HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES IMPACT STATEMENT – CHARLIE RESCUED BEAGLES

It’s hard to fathom just how many little beings the phrase “roughly 4,000 beagles” represents, which is why we were so very happy to help these souls spared from life in a laboratory.

Charlie is just one of 4,000 beagles bred as part of the Envigo breeding facility in Cumberland, Virginia. This breeding facility supplied dogs as animal test subjects for laboratories. The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit that resulted in Charlie, along with some 4,000 other beagles, being transferred into the care of HSUS and our network of independent shelter and rescue partners.

Charlie would almost certainly have been sold to a laboratory, likely when he was still a puppy. If the lab were tasked with testing the safety of drugs or chemicals such as weed killers. Finally, if he didn’t die from those doses, Charlie would likely have been killed so that his tissues and organs could be examined.

Charlie’s life in a lab wouldn’t have been much of a life at all. We are honored that we have been able to coordinate this massive and historic effort to find Charlie and thousands of other dogs bred at Envigo for animal testing homes through our many shelter and rescue partners. This transfer of these beagles is a milestone in a fight we’ve been waging for years. We’ve been persistent in our fight to pass laws that end cosmetics animal testing.

Charlie was transported to our care center in Maryland and then quickly picked up by one of our shelter and rescue partners to begin his new life. Transporting roughly 4,000 dogs was a monumental undertaking. Our partners not only accepted dogs into their adoption programs but often, helped us transport them to shelters in their area. In Charlie’s case, staff from Northeast Animal Shelter drove from Massachusetts and dropped him off with the Dakin Humane Society along with 19 of his friends while another 54 young puppies were adopted through their program.

With the help of the Dakin Humane Society, Charlie will hopefully soon be curling up and falling asleep on the laps of his adoptive family members. We can’t wait to see what’s ahead for him.