• Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta among high-profile backers of proposed Michigan ‘Queenie’s Law’
• Two-bill package would ban painful experimentation on dogs used in research studies done by public bodies, such as universities
• The policy is named after a dalmatian, Queenie, who died in 2010 after being used in heart-related research by Wayne State University

LANSING — Cats and dogs may not always get along, but man’s best friend has a new ally in the fight to outlaw painful experimentation on canines in Michigan: Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta.

LaPorta and his wife, Callie Dellinger LaPorta, are backing a bipartisan package of bills proposing “Queenie’s Law” to bar public bodies from experimenting on dogs in a way that “causes pain or distress.

Other high-profile backers include actress Lily Tomlin and actor Ernie Hudson, both of whom are from Michigan.

Supporters of the bill say that invasive and painful testing on dogs is not needed to further medical research on “human-relevant” diseases, while opponents contend the legislation would jeopardize progress in curing or treating “devastating diseases that affect millions of Americans.”

In a letter sent earlier this month to House Speaker Matt Hall,R-Richland Township, and Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, the LaPortas urged lawmakers to advance the bills, noting they were “shocked to learn that such experiments are occurring in our state.”

“Dogs used in labs are no different than our incredible rescue pup Bonnie,” the pair wrote in a letter dated Nov. 17. “But thankfully, science is quickly moving away from the practice. … Please use your power to move Queenie’s Law forward.”

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While House Bill 4254 received a hearing in late October, Senate Bill 127 has sat in the Senate Committee on Regulatory Affairs since March.

Together, the bills would create Queenie’s Law, named after a dalmatian that died in 2010 after being used by Wayne State University for cardiology research. Queenie, a stray from Gratiot County, was part of a study which forced dogs to run on treadmills after researchers implanted devices around their chest cavities in an effort to study heart failure.