Ottawa family adopts two beagles from among 4,000 destined for drug experiments
An Ottawa family has adopted two beagles that were among thousands freed from a facility in Virginia that was breeding them so they could be sold for drug experiments.
Animal rescue agencies in the U.S. have been looking for homes for the dogs, who the U.S. Humane Society said lived—and in some cases died—in deplorable, inhumane conditions.
Speaking on Newstalk 580 CFRA’s “Ottawa Now with Kristy Cameron”, Michael Frame said he learned about the plight of the dogs from a news report.
“It came up about mid-July on our social media,” Frame said. “We have an old family beagle here and it became a topic at the dinner table about how awful this story was. Then, as we read more and more articles, the conversation became maybe we should adopt one.”
Frame said he wasn’t sure if any of the American agencies would allow a Canadian to adopt one of the dogs or if the Canada Border Services Agency would allow it into the country. He spoke to several rescue agencies before finding one that would adopt to a Canadian family.
The Northeast Animal Shelter said to come down on a Wednesday to get a dog. They ended up coming home with two.
“We hopped in the car Tuesday morning and drove down to Salem, Massachusetts,” he said. “We were in the facility … and they brought this fuzzy little puppy, two months old, and my wife was elbowing me saying, ‘Ask them for another one,’ and without hesitation they gave us another.”
He said the dogs are happy to be together, but suffer from resourcing hoarding habits because of the environment from which they were rescued. Overall, though, Frame says his two puppies—Wendel and Sydney—are in good health.
“They did tell us that they’re going to have dogs up to seven years old from that facility, and there’s a lot of them,” he said. “Though, we did have to agree that we might have one with some medical issues, which we were okay with, just to get them out of where they were.”
The puppies are already warming up to the family, Frame said.
“I have three teenage boys. Any time one of them comes home, or my wife comes home, or myself, they’re all excited and come running. It warms your heart to see them come running down the hall,” he said.
Their older dog, Jake, was a bit reticent at first, but he’s warming up to the new activity.
“The first couple of days he was very much like, ‘Who are these things and why are they in my house?’ but he’s the most gentle, docile dog I’ve ever met. He’s adapting slowly. He’s 13, so he’s used to things the way he likes them.”
Frame said he and his family wanted to do something good for these dogs.
“We weren’t really ready to bring another dog into the house until we saw that and thought maybe we could do some good,” he said. “Four thousand dogs? That’s a lot of dogs. If we can take two, at least we’re doing our little part.”
The U.S. Humane Society has a list of partner agencies working to help find homes for the beagles. A list is on the Humane Society’s website.
However, Frame said it wasn’t easy to find a group that would let a Canadian family adopt.
“It was a little bit frustrating because a lot of them wouldn’t take our application and we were pretty early in the process,” he said.
The two puppies in Ottawa are now experiencing a world of discoveries.
“It is entertaining to see them experience something new because everything is new,” Frame said. “This morning, I was watering the plants and some water splashed on one of them and he kind of panicked and jumped around because he’s never been wet.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.
Amish youth experience a rite of passage called Rumspringa. It’s not what you might think
The idea of “Rumspringa” has a specific spot in the American imagination. A rite of passage for young people in some Amish communities, Rumspringa is seen by most outsiders as a wild time away from strict Amish rules, when teenagers can experiment with the modern vices of the world.
Djokovic needs medical attention after getting knocked on the head by a water bottle at Italian Open
Novak Djokovic needed medical attention after apparently getting knocked on the head by a water bottle after a win at the Italian Open on Friday.