Bea the Beagle is our Pooch of the Month for December 2018. Usually we nominate a Parliamentarian of the Month to celebrate the work decision-makers do for animals. But this month we celebrate the inspirational story of Bea the Beagle who was saved from a life of painful experiments by the Rescue + Freedom Project and adopted by a loving family.

During our Lead the Way campaign to stop cruel and unnecessary UK dog tests which gathered more than 80,000 petition signatures, wonderful support from Bea and her rescue family inspired us and served as a reminder that dogs are caring and gentle-natured animals that belong in loving homes.

Bea was 12-weeks old when a serial number was tattooed inside her ear and she began being used in experiments. Thankfully Bea was rescued in 2016 and adopted by Tina Lobel and her family who nursed Bea back to health. We presented Bea with a certificate and a stocking of Leaping Bunny certified HOWND goodies.

Tina said: “What an absolute honour! Seeing how the experiments affected Bea was very upsetting, but Bea now knows what a comfy bed is, how to open other people’s Christmas presents, and how to enjoy cake! She has gone from the scared little girl with the tucked-under tail, to the super smiley, nosy girl who everyone falls in love with. It’s going to be fabulous to share award this with my family, friends, and Bea’s rescuers.”

Over 4,800 experiments on dogs took place in the UK last year. Dogs are forced to inhale or are injected or exposed to potentially harmful chemicals. The dogs who survive these tests are usually killed afterwards.

This Christmas, please support our work to end animal tests and stop animals like Bea from suffering in painful experiments.