There’s no real way to sugarcoat the emotional rollercoaster that is this story, but it does have a happy ending, I promise! Ridglan Farms is a deplorable facility in Wisconsin that has been breeding beagles with the sole purpose of conducting biomedical research on them. Why beagles? Because they’re so good natured and won’t protest to mistreatment the way other breeds would. (Like I said, deplorable.) Last year a special prosecutor determined that Ridglan Farms was committing animal mistreatment on the beagles — one former employee said some surgeries were performed without general anesthesia. But Ridglan Farms was allowed to evade further prosecution so long as they surrender their breeding license by July. Meanwhile, animal activists weren’t about to wait until July to rescue the 1,500 beagles packed together in cages in a windowless room. This past week has been flooded with heartwrenching videos of beagles being transported safely by shelters all over the country. One such effort happened in Long Island, NY on Friday, when rescue group Paws of War (they pair dogs with veterans) filmed 10 beagles stepping onto grass for the very first time:
The dogs that arrived in Smithtown [Long Island] on Friday have never seen grass. So watching them take their first step out melted our hearts.
“They’ve only seen the inside of a kennel; they’ve never been outdoors,” said Paws of War community outreach liaison Kelli Porti. “And today we wanted them to experience being outside and just being a dog.”
The dogs that arrived in Smithtown are only 10 of the 1,500 beagles from the facility in Wisconsin called Ridglan Farms.
Animal rights activists stormed the area where the dogs were being bred for medical research. Video released by activists showed what appeared to be the dogs pacing in numbered cages.
Last fall, Ridglan Farms was accused of performing procedures that constituted animal mistreatment, which the company denies. But they agreed to sell the dogs to rescue organizations for an undisclosed amount.
Paws of War in Smithtown is getting the dogs acclimated so veterans and first responders can adopt them in the coming days. Some of the volunteers are veterans themselves who understand the value in that.
“Our motto is helping both ends of the leash, and that’s what this dog will do with that vet, you know, first responder,” said volunteer veteran Michael Sweeney.
The dogs have already received medical treatment, and they’ll stay with Paws of War nearby in Nesconset until their adoptions.
Meanwhile, it is a wonderful turnaround from what they had faced.
“All of these dogs would have had a future in a laboratory somewhere, so it’s a great, great feeling to see that they are free,” said Paws of War co-founder Robert Misseri.
And certainly loved too.
My dog, what a sob story. I love Paws of War’s mantra of “helping both ends of the leash.” It immediately reminded me of Ken Burns’ epic Vietnam War documentary: there’s a section where a US soldier returned home, totally f–ked up by what he just lived through. In a present-day interview, he recalls becoming so despondent that he was ready to end it all. But then the family dog walked over to him, so earnest and full of love, and pulled his person back from the brink. Gah, these damn raw onions! And speaking of, I fell down a rabbit hole watching more and more of these beagle rescue videos. I think the biggest gut punch was hearing the same sentence over and over again: “This is their first time seeing grass.” Most of these dogs are also learning how to eat and drink from bowls, because they were previously fed on the floor. My heart can’t take it!
Blessings upon all the people who made the transportation of these beagles possible, and to all the people now fostering and adopting the beagles. When I adopted my previous dog, the dearly-departed My Girl, she was skin-and-bone and definitely had PTSD. Every time she would get in an agitated state and start growling to defend her territory, I’d wait for a two-second pause and just scoop her up into a hug, telling her “I’ve got you, I love you, you’re safe.” Witnessing the relaxed, sassy, trusting girl My Girl blossomed into has been one of the great privileges of my life.
Photos are screenshots from YouTube and via Facebook