Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have welcomed a new addition to their family after adopting a rescue dog named Mamma Mia.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have taken in the seven-year-old beagle who was rescued from a Virginia breeding plant, according to the Los Angeles Times. Mamma Mia and 4,000 other beagles were rescued from the Envigo research and breeding plant last month on the grounds of overcrowded and unsanitary conditions.
Shannon Keith, animal rights lawyer for Beagle Freedom Project, told the L.A. Times: “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?’”
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A spokesperson for Harry and Meghan said the ex-royals made an out-of-hours visit to the shelter where Mamma Mia and her eight newborn puppies were housed. Shannon continued: “The duchess is holding Mia and was like, ‘We’re adopting her’.
“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 Sussex’s growing family which includes fellow beagle Guy, black Labrador Pula and children Archie and Lilibet. As well as beagles and other dogs, Beagle Freedom Project rescues cats, pigs, horses, rabbits, goats, and sheep, many of whom were used in laboratory testing.
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