08/27/2025
We are beyond happy to have had the opportunity to save these beagles from the research lab in Shanghai, and then to partner with Kindness Ranch Animal Sanctuary to work together to bring them home safely to the USA. We have 37 more beagles that we will be teaming up to bring home in the weeks to come! Stay tuned and please donate if you can to help our mission to keep saving these innocent babies 🙏🏽 https://linktr.ee/R2TR
A Message from Kindness Ranch Executive Director -
Operation Freedom Fetchers: A Hard Road, A Worthy Rescue
Nearly 20 hours in a van gives you time to reflect on the choices that brought you there.
Ten beautiful female beagles had just completed a long journey, flying from Shanghai to Los Angeles, spending a night at a CDC facility, and now riding through the final leg of their trip to Kindness Ranch in Wyoming. Their journey wasn’t just physical, it represented something far bigger.
On May 22, 2025, I received an email from Run2theRescue (R2R) about a group of beagles needing help. After a few phone calls and some careful vetting, it was clear this was legitimate. We received video confirmation, identification markers, and enough documentation to verify, at least to a reasonable degree, that these dogs had been involved in, or at the very least connected to, American-owned or funded research in China. The exact details are elusive, and concrete proof is hard to secure when you're a small nonprofit facing billion-dollar institutions that thrive in secrecy. But the signs were enough.
So, we moved forward. I dubbed the effort Operation Freedom Fetchers—a light-hearted name for a deeply serious mission. What followed was a whirlwind of coordination, bureaucracy, and emotional investment that would test every ounce of resolve we had.
Rescue work always walks a tightrope between hope and heartbreak, and this international mission brought both in spades.
There’s a hard line between genuine rescue organizations and profit-driven operations that pose as allies. Navigating those waters, while being constantly asked for more money, is exhausting. Thankfully, the team at R2R made this possible, negotiating the transport of 47 beagles from China to Los Angeles for $1,400 per dog—nearly $1,000 less than our last international rescue. Even with that discount, the final transport bill was still $65,800. R2R pledged to cover costs for between 20 to 30 thousand dollars and followed through, making the mission more attainable.
We originally targeted the week of July 4th for arrival. But almost immediately, complications arose. The CDC facility in LA would only allow ten dogs at a time, requiring five separate round trips from Wyoming to California. Difficult, but doable.
Then came delay after delay. Facility shutdowns. Full flights. Permits needing to be redone. Paperwork lost in translation, literally. Each delay reset the bureaucratic clock, with R2R handling the bulk of the USDA applications and CDC appointments. All while we were managing tensions on the ground in China reminding us, understandably, that caring for 47 beagles wasn’t cheap.
Meanwhile, back at Kindness Ranch, we had to ensure we could receive them. We’re already in our fifth consecutive year of record intake. We have dogs in the U.S. scheduled for release from labs that we also need to make space for. Coordinating travel that meets USDA standards, ensuring staff availability, keeping everyone safe, it was a logistical maze.
Finally, on August 25, 2025, we got confirmation: the first group of 10 dogs was airborne.
They landed at LAX at 9:30 p.m., received vet checks and another round of vaccinations, and were cleared for release at 11:00 a.m. the next day. The cost for those 12 hours? $8,535, for just ten dogs. That’s due to the privatized facility holding a federal contract: no discounts, just profit margins. And we still have four more trips to go.
So why share all of this with you?
First, to reaffirm our commitment, alongside R2R and each of you, to getting these dogs home. R2R has been extraordinary. Their logistical and financial support cannot be overstated. They've carried the weight of paperwork, international diplomacy, and relentless follow-ups. They have our full gratitude and support.
Second, to shine a light on the broken system that allows third-party agencies to profit off good intentions. It’s a hard truth we’ve wrestled with: the moral conflict of spending donor money, your money, on systems designed not to help, but to extract.
Kindness Ranch is and will always be transparent. You deserve to know how your support is used. And while the cost is staggering, the mission matters. These dogs, from research tied to U.S. interests overseas, deserve freedom, healing, and homes.
But we must also be realistic. To recover the costs of this mission, we would need to raise adoption fees to $3,000 per dog. That’s not something we’re willing to do. It would price out the very families who can offer these dogs the love they need. We refuse to let greed compromise our values.
We will finish this mission. These 47 dogs will come home. That’s a promise.
But unless the landscape changes, unless viable, humane, and affordable alternatives for international rescue emerge, this will be our last operation of this kind.
In Summary:
These 47 beagles are linked to American-owned or funded research facilities in China.
It’s costing $65,800 just to get them to Los Angeles.
The intake for the first 10 dogs alone was $8,535.
We still have 37 more dogs to bring home.
Despite everything, the setbacks, the expenses, the sleepless nights, this is an incredible opportunity to save lives, raise awareness, and demonstrate what Life After Labs truly means.
When I hold one of these dogs, the stress fades for a moment. If you held one, I know you'd feel it too.
Thank you to R2R, NAVS, SPCA International, and to you, our community, for making this possible. Your belief in our mission fuels every mile of this journey.
Let’s bring them home, together. Because kindness, no matter the cost, is always worth it.
TO DONATE: VISIT WWW.KINDNESSRANCH.ORG
