To mark the start of what the Humane Society is calling its “largest operation ever,” the first of approximately 4,000 beagles rescued from a Cumberland, Virginia, breeding and research facility have started arriving in animal shelters in to be readied for adoption.
The Fairfax-based Homeward Trails Animal Rescue received 21 of the rescued beagles on Thursday. Other area shelters and groups, and organizations in other parts of the country, will also be helping to find new homes for the dogs.
“They are hot and tired, but super excited to get out and stretch their legs and touch grass for the first time,” Homeward Trails founder Sue Bell said in a Facebook video announcing the dogs’ arrival. A subsequent video showed the dogs rolling around in the property’s yard and playing with toys, many of them, Bell said, for the first time.
The historic rescue came on the heels of the shuttering of the Envigo facility in Cumberland, where dogs were reportedly bred and sold to laboratories for experimentation. Envigo was the subject of a May lawsuit by the Justice Department, which alleged an array of Animal Welfare Act violations, including that dogs were being euthanized without anesthesia.
The Humane Society agreed to facilitate the rescue over the course of 60 days, a particularly challenging feat during a time “when animal shelters already are over capacity,” the organization wrote.
And while the arrival of the dogs at Homeward Trails is a significant step in the rescue process, there is much to be done before they are ready to go to a forever home. To help facilitate that, Homeward Trails is asking for donations as well as foster volunteers.
“It will cost an average of $265 per dog to get them fully vetted and ready for adoption,” the organization wrote on Facebook. “They deserve to live lives as family members and we are desperate to make that happen as soon as possible. PLEASE help us get these dogs the lives they so deserve.”
Click here to donate to the Homeward Trails beagle rescue, and for foster inquiries email [email protected] and include the subject line, “I can foster a beagle.”
Feature image by Homeward Trails
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