Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have adopted a rescue beagle named Mamma Mia.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex adopted a seven-year-old beagle rescued from a Virginia breeding plant, the Los Angeles Times reports.
In July, Mamma Mia was rescued along with 4,000 other beagles from the Envigo research and breeding plant in Virginia. The beagles were removed from the plant on the grounds of overcrowded and unsanitary conditions there.
Beagle Freedom Project animal rights attorney Shannon Keith told the L.A. Times: “The duchess called me personally (about the dogs).
“She calls on my cell with no Caller ID and says, ‘Hey Shannon, this is Meghan.’ We talked for 30 minutes, and I thought, ‘Is this Megan Fox?’”
A spokesperson for Harry and Meghan told the outlet that the couple made an after-hours visit to the shelter where Mamma Mia and her eight newborn puppies were staying.
“The duchess is holding Mia and was like, ‘We’re adopting her,’” Shannon continued. “She was like ‘No, we don’t want a Christmas puppy.… We want ones we can help who are older.’”
Mamma Mia will join the ex-royals’ other dogs, including fellow beagle Guy and black Labrador Pula.
Beagle Freedom Project rescues beagles and other dogs - as well as cats, pigs, horses, rabbits, goats, and sheep - most of which were used in laboratory testing.
