Dogs on Mars?

I have certainly heard of Mars, the planet, and I am certainly familiar with dogs, but dogs on Mars?  The logistics themselves are incredibly fun to contemplate (and even more fun when contemplated with my niece and nephews who are all under 10 yrs old).  For example, NASA astronauts relieve themselves in space suits while wearing adult diapers.  First off, why has NASA not yet developed space suits that capture and recycle this waste?  I see a golden (and green) opportunity there.  

Secondly, this goes on the “Cons” list for becoming an astronaut.  Back to the lucky dogs that are selected for these trips to Mars…in my mind they are certainly led by a border collie as they are the smartest dogs on this planet.  I suspect the team might also have a couple of labradors (duh!  They can follow commands well!).  A couple of Frenchies to add some pizazz to pre-flight photo ops, of course…but, I digress!  Back to the logistics, training a dog to relieve themselves in their space suit seems a pretty high bar.  

I mean, currently, we rely on a dog’s apparent instinctual aversion to being in such proximity to their own excrement as the foundation of crate training!  Wow, overcoming this instinct in dogs for space travel, the anti-gravity pen and Tang?!  Surely they need a veterinarian for the space program?! Off to google where to get my ticket to Mars…and then to Amazon for some adult diapers...

Read all about it by clicking on the link below:

Dogs on Mars


Dr. Jenifer Chatfield

Dr. Jenifer Chatfield is the Staff Veterinarian at 4J Conservation Center, an instructor for FEMA/DHS courses, and a Regional Commander for the National Disaster Medicine System Team. She graduated from Texas A&M University's CVM and has pursued emergency medicine and zoo medicine throughout her career. She owned two emergency clinics and has been the Senior Veterinarian in a zoo. She completed fieldwork in Madagascar and South America and continues to explore new areas of medicine as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine for more than 10 years. Dr. Chatfield is a Medical Reserve Corps member and developed the "Veterinary Support to Zoological Animals in a Disaster" for the National Veterinary Response Team’s training curriculum. Dr. Chatfield has chaired the Florida Veterinary Medical Association's (FVMA) One Health Committee and co-chaired FVMA's Disaster Response Committee.

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