Beagles rescued from Wisconsin breeder set to find new homes in Minnesota
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Animal rescues in Minnesota are welcoming dozens of beagles into their care this week from a biomedical research breeding facility in Wisconsin.
Late last month, Big Dog Ranch Rescue and The Center for a Humane Economy announced they bought the beagles for an undisclosed sum from Ridglan Farms near Madison.
The purchase followed a settlement with Wisconsin state regulators where Ridglan agreed to give up its breeder’s license in exchange for avoiding criminal charges.
The company denies claims of wrongdoing and says it has a “deep commitment to animal welfare.”
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Early last year, animal rights groups petitioned a court to investigate the breeder. In October, special prosecutor Tim Gruenke found that many of the allegations were too old to prosecute or didn’t rise to the level of criminal liability.
But Gruenke did find that Ridglan allowed non-veterinarians to perform eye operations on some animals without general anesthesia in violation of Wisconsin’s animal mistreatment law.
Twin Cities-based Animal Humane Society welcomed 50 dogs on Thursday. Fifteen will be made adoptable through the Tri-County Humane Society in St. Cloud and Ruff Start Rescue in Princeton. The Bond Between in Minnetonka took in 30 beagles earlier this month.
Sarah Bhimani, director of communications for Animal Humane Society, said the dogs will likely need extra time to acclimate to people.
“They might come into a home and just go into a corner and hide there for a little bit, and might need some time to get comfortable with their new family,” said Bhimani. “And so moving slowly, talking quietly, giving them the space that they need is going to be really important.”
Bhimani says each beagle will undergo a behavior assessment and will likely need special attention from volunteers trained to help dogs that are wary of humans.
“Those volunteers will work with these dogs to help them understand that humans are not scary, that we usually have yummy treats or toys for them to play with,” said Bhimani.
These are dogs that have never been outside, seen grass or had extensive human contact, Liv Hagen, welfare director for Animal Humane Society, told MPR News Morning Edition.
“These dogs essentially don’t know how to dog,” said Hagen. “They don’t know what it means to be loved by a human. To be a member of the family.”
Hagen said the beagles might hide in the initial weeks or months after rescue. New experiences have to come slowly and humans must have patience, she emphasized.
“The world is very new and it's very, very big for them, and so it can be quite overwhelming,” Hagen said. “Every one of these dogs is an individual, so they're all going to respond a little bit differently to these new experiences, but generally, what we see are dogs that are quite under-socialized.”
