My days in the lab are a distant memory
I was bred to be a test subject.
I spent the first 8 years of my life in a small enclosure. My only interaction with humans was related to the tests that they performed on me. You might have thought that testing on beagles was a thing of the past. but laboratories still use beagles as test subjects because we are very docile, making it unlikely that we will display aggression or injure the people running the tests. Also, our small size makes it easy and inexpensive for laboratories to house many beagles in small, solitary confined areas.
Beagles are subjected to a variety of testing, including toxicology tests in which beagles are exposed to potentially harmful chemicals to determine the effects of those chemicals. As a condition of my release, I’m not allowed to talk about the tests that were performed on me. Not knowing the details of my background made it difficult for Heritage Haven to know what to expect. I couldn’t tell them about the things that might trigger me.
Thankfully, there was an ace up Heritage Haven’s sleeve…Diaz! Diaz had lived at Heritage Haven for about 6 months before I arrived. He couldn’t wait to welcome me to the pack. Since I had never lived in a home before, I did not know how to use food and water dishes like the other dogs did. I wasn’t sure about stairs and other common household items.
Diaz spent many hours with me getting me acclimated to everything so that I felt confident when I met the rest of the pack. Beagles used for testing are normally kept in isolated individual cages, so being around so many dogs was new to me. It has been fun to get to know so many other kinds of dogs. While I have become a lot more independent, I still like to share my food dishes with Diaz at mealtimes.
