SARASOTA COUNTY – The Humane Society of Sarasota County has taken in 18 beagles from a mass breeding facility.
“These were all dogs that were destined for research labs all over the country and thankfully that path has been intercepted,” said Executive Director of the Humane Society of Sarasota County, Anna Gonce.
The Humane Society took in 4,000 beagles from Envigo, a mass breeding facility that received multiple violations for inadequate veterinary care and insufficient food. Sarasota County brought in 18 pups, now in search of a permanent home.
“They’re all little boys about 10 months old, and were so excited to start matching them with their families,” said Gonce.
All of the pups will come vaccinated and neutered with a distinctive mark.
“They all have a tattoo inside their left ear, it’s a green tattoo that is pretty standard for dogs that are bred for research, a specific tattoo that identifies that dog, they don’t have a name or anything they just have a tattoo with letters and numbers and it’s inside of their ears, inside the flap of their ears,” said Shelter Veterinarian, Kirsten Martin Del Campo.
Because the needs of these beagles are unique, HSSC will be accepting and screening applications separately for the pups
“We are anticipating that we will have more applications than we have dogs but we are hoping to receive more, so we do encourage if you are interested to fill out an application and maybe we’ll be able to save some more after this,” said Gonce.
While all the puppies are considered friendly, the dogs have spent their entire lives in a cage so they’ll need extra patience and love!
“They just need time to learn how to be a family pet, they’ve never had that opportunity, so as long as you are willing to put in the time and the effort, you’ll find that they will be the best friend you have ever had,” said Gonce.
The Humane Society will begin accepting applications for adoption today through Friday, September 2nd with a $200 adoption fee.
For more information, you can visit, the HSSC website here.
