I was horrified the other day when I was shooting a segment for Home & Family, and the next segment was about pet adoption. The lady 
who brings on the pets to adopt, sat with me in the green room with the most beautiful Beagle I’d ever set eyes on. He was just 2 years-old and had been rescued from a testing lab in CA. The inside of his ear had been stamped with number because he was born to be…well, born to be literally a number. He was breed to be kept in a cage, and to spend his early years having chemicals sprayed in his eyes, and all other kinds of horrendous experiments. The thing that made me sick to my stomach was that apparently Beagles are a favorite for animal testing because they are so docile, and all they want to do is please people – preferable to a Pit Bull, I guess.
If you are interested in adopting or fostering a Beagle from a lab, please check out the Beagle Freedom Project. Warning – it makes you cry just looking at the photos of the dogs that need loving homes. They also warn that adopting a Beagle comes with unique challenges: many of these dogs have never seen the sun, or had grass under their feet. They may not be house-trained etc, but they apparently learn very quickly.
You can also help by signing this letter that Beagle Freedom Project sends out to every animal testing lab in the U.S.
If I ever have room for another dog, it’s definitely going to be a Beagle.
Also, check out PETA’s database to find out if any products that you are thinking of buying, are cruelty-free.
