They stayed inside their carriers, unfamiliar with the light, the breeze and the sound of birds overhead. Contained for their safety, the three beagles who arrived at Transfer Beach Park on June 6 were beginning a life very different from anything they鈥檇 ever known.
Driven across the country by The Beagle Alliance鈥檚 executive director Lori Cohen and volunteer Brenda Greschuk, the dogs were greeted in Ladysmith by Chemainus resident Bea Nicholson 鈥� who manages the charity鈥檚 website and IT support 鈥� and by the Vancouver Island foster families waiting to take them home.
The meet-up marked the final stop in a cross-border rescue mission that brought 15 former lab beagles to safety through The Beagle Alliance, a Winnipeg-based charity that advocates for the rehoming of animals used in scientific testing.
鈥淚n Canada, over 16,000 dogs are used in research. Most people don't know that over 3 million animals are used in research each year,鈥� said Cohen. 鈥淐anada has one of the worst animal protection laws in the world.鈥�
According to data from the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC), over 3.5 million animals 鈥� including mice, fish, cows, birds, reptiles, cats, dogs, and primates 鈥� are used annually in research, teaching, and testing. In 2022, 10,417 dogs were reported as part of these experiments. But those figures only reflect institutions voluntarily reporting under CCAC guidelines. Many private laboratories are not required to disclose their numbers, meaning the actual figures may be significantly higher.
While some U.S. jurisdictions have laws requiring laboratories to release animals after testing, no such legislation exists in Canada. Most research animals here are euthanized, with little to no public transparency. Cohen said her organization was only recently able to secure the release of two dogs from a Canadian facility 鈥� a first after years of effort.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no law that protects any of these animals,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he laboratories will say that they can't go on to live normal lives.鈥�
Cohen and her team are proving them wrong. To date, The Beagle Alliance has rehomed more than 90 former lab beagles.
Beagles, in particular, are frequently used in labs due to their small size and docile nature. They are the most widely used dog breed in research worldwide. Their trusting, people-oriented personalities are precisely what make them easy to exploit in laboratory settings. The trauma they experience, along with some of their more challenging canine qualities, can complicate rehabilitation. Those same traits, however, also make them wonderful pets once they begin to heal.
鈥淭hey're tricksters, they're escape artists. They're scent hounds, they're food oriented. They climb on things like cats. They will challenge,鈥� said Cohen with a laugh. 鈥淚f you think you're smart, get a beagle 鈥� you'll be humbled in a day.鈥�
The Beagle Alliance screens and educates all foster and adoptive families about the unique needs of the breed and the added complexities of life after the lab. The organization is entirely foster-based and relies on volunteers like the small group gathered in Ladysmith that afternoon.
鈥淲e don't know anything about the dogs till the 11th hour, and the fosters take them into their homes, sight unseen,鈥� said Cohen. 鈥淲e could not save them without the fosters and adopters.鈥�
The 15 dogs in this rescue came from an unnamed U.S. laboratory, transferred first to Kindness Ranch Sanctuary in Wyoming, then driven across several states and provinces before arriving in Alberta and B.C. The identities of the labs and the nature of the experiments are never disclosed.
鈥淚 can't tell you where they came from because it's a very secretive world,鈥� Cohen said. 鈥淥ur rescue partner signs a nondisclosure, so we are not told what laboratory they come from and we are never told what is done to them in the laboratory.鈥�
The Beagle Alliance works closely with U.S. organizations because Canadian facilities are not required to release animals after testing and often refuse to engage with rescue groups. Canada鈥檚 most advanced animal-free research centre 鈥� the Canadian Centre for Alternatives to Animal Methods鈥攕hut down last year due to lack of funding.
鈥淐anada is a first world country that does not fund animal-free science,鈥� said Cohen. 鈥淭here鈥檚 computer modeling that can be used that is less expensive and more effective than the animal use model, which does not translate very well to cures and treatments for disease.鈥�
That message is at the heart of the cross-country tour 鈥� not just placing rescued dogs in homes, but raising awareness and calling for an end to animal testing in Canada when more effective, humane alternatives already exist.
The charity recently secured a sponsorship from WestJet, enabling them to fly dogs across the country to approved fosters 鈥� expanding their reach far beyond the highway and into homes from coast to coast.
Over 95 per cent of foster families end up adopting their foster dogs. The organization provides 24/7 support, covers veterinary care and spay/neuter costs, and has partnered with a trainer who specializes in dogs with anxiety and PTSD.
The cost to rescue each dog averages $1,500, while the adoption fee is $675.
鈥淣obody's dropping dogs on my doorstep,鈥� Cohen said. 鈥淲e're actively having to go out and get them, and that's a costly venture.鈥�
Funding comes from family foundations, monthly donors, and individual supporters but donations are always needed 鈥� not just to cover the cost of care, but to help shift a national conversation.
The organization鈥檚 website,, includes information about upcoming rescues, foster and adoption applications, educational resources on animal testing, and ways the public can support the cause.
The ultimate goal, Cohen said, is not just to save individual animals, but to build a future where rescues like this are no longer necessary. As their motto says, The Beagle Alliance is committed to helping animals used in research go from lab to love.
