Rescued Laboratory Dogs First Taste of Freedom

Forty male beagles raised inside a lab in Spain arrived in Los Angeles last week where they will be put up for adoption after being freed from captivity by the Beagle Freedom Project.

The rescue mission is the largest yet for the group Animal Rescue Media Education (ARME). A total of 72 dogs were rescued in the effort, 32 of them having already been adopted in Europe, according to NBC Los Angeles.

ARME’s Beagle Freedom Project spokesman Gary Smith said the beagles, all between ages 4 and 7, had lived in cages their entire lives.

“We’ve been told they lived one per cage in rooms of 10 beagles, but they never had any physical interaction with one another,” Smith told the station. “They’ve been in kennels since they were rescued about a week ago, but aside from that, they’ve spent most of their lives locked up.”

Beagles are carefully bred for genetic purity so they can be used in labs for research with consistent results.  It is a sad and lonely life for them.  What a joy to see this new beginning.  

Heartwarming and Heartbreaking

Heartwarming Story - Poor frightened pup would have been euthanized when all she needed was a hug. Rescuers are good at hugs. This rescue Hope For Paws – Animal Rescue, based in Los Angeles saved a life. It warms my heart seeing this little dog melt into the comfort of this man's arms.



Heartbreaking Story - Updated Jan 17, 2012 at 2:45 PM PST (KTLA.COM)

A traffic stop Tuesday morning in Fayette County, Tennessee led to the discovery of 128 dogs and one cat in a U-Haul moving truck. The animals were reported to being kept in what are deplorable conditions, in many cases four or five animals squeezed into animal carriers and make shift animal carriers without food and water. Digital Daily – subscribe to our daily newsletter Some of the dogs were running loose in the non-ventilated truck. Bonnie Sheeman, age 55, and passenger, Pamela A. King-McCracken were arrested and charged with 128 counts of aggravated animal cruelty. The women are associated with an animal rescue group called Hearts For Hounds and were coming from California and headed to Virginia. The animals are being divided sent to the several area animal shelters for treatment. Numerous charges are expected including transporting animals under inhumane conditions. It is not known why the women were transporting the animals.



This should never happen under the guise of rescue.  It saddens and disgusts me that people like this call themselves rescuers.  Their website claims they are moving from CA to Virginia but this is not an excuse.  If these animals could not be transported safely, other arrangements should have been made. This reflects badly on the rescue world and hurts everyone, especially the dogs.