Meet Our Pets

As members of the Comparative Behavioral Research team, we get the privilege of bringing our pups to work! Our dogs help us develop tests, validate experiments, and pave the way for future research! Read on to hear why CBR family pets love our research (and why your pet will love it too)!

Owen McNamee

Owen is a five-year old Labrador Retriever. Owen was originally a Guiding Eyes for the Blind pup and went through training to be a service dog. When he was released from the program, the McNamee family took him back. Since he is used to lots of mental stimulation, Owen loves coming to the Comparative Behavioral Research lab! His favorite game in the cognitive lab is the judgment bias task, but he also likes being in a new environment with exciting smells and sounds. During thinking breaks, Owen always wants to play with his favorite stuffed toy (Mr. Lobster) and insists that the researchers throw it for him. Outside of the lab, he can be found staring deeply into people’s eyes and having the “zoomies”.

Chai Caddiell

Chai is a one-year old Australian Labradoodle. She loves coming to work with her mom and is always down to pilot any new cognitive test that the Comparative Behavioral Research team can think up! Just between you and her, she knows that the cognitive lab has the best treats in the whole veterinary school! Her favorite game to play in the cognitive lab is the cylinder task. The researchers say she’s pretty flexible in her thinking but she says her eyes are on the prize AKA that chicken jerky treat. On her thinking breaks, she loves playing ball with the researchers. Outside of her scholarly pursuits, you can find Chai on the agility course, snuggled up with her parents on the couch, or kissing her new baby brother, Ryder.