Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, gave a beagle that was rescued from a breeding facility its “happy ever after” by adopting the dog this week.
The royal couple adopted 7-year-old Mama Mia, one of among the 4,000 beagles rescued from the Envigo breeding facility in Cumberland, Virginia, last month. Mia and her eight puppies were transported from Virginia to Maryland, then out to the Beagle Freedom Project in California, where the couple adopted the dog.
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“The duchess called me personally,” Shannon Keith, an animal rights attorney who runs the project, told the Los Angeles Times. “She calls on my cell with no Caller ID and says, ‘Hey Shannon, this is Meghan.’ We talked for 30 minutes, and I thought, ‘Is this Megan Fox?’”
Keith said she did not realize it was the duchess until the royal couple visited the center. The visit was confirmed by a spokeswoman for the couple. Meghan reportedly knew right away that she wanted an older dog rather than the puppies. Older dogs are often harder to place in homes because families often want to adopt puppies.
“The duchess is holding Mia and was like, ‘We’re adopting her,’” Keith said. “She was like ‘No, we don’t want a Christmas puppy. … We want ones we can help who are older.’”
Mia’s adoption comes one month after 4,000 dogs were rescued from the facility by the Humane Society of the United States in an agreement between the facility and the federal government. The facility was contracted to breed and research the beagles but was found to have violated the animals’ well-being numerous times.
Investigators claimed the facility routinely violated the Animal Welfare Act, including by feeding the beagles moldy food, according to a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice. On two occasions, inspectors found live maggots in their food, prosecutors said. Hundreds were killed without anesthesia, and 300 died of unknown causes over the span of seven months, according to the Department of Agriculture. The facility has since shut down its operations.
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Priceless Pets, a no-kill shelter in Chino Hills, has taken in nearly 1,000 beagles from the Virginia plant. Homeward Trails, another group working with the Humane Society, has taken in 1,500 beagles. Smaller places, such as Keith’s Beagle Freedom Project, have also helped take in animals. Keith’s shelter has taken in 25 beagles, according to the LA Times.
There are 1,000 people on the wait list to adopt the beagles, Keith said, but she is waiting to match each dog with the perfect home. Keith’s facility will additionally place dogs in foster homes for rehabilitation before giving them a permanent home.
