The Brandywine Valley SPCA welcomes 15 more dogs to its Georgetown campus this week, rescued last month from a Virginia breeding compound that sold the dogs for experimentation.
And they are just in time for this weekend’s national Clear the Shelters adoption drive.
Earlier this month, 23 beagles were brought to the BVSPCA West Chester campus, bringing the total to 38, and not including 12 puppies brought to the Delaware Humane Association and Delaware SPCA campuses last week.
Chief Marketing Officer Linda Torelli says the West Chester dogs were placed with foster-to-adopt or adoptive families almost right away, and the 5 to 7 month old pups in Georgetown, will likely be placed just as quickly.
“The need for placement of the dogs is ongoing," Torelli said. "We’re going to stay on tap with HSUS, they’re an important strategic partner for us and we want to be able to help these beagles find homes so we are staying open minded if they need additional placement support. From the community’s point of view, we’ve had such an outpouring that there is a capacity to help more animals in Delaware.”
Any not placed before the end of the week will have the opportunity to find a home Saturday when shelters across the state discount or waive adoption fees in an attempt to clear the shelters.
“These are essentially like puppy mill dogs that really don’t know anything under their feet except cages," Torelli said. "So we are going to talk with them about all of those acclimation requirements.”
She adds the interest in these beagles is helping other shelter dogs too.
“One of the really amazing things that happened when we adopted out the West Chester beagles, families came forward to adopt the beagles, but we also saw an incredible outpouring for our animals overall. We had a near-record adoption day overall and most of the animals were not beagles.”
The BVSPCA and other shelters across the state are hoping for additional record adoption days this weekend during the national Clear the Shelter drive. Torelli says while some shelters are discounting adoption fees, the BVSPCA is waiving fees completely.
Torelli notes these rescue stories happen when someone sees something that doesn't seem right, and reports it.
She also emphasizes the importance of spaying and neutering to prevent overpopulation and more homeless animals.
Beagle rescue donations can be made at BVSPCA website — https://bvspca.org/form/beagles.html.
