Freedom for Beagles - The Third to the Last Booth at Niles Dog Show

We visited ALL of the booths at the dog show. They were pretty much everything we expected them to be - lots of vets and lots of people selling dog-centric stuff.

But then we happened upon the THIRD BOOTH FROM THE END and we were stopped in our tracks. The sign said "Beagle Freedom" and we thought. . . FROM WHAT? It was news to us that a Beagle would need liberating. . .we hadn't heard they were oppressed pups or anything.

So we asked - What's up with this?

The nice lady at the booth told us quite succinctly - freedom from being used as TEST ANIMALS! She went on to explain that some of the leading companies are STILL using animal testing for their products. It is cruel to do so - I think we can pretty much all agree to that!

BUT WHY BEAGLES? I asked. Simply put, she explained, they are docile and sweet tempered animals and that is what makes them good test animals. That does not make sense to me, I said. But it is so true. To prove it she gave us the URL for a BEAGLE rights group - www.beaglefreedomproject.org. She said she even ADOPTED a former test BEAGLE and it is the best dog in the world! I believe her, too.

So I did some ONLINE EXPLORATION and know what? She is right. In 2010 the Beagle Freedom project was launched to highlight the plight of these dogs and test animals in general. Some people BREED dogs for the sole purpose of selling them to labs!!!! Is that insane? These animals are subjected to horrible things, some that kill, some that maim, and some that just hurt. There are alternatives to testing on animals but they COST MORE to do so companies do not do them. Countries around the world are banning animal testing. Why can't the USA do the same?

Using animals as test subjects is the same mindset as thinking a pet is disposable.

I told the nice lady at the booth that I would do my part to let others know about this problem. I mean, I am a pretty educated PUG and if I did not know about BEAGLE TESTING then I am pretty sure some of you might not have heard of it either.

And while we are at it, if all of us STOP using products from these companies who test on animals, then perhaps THEY WILL STOP doing so....