Beagle celebration marks 1-year anniversary for lab test dogs

Heidi Petermeier watched Saturday afternoon as her beagle, Danny, ran around a backyard on Nicole Street in Las Vegas, frolicking with other dogs.

It may sound like any old day for a dog. But there was a time when Danny didn’t act this way.

This time last year, Danny and eight other beagles were adopted out after being released from an out-of-state lab. The dogs — all under the age of 3 then — had never stepped on grass before.

Valley Village, Calif.-based nonprofit the Beagle Freedom Project specializes in rescuing dogs like these. The group pays for medical care to ensure testing has not caused major harm.

All nine of these dogs were adopted by Nevada families and named after the Rat Pack and other Las Vegas icons: Danny, Wayne, Dean, Tommy, Sammy, Peter, Frankie, Joey, and Barry.

Danny has come a long way, Petermeier said.

“He was afraid of humans and would hide in corners both inside and outside. To see him and the other dogs intermixing with people is amazing,” she said. “It took a lot of patience, but he’s doing really well.”

Beagle Freedom Project Foster Adoptions Coordinator Monique Hanson said the organization has placed more than 450 rescue animals in the last four years in 23 states throughout the country.

“When research is over many animals are euthanized and we’re the missing piece, because we show the facilities that these animals can be placed in homes,” she said. “These dogs make perfect family pets.”

Beagles are the most commonly used dogs in lab testing, the organization says, because of the breed’s calm and forgiving nature.

Cheryl Doetch drove down from Reno for the one-year anniversary celebration with her beagle, Dean. When she first adopted the dog she said he was scared and didn’t like to be petted.

“In the past few months it’s been great to see the changes in him,” she said. “He feels at home in our home, and he’s happy. It’s great to watch him become a dog. It’s our honor to have him.”

Las Vegas resident Scott Intravaia and his girlfriend adopted Barry, whom he know calls Cooper.

“We have another beagle that we got through a friend and we didn’t know about animal testing until we got ours,” he said. “We fell in love with the beagle breed and that led us to the Beagle Freedom Project.”

After donating to the organization, Intravaia reached out to see if he could adopt one before receiving a call about Cooper.

“It’s been crazy but it’s a lot of fun,” he said about having two dogs. “You have to have a lot of patience when you rescue a dog, but it’s rewarding to see his progress.”

Intravaia said celebrating one year of Cooper being free from a lab is a momentous occasion.

“It means the world,” he said. “I love seeing all the boys enjoying their lives because that’s what they’re supposed to do.”

Contact reporter Ann Friedman at afriedman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4588. Find her on Twitter: @AnnFriedmanRJ.