Branded Beagles

While checking my daily Facebook new feed, I discovered something horrific.  What I thought was going to be a cute video of Beagles playing in the grass turned out to be one of the saddest videos that I have ever seen.

 

A group of Beagles was recently rescued from a  United States laboratory.  A laboratory!  They each had a federal government i.d. number tattooed behind their ears!

 

I have never been more ashamed to be an American.  I remember occasionally reading the label on my make-up and noticing that it said, “We do not test our product on animals.”  Quite honestly, I thought it was a government regulation.

 

Then I find out that it is our government that is allowing this heinous behavior.  Why would you ever test anything on an animal?  Especially a dog!  While I love all animals, great and small, I do not have a problem with testing medical treatments on rats.  Probably because they are, well…rats!

 

But dogs?  They are meant to be companions.  The one friend that you can always count on to love you unconditionally.  They are NOT science experiments!

 

What also greatly disturbs me is that this is reminiscent of the Holocaust.  The Jewish people in Germany were tattooed with i.d. numbers.  Inhumane “experiments” were conducted on them as well.  If we, as the United States of America, thought this was bad enough to go to war over, why are we doing the exact same thing only to our animal population?

 

Thankfully, none of the Beagles appear to be harmed.  None have any body parts missing or “altered.”  But these poor pups first experience with humans will haunt them forever.

 

I cried as I watched the rescue group let the dogs outside for the first time in their lives.  At first, they huddled in the back of their crates.  Why in the world should they trust humans?  I’m sure that they probably thought another “test” was about to be inflicted upon them.

 

Slowly, but surely, one brave Beagle stepped out onto the grass.  Seeing that their fellow friend was safe, the other dogs quickly followed suit.  The Beagles finally had their freedom.

 

Freedom.  We, as Americans, pride ourselves on having this luxury.  Yet, we seem to deny freedom to so many.  And now, we are subjecting defenseless animals to life in a box.

 

My dog, Adriel, was rescued from a breeder where she had been kept in a cage her entire life.  Due to being on the cage flooring, she never developed her leg muscles.  Adriel cannot jump like other dogs.  I have to pick her up and place her on the couch, bed, etc.

 

Domino, my Blue Merle, was an owner return.  His previous owner was an older woman that had two other dogs, whom she confined to a small space.  When I first brought him home, he would just run in tight, small circles.  This is called “circling.”  Because he had been in such a small space, he was not used to being able to have room to roam.  He, like the Beagles, had never been outside.

 

I cannot fathom why our government is taking part in this despicable process.  The sickening thing is that I am sure money is involved. At least there are some rescue agencies out there who are not afraid to fight for those that do not have a voice. 

 

To see the Beagles enjoying their first taste of freedom, click on the following link:  http://cutedogpix.com/savedbeagles/