After a dozen dogs were dumped, Springfield's Rescue One and others jumped in to help

Two out-of-state organizations teamed up with Springfield-area animal rescue, Rescue One, to help find forever homes for a group of dogs that were reportedly dumped on someone's property.

Rescue One received an email earlier last week saying 15 beagles had been dumped in Kirbyville. As of Friday, most of the beagles have been transferred to a California rescue.

Helpless Hounds of Tulsa, Oklahoma, had responded to a Facebook post by Rescue One's foster coordinator that detailed the situation and requested help. While Helpless Hounds couldn't take all of the dogs at once, founder Amity Edwards knew her foster-based rescue could take a couple.

"I had committed to (taking a couple), and I talked with Sherri (Jones of Rescue One) about that, but then my partner in California called," Edwards said. "I guess they saw I had commented on the post, and they were like, 'Hey, Amity, get them all.'"

The California partner was Priceless Pet Rescue, which is based in southern California. Priceless Pet Rescue has a hound transport program and previously participated in the February 2022 rescue of 150 beagles from an Envigo breeding facility in Virginia.

Priceless Pet Rescue works with organizations to frequently coordinate and transport hounds to the West Coast. Lisa Price, founder of Priceless Pet Rescue, explained that there is a "plethora" of hound breeds in the Midwest and the South.

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"We are an all-breed rescue, but any time we can help a hound or a beagle, we certainly will," Price said.

Edwards emphasized that Rescue One was an integral part of the effort. Many of the dogs were scared and wouldn't come to rescuers, so Rescue One's emergency rescue team used humane traps to catch them.

"We could not have done it without them. When we got there, (Rescue One) had gotten them all, luckily," Edwards said. "That was a huge help because we were fully prepared to dive in the dirt and tackle the beagles, get bit in the face, whatever. (The beagles) were pretty scared around strangers but they warmed up really quickly."

Edwards said they ended up rescuing 12 dogs — 10 beagles, one "fluffy dog" and a German shepherd that were on the property. The German shepherd went to a rescue that specifically handles that breed.

Once the dogs were caught, they took a ride out to Edwards' office in Tulsa for an overnight stay and some love. As a foster-based rescue, Helpless Hounds does not have an adoption facility but they have "one crate for emergencies" in her office.

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"All day Monday, we played with them, we got them out, we socialized them and named them," Edwards said. The beagles also got flea and tick medication.

While the rest of the beagles made the ride out to California on Monday evening, the mother beagle and her 2-day-old puppies stayed in Tulsa. Priceless Pets Rescue has four facilities, where the beagles will be available for adoption.

"It's nice to raise awareness that these kinds of situations happen and that people really have to step up and help in these ways," Edwards said.

Susan Szuch is the health and public policy reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @szuchsm. Story idea? Email her at sszuch@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Rescue One, out-of-state rescues work to find homes for beagles