep a stray).

Anderson said he properly anesthetized the dog with a gas anesthestic, and that the dog was completely unconscious and could not feel anything.

"When the students arrived I explained that if they felt upset or dizzy that they should step out of the room," Anderson said. "I opened the stomach and showed the students the working digestive system. I did open the diaphragm and as is natural, the dog gasped.

"The dog was perfectly still the entire time. He was anesthetized so he never moved. I don't know why a parent who wasn't there, with a daughter who wasn't there, would say that [that it was flopping around]."

Students present corroborated Anderson's version of the story.

You know, in my original comments on this story, I thought it was an excellent exercise, but had a few caveats. I thought it should be optional, and that the assistance of a qualified vet was required. The rest of the story satisfies me completely, and I think the students in Gunnison were fortunate to have a teacher who went far beyond the minimal requirements of his job.

This Sears character, on the other hand, seems a bit disreputable to me, and sounds more like a foe of good teaching. My source also mentioned a few other problematic issues in her past, like a police record and a history of charges of animal cruelty…on her part.

This may seem counterintuitive, but I've found far more respect and honest concern for animal welfare among scientists who routinely experiment on them, than I have ever found among the extremist animal rights crowd. There's a strange inversion of values that you see most strongly in animal hoarders, but I see the same glassy-eyed irrationality in the PETA/ALF types.