Photo: Helen Woodward Animal Center
Several of theformer research beaglespulled from a breeding facility in Cumberland, Virginia, took part in the celebration of DOGust — the unofficial birthday for shelter dogs with no known birthdate — on Monday.
Earlier this month, theHelen Woodward Animal Centerin Rancho Santa Fe, California, took in 43 ofthe over 4,000 beaglesthat the Humane Society of the United States is currently moving out of Envigo RMS LLC’s facility in Virginia, according to apress releasefrom the Helen Woodward Animal Center.
Three of the California rescue’s new beagles, Sheffield, Cambridge, and Wales, took part in Helen Woodward Animal Center’s DOGgust birthday celebration on August 1. The festivities included pup cakes, presents, toys, decorations, and, of course, special attention from staff members, the organizationshared.
Helen Woodward Animal Center
“These beagles have lived years inside of a kennel,” Helen Woodward Animal Center’s animal care supervisor, Jenny Bueche, said in a statement. “No one has ever celebrated them or the beauty of their existence.”
She continued, “We have had to guesstimate their ages based on exams. In many ways, these beagles represent exactly the type of forgotten canines that DOGust was created to honor.”
Before the beagles' arrival at the Helen Woodward Animal Center, the Humane Society of the United States — in partnership with several shelter and rescue organizations — facilitated their removal from theVirginia facility, where the dogs were bred for research and lab use.
According toUSA Today, the plan to move the beagles from the Virginia facility was created after the federal government filed a civil enforcement case in May against Envigo RMS — the company that owns and operates the facility for medical research. After the case was filed, U.S. District Court Judge Norman Moon issued a restraining order imposing restrictions on the facility, the outlet reported.
Since 2021,investigations into the Envigo breeding centerhave turned up reports of underfed, ill, and injured dogs, and dogs that were euthanized instead of given medical care, perThe New York Times.
Additionally, 300 puppy deaths at the facility were attributed to “unknown causes” between January and July 2021, according to an inspection report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture,USA Todayreported.
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Inotiv, Inc., Envigo’s parent company,released a statement in Juneannouncing it would close the Cumberland facility and work with the Department of Justice to safely move the beagles in the facility to shelters and rescues for adoption.
source: people.com
