LEXINGTON, Ky. — 4,000 beagles were rescued from a mass breeding facility in Virginia, and the Lexington Humane Society has stepped up to help with more than a dozen. 

What You Need To Know

  • 4,000 Beagles were rescued from a mass breeding facility in Virginia

  • Lexington Humane Society rescued 15 dogs

  • The Lexington Humane Society is collecting donations for the cost of their medical care and transportation

  • The Lexington Humane Society is at capacity with nearly 500 animals

 

“This is Martha. She is one of our many eight-month-old puppies. She is learning how to become a dog again. She’s got her little tail wagging,” adoption specialist Briana Stanhope said.

Katy Stoess, with the Lexington Humane Society, says they rescued these beagles from a breeding facility in Virginia. 

“These girls are being bred and then sold to research facilities to test cosmetics, meds, what have you, they got here Tuesday night… got a little acclimated and now they’re doing great,” Stoess said.

But Stoess says each puppy needs medical care, and with the cost of transportation as well, it is not a cheap process.

“A normal dog that comes in from start to finish through our doors costs us about $500. And these are not normal dogs. They didn’t come from Lexington and we’ll be leaving Lexington. We had to transport them from Virginia to here. So their cost is well above what we normally spend,” Stoess said.

But because the Humane Society is already at capacity with nearly 500 animals, Stanhope says their conference room is now known as “Beagleville.” 

“Because we don’t have any space for dogs, we set up little crates,” Stanhope said.

And says it’s difficult to know the stories behind these innocent puppy eyes.

“They are just wonderful little dogs and it is some of the stories of dogs that come in and sometimes the shapes that they come in that can be really, really hard,” Stanhope said. 

Stanhope and Stoess say they are thankful for the donations and volunteers for traveling over 450 miles to save these little lives. 

These 15 puppies will go into foster care later this week, and the Humane Society plans to go back to Virginia to pick up a few more of the Beagles within a few weeks.

All the beagles have their foster families already set. But the LHS needs other foster homes for their other animals. If you can help and would like to volunteer, you can learn more from their website. You can also make donations to help the society with the beagles and other animals also on the website.