Beagles who were abused and used for scientific testing are finding new homes in New Mexico.
The beagles are among thousands rescued by the Beagle Freedom Project (BFP) from facilities around the country, according to KRQE. These beagles came from Oklahoma, where they were used to test flea and tick medications. BFP also rescued 4,000 beagles from a facility in Virginia.
Lynn Hopkins heard about the dogs rescued in Virginia and decided she would take one of the dogs from Oklahoma, KRQE reported. She picked up her beagle at the Santa Fe Animal Shelter and Humane Society.
"I came to get a beagle!" Hopkins said. "One of the lab beagles. One night, I was watching the 10:00 news; there was a story and I thought, 'I want one of those.'"
The beagles that arrived in New Mexico lived at the testing facility in Oklahoma.
"They have lived their entire lives in a laboratory setting,” Wendy Wood, director of operations for BFP, said. "We don't want them to be put down just because they've been a part of animal testing. We want them to now live their life as a dog."
BFP took in 34 dogs and seven cats from the Oklahoma facility, according to KRQE. Four animals are finding homes in Santa Fe. Five are headed to Flagstaff and the rest are being transported to Los Angeles.
"It's everything we can wish for, right?" Wood said. "Like, all we want is for them to live their best dog life."
Beagle Freedom Project is the world's leading organization for rescuing and rehoming animals used in experimental research, the group's website noted. The organization has rescued animals from facilities in 36 states and eight countries.