From cages to couches: Beagles begin life after Ridglan Farms; what adopters need to know
WHITEWATER Wis. (CBS 58) -- The next chapter for thousands of Ridglan Farms beagles is just beginning. As the breeding facility shuts down, rescues say many of these dogs will need help learning how to be pets.
Mandy Lewis has worked with special-needs dogs for nearly a decade. Her rescue, Albert’s Dog Lounge and Rescue, helps dogs that require extra care. She says beagles from animal testing facilities are typically physically healthy, aside from some cosmetic issues.
“They just need their ears cleaned, their feet need to kind of recover from being in cages, a couple of them might have some skin issues, but it’s a lot of cosmetic stuff,” Mandy Lewis, the president and founder of Albert's Dog Lounge and Rescue, said.
The biggest challenges these dogs face are emotional and behavioral. Rescues say, it can take several weeks for the dogs to adjust to their new environment. Depending on their age, the experience can differ, but they say every dog is different.
“A lot of them are struggling to transition to water dishes and food dishes, these are all very normal for these types of dogs, but it is something an adopter should expect to experience when these dogs become available for adoption,” Lewis said.
The dogs can often struggle with separation anxiety. Lewis says the dogs have never had a relationship with humans before, so when they bond with their new owners and they leave, it can lead to destructive behavior or a lot of barking.
“We are so used to having our own dogs and vocal intonations like, ‘yes, yes, good girl,’ and we are used to saying that, but they don’t even understand that,” Shannon Keith, the president and founder of Beagle Freedom Project, said. “They’ve never been known by a name.”
The Beagle Freedom Project has been rescuing dogs from testing facilities for over 15 years. They say these dogs have often never even been outside, which is why they suggest small things that can make the dogs more comfortable.
“A dish scares them when it moves,” Keith said. “So, we get plastic bottoms for bowls. You have to think of every little thing, even the sound of the television, right? What is a leash? What does a collar feel like?”
That’s why fosters like Albert’s Dog Lounge and Rescue require adopters to have a fenced yard, avoid apartments due to separation anxiety, and prefer homes with another friendly, confident dog to help the beagle adjust.
“We don’t want them to be an only dog because it can kind of stunt their progression in opening up to humans and learning how to be a dog, right? Dog are going to teach dogs how to be dogs,” Lewis said.
It can take some time for the beagles to feel like they are at home, but eventually these advocates say the beagles will have breakthroughs. These dogs are also a significant flight risk, so advocates recommend having a GPS tracker on the dogs so they can be found if they escape or happen to get away. Albert's Dog Lounge and Rescue gives new owners a GPS tracker. They also don’t adopt the dogs out to anyone who lives more than five hours away.
The Beagle Freedom Project says the closure of Ridglan Farms is a win for animal rights. Now they are turning their attention to what they say is the largest breeding facility in the country, Marshall Bio Resources. The organization says if you want to support animal advocacy, you can do so by buying products that don’t test on animals. They have an app that will tell you if a product is tested on animals or not.