That s the finding of a study ISU psychology professor Gary Wells recently published in the American Psychological Association s Journal of Applied Psychology. Wells research shows that eyewitnesses who were told they were right were much more confident in their testimony than witnesses who were given negative feedback or no feedback at all. Wells cited research published in 1989 that reported that more than 75,000 people every year become criminal suspects because they had been picked out by eyewitnesses from lineups or photo spreads. If Bowser s retrieval of that tossed bone is accompanied by a severe limp, chances are he is suffering from arthritis. And if the limp occurs in his front legs, he s in good company.
Arthritis is the most common cause of front lameness in dogs and the culprit is the elbow.
After four years of work, Dr. Michael Conzemius, assistant professor of veterinary surgery in the College of Veterinary Medicine, has created the first-ever elbow replacement implant. Conzemius challenges were great. Because dogs walk on their front legs, an elbow replacement for them is much more difficult to create than one for humans. The elbow joint uses three bones, all which must move and work together. Conzemius has received a provisional patent for his two-piece metal implant and the cutting guide that allows veterinary surgeons to cut away arthritic bone to make way for the replacement.