ROANOKE, Va. – Thousands of beagles made their way to a new life yesterday, and more than 60 are looking for new homes at Angels of Assisi in Roanoke.
Rescued from the Envigo breeding facility in Cumberland, Virginia, nearly 4,000 dogs were transported to rescue organizations around the country.
“There were over four thousand dogs at this facility, which is so many to even wrap your head around,” Angels of Assisi Community Engagement director Dayna Reynolds said.
The dogs were repeatedly bred until they could be sold to companies for lab testing.
“It’s heartbreaking to think about. These were being used to be bred over and over again, which is really hard on their bodies, but luckily these ones had not had to endure laboratory testing,” Reynolds said. “So there’s some comfort in that.”
The facility branded the beagles with tattoos, which they will have to carry with them to their new homes.
“None of them had names. They had a letter sequence, I believe it’s six letters for all of them, and that’s how they were identified,” Reynolds said. “So, they had these letter sequences that were tattooed on the inside of their ears, and that’s how they knew who was who.”
While many of the adult dogs were skittish at first, Angels of Assisi is confident that they will make great family dogs.
“They overall have really great demeanors,” Reynolds said. “They were definitely scared at first, but as you can tell they just open up pretty quickly and are very loving.”
You can do your part in standing against animal cruelty as well.
“When it comes to cosmetic testing, you can be really diligent in checking your products, seeing if they’re cruelty-free, not testing on animals,” Reynolds said.
Angels of Assisi will make another trip to get more beagles soon.
“Now all of these dogs are never going to have to endure that, and they’re going to be able to go into loving, happy homes,” Reynolds said.
Angels of Assisi is still looking for temporary foster families for puppy litters.