There was one crate.
It was just sitting there with a dog inside of it.
Terrified to come out.
And her name was Echo.
There you go honey.
You’re okay, honey.
Echo is just kind of out of it.
All of the others are running around except for Echo.
Oh my god, thank god. I’m going to cry.
They’re here.
Twenty five dogs were rescued from the laboratory in China.
Thousands of these labs even exist right here in America.
The Beagle Freedom Project rescues animals used in testing.
They’ve never been outdoors. Never been on grass.
Have never felt the kind touch of a human.
There was some product that they were putting in Echo’s eyes to test it,
and she went blind.
I heard Beagle Freedom Project needed fosters,
and I went to help and Echo fell asleep in my arms.
I knew it was going to take a lot of time to help rehabilitate her.
Gigi is my dog.
She’s feisty and very protective.
Gigi started to lunge towards Echo
and then stopped dead in her tracks,
and recognized that Echo was not your normal dog.
I took her out to try and walk her.
I think Echo was confused.
I don’t think she’d ever been walked before.
As soon as Echo’s paw hit the grass
she would steer in the opposite direction.
I wrapped a towel around her.
And when a dog falls asleep on you,
you know that you’re doing something right.
Is that a tail that’s wagging?
That’s a wagging tail.
The first time I saw her tail wag was about two days in.
And then every time she heard my voice, her tail would wag.
Hey Echo! Good girl.
The vet removed her eye because she was in so much pain for so long,
and it actually ended up helping her.
Come on! You can do it.
Echo started to come out of her shell in such a unique way.
And she’s the goofiest dog in the whole world.
Echo.
We’ve never heard that before.
Good job. Good job.
Gigi’s a mama’s girl.
And as much as she loved mentoring Echo,
she loves having the bed to herself.
And I enjoyed my fostering experience with Echo.
But when I met Jenna and Jay, I knew that this is the right family.
- I saw the photo of Echo, and I called Jay.
He was like, “Oh my god!”
- I felt at peace with the fact that this was the perfect family for Echo.
- Yay! - Good girl!
- We knew that she would require extra love and patience.
But we wanted to be able to provide that.
Mia is our sassiest dog.
She’s growling right now, because we’re not paying enough attention to her.
And then came — - Mango.
- Mango. She’s just a total mush. And —
- Our resident therapist.
- Crystal, our cat, is kind of the queen of the household.
Everyone just respects her.
Echo is a part of a pack for the first time in her life.
The first time Echo walked on grass was the day after we adopted her.
- Mango and Mia were right beside her.
Because they went on the grass, she wanted to go on the grass.
Walking in the grass?
- When Echo eats she scarfs her food down.
And we think that’s because she was not fed well in the lab.
(Echo howls)
What was that?
- We hoped that she would get to experience the world,
and adventure.
Oh my gosh.
After spending some time in this new life,
Echo has blossomed into such a goofy personality.
Hey!
Of all the dogs, Mango knew that I was expecting.
- Come see your baby.
Easy on the Frenching.
- As time has gone on, their relationship just keeps evolving.
So sweet.
Mateo is kind of like her baby.
She really, really mothers him.
My siblings have paws.
- Echo is definitely teaching us to be more in the moment.
Good girl!
- There’s always music happening around the house.
And I think it must soothe her.
She’s always by our side, and kind of wants to be a part of it.
(Singing) “Sweet surrender,”
“Calling my name.”
“Take me for a ride.”
“Because I don’t want to play this damn game."
We feel so grateful to Beagle Freedom Project.
Echo is goofy.
She’s gentle and loving.
The best way to help dogs like Echo
is to stop buying products that are tested on animals.
But her past life doesn’t slow her down,
it doesn’t stop her from experiencing new things.
And it doesn’t stop her from loving,
from being a part of this family,
and just enjoying her life.
(Singing) “Oh, here comes Echo.”
“Yeah, she’s so sweet.”
“Yeah here comes Echo. So careful on her feet.”
“She’s got a strong nose, careful toes. Yeah, she's Echo."
“Her name is Echo.”
(Laughing) “There she goes.”