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
Nope, not crying at all.
Activists were arrested trying to get into this facility. 40 dogs were rescued in one successful attempt. It was surrounded by a muddy trench and fencing with barbed wire on top. Insane security for a ‘breeding facility’. So glad they finally got this ‘farm’ shut down but this corporation as more in other states.
Yes, I’ve been watching this from afar. Several different activist groups have rescued dozens of beagles; some folks got arrested, briefly, but then released. I’ve also seen videos of some of these beagles being taken to the beach for the first time. Oh, my stars! Each and every one of these dogs deserves the best life from here on out.
The veterans will Iove those dogs and vice versa.
I, too, have been going down this rabbit hole on IG every day. Every single video is a tear jerker. The sheer joy that every one of these sweet pups shows with their new experiences is evidence of the stark cruelty that is all they’ve ever known. This program, matching the puppies with veterans and first responders, just warms the soul.
Not a dog person but I’ve always liked beagles for some reason. Maybe cause the Dr my mom took me to as a child (my family worked for him when they first came to the States) had a beagle named Snoopy.
Those precious babies … I’ll never understand the depraved humans who hurt animals.
Heart-rending and heart-warming. I love these warriors for animals. So powerful. Where are these horrible “research” places in other states? If there’s one in New York, I will call them immediately to join, give money or whatever. Thanks for this story.
If I hit the lottery, I would build such a huge animal shelter.
Aww yeah now I’m crying too. Paws of war is a great org pairing pets with Vets and rescuing animals that are loved by Active Duty Military overseas but cannot be transported back via military planes.i throw a few bones (pun intended) to them whenever I have some extra bucks. It’s not much, but I think every bit helps.
Not the same, but similar. When I adopted a 5 yo aussie/shep who came out of a backyard breeding situation (she was the one being bred over & over cause she’s “pretty”). She had been petted and “loved”, but never asked to use her brain, never given a chance to widen her horizons. She’s spent her whole life in a breeding barn, raising puppies, or being pregnant or getting pregnant or losing her puppies cycle over and over (4 times minimum, says the vet who removed her womb when she came to live with me). She didn’t know how to be a dog. She doesn’t play with toys, though after teaching her how to play ball, she’s become a little obsessed. She ignores other people, she ignores other dogs, now her entire world consists of me and when allowed, her ball. It took about a month before she discovered she can tell which of our neighbouring dogs passed by with her nose. She would be ‘on guard’ for every walk until I started walking so slowly, scents wafted up into her nose and she became aware of the connection between her nose, scent and her brain. She’s a sweet girl and yesterday we discovered she’s a swimmer!!!!
The beagles will become one with their new guardians in the same way. They know where they’ve been and they will know the difference from where they were to where they land. Same as MyGirl did, same as Gracie is still in the process of doing. I’m grateful to everyone who participated in this massive canine rescue.