Brandywine Valley SPCA receives 15 beagles
Around 3:10 p.m., Aug. 24, an unassuming-looking van belonging to Brandywine Valley SPCA pulled into the shelter’s Georgetown facility carrying 15 cases of highly adorable cargo.
Inside were 15 beagle puppies, ranging in age from four to seven months, that had been rescued from the Envigo research and breeding facility in Cumberland, Va., which was shut down in July after federal inspectors found dogs living in unsanitary and inhumane conditions. The beagles were being bred to be sold off for medical and drug experiments.
After the Envigo lab was shut down, the federal government reached out to the Humane Society of the United States to help 4,000 beagles find forever homes. The humane society then reached out to shelters across the country to take in the dogs and put them up for adoption.
Laura Page, director of Brandywine Valley’s Second Chance program, said these 15 beagles are the second group of dogs to come from the Envigo facility and will be put up for adoption in Georgetown. She said 23 beagles were brought in early August to Bradywine’s West Chester campus.
“We’re super excited that we’ll be able to offer another 15 of these dogs a home. A life. A place to rest. A child to follow to a fishing hole. It’s the all-American dog, the beagle,” Page said. She added that if these dogs hadn't been rescued, they would have lived their lives in cramped cages and been experimented on.
Page said the dogs were ready for foster-to-adoption starting Aug. 25. While the dogs have had their shots and are microchipped, she said they have not been spay/neutered yet. She said when someone comes to adopt one of the dogs, they will be able to take them home as their dog and foster them until a spay/neuter appointment can be scheduled, upon which the adoption will be complete.
“All of them are super healthy,” Page said. “They’ve been getting everything they need for three months since the Humane Society took over. They’re pretty healthy puppies.”
Brandywine Valley SPCA CEO Adam Lamb said, “These dogs have never known the simple joys of being a dog. We can’t wait to help them find homes where they’ll learn about the love of a family.”
