Round Town News Beagle Article - 1st December 2011
Little Pod Foundation are in the Round Town News
Thursday, 01 December 2011
Our most frightened Boy
Dedicated volunteers rescue 72 Beagles
LATE OCTOBER, Alicante residents Eve Allen and her partner Graham learned of a Barcelona laboratory closing, requiring homes for 72 Beagles that had spent their lives in cages - on a two-week deadline before the dogs were to be destroyed!
Eve and vets Eva & Willie at CanisaX hoped to rescue 10 of the younger dogs. Angela Stacey and Marie Stacey of the Little Pod Foundation in Playa Flamenca agreed to help with funding, caring, and an internet and Facebook appeal.
Help flooded in and as the rescuers began to hope, to the delight and amazement of all involved, Shannon Keith at the Beagle Freedom Project in America advised she would take all 72 dogs!
DETAILS
12 Beagles are one to 1½ years old: these have not been tested on. 60 four-year-old Beagles have all been tested on: all 72 dogs have received vaccinations, rabies injections and microchips.
All 72 Beagles were male and un-neutered - another cost that would have to be covered. . They have been used for human medical research but are presently all healthy. The dogs were kept singly in cages - possibly 10 in a room.
The laboratory managed to re home 25 of the dogs directly.
The first dogs arrived healthy but terrified, the signs of abuse clear to see, with terrible needle scars and they all have very bad teeth. They had no idea what to do outside of a cage, never having felt natural ground beneath their paws or the open air - or warmth and love from a human being. But they were not underweight and were not hungry. One was so frightened that when you opened his cage he just held his paw up and looked away from you: heart breaking. In the open he would freeze with fright.
IMPROVEMENT
Angela of LPF said, “This past week the dogs have improved in leaps and bounds, all eating well and happy to play and run around. Even our most frightened boy is now out and mixing with the other dogs although he is still nervous with people.”
All the Beagles left for LA on 22nd November.
MOVIE STARS
Marie from LPF says, “We didn’t want them to leave Spain for their new lives as a number so we named each one after a male movie star!
“We would like to thank everybody who has been involved or has supported the efforts of Eve Allen and Little Pod Foundation to get these dog freed and on their way to America. I think it’s safe to say we would all do it again without hesitation.”
More photos of this remarkable rescue can be viewed at www.facebook.com/littlepodfoundation