PORTLAND, Ore. — On Saturday, Oregon received a plane-load of beagles from a historic operation that removed about 4,000 of the little hounds from a mass-breeding facility in Virginia. The puppy mill sold dogs to laboratories, according to the Oregon Humane Society.
The Humane Society of The United States, which is leading the distribution of the rescued pups, reached out for help. OHS said that they have collaborated with the national organization in the past.
"Moving this many dogs is an 'all hands on deck' moment in animal welfare," said Brian August, OHS chief operating officer. "As one Oregon Humane Society with two campuses, in Portland and Salem, we can help even more dogs from this case."
Approximately 20 of the beagles will be delivered to the OHS Salem campus, and the remaining dogs will stay at the Portland campus.
This transfer plan comes after the Department of Justice sued the owner of the breeding facility in Virginia over animal welfare violations and planning to sell the dogs to testing labs. A judge ordered the 4,000 pups to be transferred to animal shelters nationwide, OHS said.
A plane, chartered by Greater Good Charities in partnership with iheartdogs.com and HSUS, carrying the rescued beagles flew into the PDX airport around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. In all, the flight held 146 dogs. While most of them went to OHS, four other rescues and shelters joined to take care of the rest.
The dogs will be available for adoption at OHS beginning Tuesday, August 23. There is currently no adoption waiting list for these dogs and they will soon be posted on the OHS website.
