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More rescued beagles arrive in Twin Cities from Ridglan Farm
More beagles arrived in the Twin Cities from Ridglan Farms. FOX 9's Soyoung Kim has more.
GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. (FOX 9) - Dozens more beagles will be up for adoption soon in the Twin Cities at the Animal Humane Society.
They were rescued from a Wisconsin breeder accused of mistreatment.
Long journey home
The backstory:
The beagles making their way to Minnesota are just some of the 1,500 beagles rescued from a Wisconsin commercial breeder and biomedical research facility. Ridglan Farms was under investigation by a special prosecutor and had faced accusations of mistreatment. The company agreed to sell the dogs as part of a settlement agreement to avoid prosecution. The company denies mistreating animals.
Now, the beagles are being relocated to organizations across the country.
"This was a big effort by the Center for Humane Economy, Big Dog Rescue Ranch, and Beagle Freedom Project to get the release of these 1,500 dogs. Beagle Freedom Project specifically is facilitating the placement of 500 of those," said Sarah Bhimani, Director of Communications at the Animal Humane Society.
"Their release was facilitated by the Beagle Freedom Project who reached out to Animal Humane Society to see if we could take in some of these beagles. We said yes, of course, 34 are coming to Animal Humane Society and 15 will be going to our rescue partners, Tri-County Humane Society and Ruff Start Rescue."
What they're saying:
The beagles arrived at the Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley Thursday evening. They will need to go through a few additional steps, including a medical exam, before they will be ready to find their forever homes.
The Animal Humane Society says the beagles will need a lot of patience and time to decompress as they are experiencing the world around them for the first time in many ways.
"We’re anticipating probably somewhere between two and maybe six years old. They’re probably very undersocialized. They might not even know how to walk on a leash or walk through doorways," said Bhimani.
"They are very energetic, curious dogs. They tend to be very food motivated, so keep that in mind. Once they get comfortable, they’re very friendly, outgoing, love to play."
What's next:
The beagles will start to go up for adoption in the coming weeks. Check with the Animal Humane Society’s Golden Valley location for updates on when the beagles will be made available in the adoption center.