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The Beagles Have Landed!

We are overjoyed to be able to help out in a historic dog rescue- these eight beagles are part of the 4,000 beagles rescued from Envigo RMS LLC breeding facility in Cumberland, VA, earlier this summer. They were bred to be sold to laboratories for animal testing. The Humane Society of the United States has done an amazing job with this effort and we’re proud to join 8 other Maine shelters and rescues to help place these dogs in loving homes!

We so appreciate the outpouring of support – your help means the world to these beagles and to our overall work! A monetary donation right now is the most important way you can support GAHS as we prepare to meet the beagles’ needs. We anticipate these dogs will need veterinary care, including dental cleanings, which can be quite costly. At minimum, they will receive wellness exams, preventatives, vaccinations and spay/neuter surgeries. Consider sending us a gift card to a local pet supply store or an online retailer such as Chewy, Walmart or Amazon. That way we have the funds in hand to purchase anything the beagles might need.

The beagles are being cared for in foster homes. We rely on foster homes to provide care for a wide variety of animals, and to help us save more lives than our shelter kennel capacity will allow. If you’d like to learn more about volunteering in general at GAHS or fostering another animal, please visit this page.

Beagle Pupdate! 9/29/22 We still have three beagles seeking their new, loving homes. All are female and they are just over 1 year of age- Mavis, Myrtle and Matilda!

Our foster homes have done an excellent job in giving all the beagles their very first taste of life as part of a family. We are amazed by the outpouring of families who wish to take in one of these lovely girls. It is our job to help them find their true forever who can provide them with the patience, understanding, financial and behavioral support they need. These are not your average family loving, happy go lucky type dogs. At least not right now and maybe not for a long long time. These beagles come from a lineage of clinically born and raised dogs for laboratories. They have no idea what rain, sun, leaves, grass ,sun, moon, etc. are. They also have no idea what a sink, washer, dryer, steps, doors, carpets, wood, etc. are. They have not been exposed to people, places, cars, trucks, trains, bicycles, kids, etc. The foster homes that have them have given us a lot of information on their behaviors to the best of their abilities.

Each of the dogs has their own quirks, challenges and anxieties. The situation with these girls is unlike anything we have experienced – and our team recognizes the need for a different approach to the adoption process. In this case more specialized matchmaking is required.

We have developed a specific adoption application for the beagles which can be found at https://form.jotform.com/222626455857162. This application is required to be considered. Even if you have completed an application recently, or have adopted with us in the past, you must complete this form. Please make sure to answer all questions.

We will be accepting applications through 9am Saturday, October 1st. After that time, our staff will be reviewing applications and will begin reaching out to potential adopters. Our team is dedicated to matching adopters with specific dogs based on their needs.

Please be patient with us as we aim to help these dogs thrive in their new homes!

If you are not one of the few selected or interested in a beagle, please remember that we have many other fantastic canines (and lots of fabulous felines) who are also looking for their new families, so please consider another GAHS pet!