Adoption is a selfless act that requires a family to open their hearts to a total stranger. The Miller family has offered their home and loving affection to two beagles who were rescued this summer. Penny (3) and Frankie (2 ½), entered their home on August 9th from PETA in Norfolk, VA. 

The Humane Society rescued nearly 4,000 beagles from a mass-breeding facility in Cumberland, Virginia on July 21. Prior to the rescue, these puppies were bound to be distributed across the country for inhumane acts of animal testing. These 4,000 puppies have been distributed and adopted to new homes, even to homes of celebrities such as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

“We found out through an article on Facebook. It was talking about the lawsuit that the Humane Society brought against the Envigo lab in Cumberland, so I reached out and emailed about rescuing them. PETA then reached out to us, and we were able to bring two of them home,” the Miller’s father, Ben Miller, said.

Senior Jack Miller said, “We had been looking [after] our dog, Cookie, passed away a couple months ago, and we heard about the beagles. It was just good timing.”

Since the dogs had never been out of their crates in the facility, the Millers have experienced the puppies’ trouble adjusting to their new busy home. “It takes a really long time to walk them because they don’t know anything. If they hear a car, they get scared or they find it very interesting. They run up to everyone,” sophomore Lindsey Miller said. 

“Despite them being three and about to turn three, they really are puppy-like. They’ve spent literally their whole lives inside cages, so they’re inquisitive and always looking to discover everything, even things we take for granted. The other night we stood and we walked in the rain, and they were shocked, because they had never felt rain before,” Ben Miller said. 

The puppies are loved by many friends and neighbors for their personalities and curiosity. “Penny is very long, and she will always look out the window and wait for you to come home. She even cries when you come home because she’s so excited, and she’s always trying to sneak some cuddles. And then Frankie sometimes plays with our other dog, Winston, but she likes to bark a lot. She is always barking at everyone, and is so loud,” Lindsey Miller said. 

The adoption process of dogs isn’t a new experience for the Millers, as these puppies add on to their five prior rescues. “My family has always loved rescue dogs [and] all of [our] dogs have been rescued. We knew that they needed a safe home so we had to rescue them,” Jack Miller said. 

“The larger message is we need to know that there’s no reason that these animals should be in labs, and being forced bred and experimented on. But, I think the one big takeaway is that if people want dogs, there are plenty of shelter dogs, not just high profile dogs like this, but there are plenty. Loudoun County Animal Shelters is filled with them. There are plenty of loveable dogs that need homes,” Ben Miller said.