Mamma Mia: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry adopt 7-yr-old beagle from Virginia breeding facility
CUMBERLAND, VIRGINIA: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle expanded their dog family from two to three in the early weeks of August by adding a senior beagle named Mamma Mia from a breeding facility run by Envigo RMS in Virginia. Meghan, 41, had a beagle named Guy before she married Harry, 37, and following their marriage, they adopted a black Labrador and named her Pula.
Meghan and Harry adopted one of the 4,000 beagles that Envigo RMS had rescued from a breeding facility in Virginia. The canines would have been used as test animals for US drug studies, according to Reuters. After Envigo RMS was accused of animal mistreatment by the Department of Justice in May, the facility was slated for closure.
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The DOJ then announced that the canines would be transported for medical care and adoption on July 18 after Envigo and the DOJ struck a deal in July with no fines. The Beagle Freedom Project, where the Duke and Duchess of Sussex discovered their beagle, was one of the animal-rescue groups that rapidly arranged to remove the dogs from the Cumberland, Virginia facility.
The Beagle Freedom Project's attorney Shannon Keith received a call from Meghan, requesting a dog, according to the Los Angeles Times. Keith told the publication that during their 30-minute discussion, she had no idea she was speaking to a member of the royal family because the duchess simply introduced herself as "Meghan."
Keith revealed that during a meeting with Harry and Meghan earlier this month at their home in the San Fernando Valley, the royal couple specifically chose Mamma Mia because she is an older dog, considering younger dogs are more popular for adoption. "The Duchess is holding Mia and was like, 'We're adopting her,'" Keith said. "She was like 'No, we don't want a Christmas puppy. We want ones we can help who are older.'"
According to Keith, while the duke and duchess were getting ready to take Mia to their home in Montecito, California, Harry stopped because he thought Mia needed something.
"He's just like, 'Well, we can't leave yet because there's something in that back house she needs. Does she have a favorite toy or something?'" Keith said. They looked through a box of toys, and Mia reached for a teddy fox that had been her traveling companion from Maryland to California, she informed.