DAYTON — Animal welfare groups bought 1,500 beagles from a research and dog breeding facility in Wisconsin.
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Activists did this, saying the facility was severely mistreating the animals.
News Center 7’s Taylor Robertson talks to a Miami Valley woman fostering three of those beagles LIVE on News Center 7 at 11:00.
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Brandye Bear said she has fostered about 40 dogs through Paw Patrol Dayton, helping each of them find their permanent families.
When she heard that the Ridglan Farm beagles needed placement, she jumped at the opportunity to foster them.
“These guys are four and five, they were breeders, so they’ve had several litters, and the puppies are sold to ship out for experimental lab dogs,” Bear said.
Bear added that a little over a week ago, she met with another animal activist in Chicago to get the three female beagles.
“I cried for days,” she said. “One of them had a UTI real bad; we’ve taken care of that, and all of their paws are in horrible condition.”
In April, about 1,000 activists from across the country showed up at Ridglan Farms in an attempt to take the dogs.
Ridglan has denied any mistreatment, but CBS reported a special prosecutor determined the facility was performing eye procedures on the dogs that violated state veterinary standards.
“They lived in wire cages their whole lives,” Bear said.
In March, activisits broke into the facility and took 30 dogs.
Ridglan Farms agreed to give up its state breeding license as of July 1.
Big Dog Ranch Rescue in Florida worked out a deal to buy the facility’s 1,500 beagles.
“Rescues do not do that, but in this case, that’s the only way we could get them,” Bear said.
Now shelters across the country are working together to find their forever homes.
“It’s heartbreaking, but yeah, it’s also heartfelt to see them play for the first time. To see them do first things like step on grass or see a vacuum or a broom, or the TV, everything’s so new to them,” Bear said.
Bear said the dogs are still in quarantine and will need to be cleared by the vet before being adopted.
They can be adopted through Paw Patrol; however, the rescue told News Center 7 that they already have several applications.
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