People are actually very motivated to contribute to science, here's an example of research involving pets and extending their healthspan across aging: http://dogagingproject.com

Phase I clinical trial: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/28374166/

Phase II is in progress.

Interview with Matt Kaeberlein from the project: https://www.leafscience.org/dr-matt-kaeberlein-the-dog-aging...

This is a study of a new application of a drug that has already had very extensive trials in both humans and several species of animals that have demonstrated it to be safe (it's FDA approved for human use). I think you will find people dramatically less willing to test brand new drugs on their pets.

This question has already been asked of pet owners and when it is explained to them why most are willing to let their pets participate in trials of even new drugs.

Beagles are already commonly used in medical research.

People are really keen to allow their pets to be used in research as long as they understand the importance. Pets are a massive resource that is just being wasted.

My cats are certainly not being wasted. Who else would step across my keyboard when I’m typing?

You should consider yourself lucky to be able to use your cat's keyboard while she is taking her afternoon stroll.

I find this attitude astonishing. My pets are members of my family, and I'd generally rail against experimenting on my family.

Would you let your child participate in a clinical trial if they had a disease for which there was no good treatment? Pets suffer from most of the diseases humans suffer from (cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc) and they also have no good treatment options. We should be using these sick pets in trials to find new cures for pets and humans.

Maybe you weren't clear or I misread you. I understood you to be saying that pets were generally not being used to their potential. (E.g. perfectly healthy pets could be used as research subjects, because they aren't doing anything else valuable at the moment..)

Of course not. No one would think experimenting on healthy pets would be reasonable or ethical, but not using our sick pets to help other pets and humans is a huge waste.