Episode 43. Laboratory Dogs Rescued: From Test Subjects to Beloved Companions with Ellie Hansen

From leaving New Jersey to start a new life – and a holistic dog boutique – in Montana to history, science and technology, Ellie and I cover a lot of ground in this episode.

Ellie’s life was forever changed when she was scrolling on social media one morning and saw a video that shook her to her core. This was a video showing laboratory testing on beagles. A beagle owner herself, Ellie was horrified and decided she was going to do something about this.

Now the Dog Mom to two rescued laboratory beagles among the rest of her menagerie, Ellie now adds author to her resume.

Ellie’s book, Laboratory Dogs Rescued: From Test Subjects to Beloved Companions, takes a look through the past, the present and the future of the use of animals in research. In the second half of the book, we hear from the organizations rescuing these dogs and many heart-warming stories from the adopters of beagles rescued from laboratories.

So what can we do about this? A lot, actually! Ellie shares many easy things that each of can do right from our phones to help.

While the topic of laboratory testing on animals may sound like a grim subject, this topic is discussed in a sensitive manner filled with fact-based information and tangible takeaways.

Ellie & I discuss:

Her childhood experiences with animals and how her she got her first dog at the age of 30;
Leaving New Jersey to move to Montana;
How she was inspired to start Lovable Pets, the challenges that followed and what the business looks like today;
How scrolling through Facebook changed Ellie’s life forever;
The Kindness Ranch and adopting Marty;
What life is like with Marty and Eddie, her rescued laboratory beagles;
Ellie’s volunteer work;
How Ellie’s book came to be and her book writing process;
The emotional toll of writing her book;
The experts Ellie spoke with for the book;
History of dogs being used in laboratory research;
How the history of the anti-vivisection movement is closely tied with feminism and the suffragist movement;
Why Beagles are the dogs most commonly used in research;
Why dogs aren’t a good model for human clinical research;
Organ-on-a-Chip and the better, cheaper technologies available;
Do rescued laboratory dogs make good pets? YES!;
Ellie’s favorite adoption stories;
What each of us can do to help end laboratory research on dogs; and
What the future holds for Ellie and Research Dogs Exposed

Where to find Ellie:

Buy the BOOK: Laboratory Dogs Rescued: From Test Subjects to Beloved Companions
SHOP Lovable Pets in Billings, Montana

How you can help:

Share this podcast episode with your friends and family
Buy cruelty-free products for yourself, your family and your home. Download the Leaping Bunny app for your phone to make this super easy!
Support the organizations working to end laboratory testing. Join their email lists and follow on social media.
- Beagle Freedom Project
  - Website: https://bfp.org/
  - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeagleFreedom
  - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beaglefreedom/
- Kindness Ranch Sanctuary
  - Website: https://kindnessranch.org/
  - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kindnessranch
  - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kindnessranch/
- Cruelty Free International
- American Anti-Vivisection Society
- Humane Society of the United States
Email your federal representatives about ending the FDA’s requirement for testing on rodent and non-rodent animals now that cheaper and more accurate technologies exist. Find your members of Congress here: https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member
Find out if your state has passed the Beagle Freedom Bill
Be a student advocate by starting a campus organization or planning a peaceful protest at universities conducting research testing on animals