HOUGHTON, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Six rescued beagles from a Wisconsin research and breeding facility are starting their lives over in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where staff at the Copper Country Humane Society say the dogs are slowly learning what life outside a cage looks like.
The dogs – Jasper, Jaffy, Jake, Joe, Josh, and Jesse – recently arrived at the shelter in Houghton after being rescued from Ridglan Farms, a longtime Wisconsin breeding facility that supplied beagles for medical research and conducts some biomedical research operations onsite. The dogs were transported to the Upper Peninsula through a coordinated rescue effort involving Northwoods Animal Shelter out of Iron River.
Northwoods Animal Shelter also took in five rescued beagles — Charlie, Snoopy, Woodstock, Linus, and Pig-Pen — giving the Peanuts-inspired pups a fresh start after their rescue from Ridglan Farms.
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In a Facebook post welcoming the dogs, Copper Country Humane Society described the emotional adjustment the animals are facing.
“Just yesterday was their first time being outside, sniffing the air and feeling the grass on their toes,” the shelter wrote. “Dogs just know things are changing from the life they had, but they don’t know what’s coming next, and that’s scary.”
Timid, traumatized, and learning to trust.
According to Becki Clouthier, Shelter Manager of the Copper Country Humane Society, the dogs are all males and are currently being housed in pairs to help comfort one another.
“They seem to take comfort in having another dog to snuggle with,” Clouthier told Michigan News Source. She explained that while four of the dogs are beginning to warm up to staff (although they are still very skittish), two remain deeply traumatized.
“One will try to bury himself under his bedding or stuffed toys, which is extremely heartbreaking to witness,” she said, adding that the dogs will need patience and time to decompress.
The humane society says the beagles are not currently available for adoption as staff continue evaluating their emotional and medical needs. Applications for the dogs will be accepted but won’t be processed yet.
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“Right now the most important thing is their emotional, mental and physical well being,” the shelter stated on Facebook.
Massive rescue operation.
The Michigan dogs are part of a much larger rescue effort involving roughly 1,500 beagles that were removed from Ridglan Farms after the facility reportedly agreed to surrender its state breeding license July 1 to avoid felony animal mistreatment charges. The operation involved shelters and rescue organizations across the country, including Big Dog Ranch Rescue and the Center for a Humane Economy, which helped coordinate the transfer of the dogs and reportedly offered at least a
million dollars at the beginning of the negotiations to secure their release. It is also reported that 500 dogs still remain at the facility.
Medical care and a fresh start.
The shelter says the dogs in their care will undergo extensive veterinary evaluations because rescuers know very little about their medical history.
“Even being only a year old, (they) will get full bloodwork panels, urinalysis, checks for parasites, shots and neutering,” Clouthier explained.
Despite the heartbreaking conditions many of the dogs came from, staff say there’s hope. “There is no hurry,” Clouthier said. “They are safe and will come to realize that in time.”
How to help – and find a rescued beagle to adopt.
To find out how to help the shelter and donate money for the beagles and their other rescued cats and dogs, you can click here. Clouthier also suggests that because they only have six of the beagles at their shelter, people interested in finding a rescued Ridglan Farms beagle to adopt should join the Ridglan Farms Beagle Adopter Group on Facebook to find out more information about the dogs.
