Kathy Sunderland and Beth Collins of Beverly, MA, were thinking about getting a dog when their friend introduced them to Butter, one of 4,000 beagles recently rescued from a Virginia breeding facility. “Our friend volunteers at Northeast Animal Shelter — she does all the shelter’s photography — and she sometimes fosters dogs when they need a little help adjusting. She contacted us and promptly said, ‘Oh my God, you have to meet this beagle!’” explained Kathy.
Kathy and Beth are cat lovers, so owning a rescue dog — let alone a beagle — would be entirely new for them. “We were talking about adopting a dog now that we moved to a bigger place, but we also had a certain type of dog in mind,” said Kathy. “We weren’t thinking of a beagle, but when we met Butter, she was the exact size and demeanor we wanted in a dog — and she just turned out to be the sweetest little thing.”
The women agreed to a meet-and-greet with Butter after seeing her at a friend’s Memorial Day BBQ. “We wanted to make sure our cat Bean seemed okay with Butter and to see if Butter seemed comfortable with us,” explained Beth. The meet-and-greet went well, so an overnight was suggested, which also turned out to be a success.
“When we returned Butter to our friend’s house the next day, Butter was super happy to see our friend — but she preferred to snuggle with us on the couch,” said Kathy. It was at that point when Butter won over the women’s hearts. “I asked our friend, ‘Do we have to give her back to you? We really want to adopt her,’” said Kathy.
Even though Butter is no longer living in a cage in a breeding facility, it’s been an adjustment for her to live comfortably at Kathy and Beth’s house, especially when getting used to noises. “She’s kind of struggled with being inside,” said Kathy. “I remembered a couple of weeks ago, I opened a closet door — and we’re mindful of how noisy we’re being, so we’re trying to be very quiet. I opened it very gently and then closed it. She heard it and let out the biggest howl. We can’t tell what will upset her, so it’s a learning experience for all of us.”
Kathy and Beth’s house has a large, fenced backyard with plenty of room for Butter to roam and run and simply be a dog. And while at times Butter’s timid and finds otherwise everyday things scary — for example, when the wind blows through the trees or rattles the umbrella attached to the picnic table — Beth said that she’s improving. “But when she’s outside and on her leash, meeting other dogs, and being social, she seems 100% at ease,” added Beth.
When asked about their knowledge of animal testing, she and Beth shook their heads. “Honestly, we had no idea animal testing was being done on beagles,” said Kathy. She looked out across the yard and saw Butter dragging around a stick without a care in the world. “And it’s just so eye-opening to learn animal testing on beagles is legal — that they can test them and then toss them. It’s heartbreaking.”
