ohmidog!

These scenes come from a rescue of laboratory beagles a year and a half ago, but they seemed a good way to start off a new year — and a touching reminder to appreciate the simple things we tend to take for granted.

Like grass, and fresh air.

The nine laboratory beagles shown here  – like most beagles bred for lives in labs — had never been outside, seen or stepped on grass.

On June 8, 2011, they were rescued by the  Beagle Freedom Project from an undisclosed research laboratory, and, with a six-hour drive ahead, allowed to romp in grass for the first time in their lives.

Watching them take those first uncertain steps is pretty moving.

The Beagle Freedom Project was started in December 2010 by Shannon Keith after he learned what beagles — the most popular breed for research because of their trusting personalities — go through in research labs.

Its mission is to rescue and find homes for beagles used in laboratory research.

Research facilities obtain beagles directly from commercial breeders, who raise them for that purpose.

According to the project’s website, university and other research facilities use the beagles for medical, pharmaceutical, household products and cosmetics tests. Some labs attempt to find homes for them when the dogs have finished serving science.

The project works directly with the labs, making arrangements to remove and transport beagles and place them in loving homes. All rescues are done legally with the cooperation of the facility.

Once rescued, laboratory beagles need to learn how to be dogs, and live as pets. Most have never seen children, cats, televisions, sunshine, or grass. They’ve not been house-trained, and are unfamiliar with toys and leashes.

The Beagle Freedom Project warns potential adopters that the dogs may be fearful of people initially, may have phobias from a lifetime in confinement or from being restrained, are likely to have been surgically de-barked by the breeder, and have an ID number tattooed in their ear.

Neither the project, nor those who adopt the dogs, know what specific kind of experiments the dog might have been involved in.

But dogs are quick learners and with time, the project says, “these dogs will learn how to become dogs, and their transformation will be amazing.”

Beagle Freedom Project is a service of Animal Rescue, Media & Education (ARME). Founded in 2004, ARME is a nonprofit advocacy group created to eliminate the suffering of all animals through rescue, public education and outreach.

(Photo and video from the Beagle Freedom Project)

Bob Barker has made a new public service annoucement for PETA, aimed at calling attention to the suffering of animals used for product testing.

Many animals are poisoned, blinded, and killed every year in product tests for cosmetics, personal-care products, and household cleaning products — even though non-animal tests are available.

On top of that, the results of animal tests are often unreliable or not applicable to humans, PETA says.

Barker urges consumers to research before they buy, and suggests visiting PETA’s website to order the organization’s free cruelty-free shopper’s guide.

“The price is never right on products tested on animals,” Barker says.