MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Pop star Debbie Gibson and Terry “Geezer” Butler, co-founder of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, are singing the same tune when it comes to sparing dogs from medical experiments.
The unlikely pair came together Tuesday not for a most unusual duet, but instead to praise ongoing efforts to find new homes for roughly 1,500 beagles purchased from dog breeder and research facility Ridglan Farms outside of Madison.
Forget Black Sabbath’s anti-war anthem “War Pigs.” This day was all about the dogs — more specifically, the beagles.
“It was so profound to be able to hold each of these dogs in our arms and be able to assure them that their new life was starting,” Gibson said. “Today was a very emotional day.”
Both Gibson and Butler held beagles from Ridglan Farms that had been transported from the facility to the humane society on Tuesday.
“They’ve never let me down,” Butler said of his pet dogs at the Dane County Humane Society, which is working to find new homes for 500 beagles. “They’re always loving.”
As they and others spoke in the humane society's barn, beagles from Ridglan Farms sat in the arms of volunteers as they waited to be seen by veterinarians for a health check, vaccinations and other care.
The Washington, D.C.-based Center for a Humane Economy and Florida's Big Dog Ranch Rescue, which both oppose using animals in research, struck the deal last month to buy the dogs for an undisclosed amount from Ridglan Farms.
The deal was announced just days after a violent clash between animal welfare advocates and police outside of the Ridglan Farms facility. Police used tear gas and pepper spray to turn back activists who said they were there to take the dogs. Protesters also broke into the facility in March and took 30 dogs.
Numerous groups are working to transfer the 1,500 dogs bought from Ridglan to facilities where they will get veterinary care and be prepared for transport to shelters around the country, where they eventually be put up for adoption.
More than 1,300 people have expressed interest to the Dane County Humane Society alone in adopting the dogs, said Amy Good, the society's director of marketing.
“It’s not a tough sell to get beagles into homes," said Wayne Pacelle, president of the Center for a Humane Economy. "The response across the nation has been overwhelming.”
The first 1,000 dogs were removed earlier this month and are in temporary shelters with agencies partnering with Big Dog Ranch Rescue. The Dane County Humane Society began receiving the remaining 500 dogs this week.
Ridglan Farms agreed in October to give up its state breeding license as of July 1 as part of a deal to avoid prosecution on felony animal mistreatment charges. The firm has denied mistreating animals, but a special prosecutor determined that Ridglan Farms was performing eye procedures that violated state veterinary standards.
Butler, who said he has five dogs and five cats at home, called it a historic day for the end of experimenting on animals.
“This is just the beginning,” he said.
Gibson, who released her debut album at age 16 in 1987, said she planned on fostering and possibly adopting one of the beagles she met on Tuesday.
“This little guy was the last one put in my arms, and I couldn’t put him back in a cage,” she said, holding the beagle as she spoke.
Asked whether they will ever work together on a song about dogs, Butler and Gibson chuckled.
“Maybe,” Butler said with a smile and a beagle still on his lap.
