Beagle Who Spent Entire Life in Testing Lab Finally gets a Family
Rocky Kanaka
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Video Transcript
Rocky Kanaka:
They didn’t even give her a name. They only gave her a tattoo. CMF CWJ.
♪ I’ve been holding on ♪ ♪ To hope that you come back ♪ ♪ When you can find some peace ♪
Rocky:
She’s one and a half years old and this was likely used to identify her as #3,427 of the 4,000 beagles that were kept in a testing lab in captivity until now.
♪ I’ve been torn up ♪ ♪ And told to get you off my mind ♪ ♪ But I hope I never lose your bruises ♪ ♪ That you left behind ♪ ♪ Oh my Lord ♪ ♪ Oh my Lord ♪ ♪ I need you by my side ♪
Rocky:
As you can see, a lot of these beagles are going to need help but today I’m helping Tashi. This is going to be a big moment for her because she’s only ever known a cage. I wanna make sure I’m explaining what a big deal this is. In fact, a while back Beagle Freedom Project was able to meet with one of the lab workers who was able to get a couple of the dogs out. And this is what happened.
– [Shannon] So we’re heading to this woman’s house who works at the lab.
– [GPS Voice] In two miles turn left on South and Rose Street.
– [Woman] They’re not gonna walk.
– [Shannon] They’re not gonna walk. They don’t know how?
– [Woman] Well, it’s just gonna overwhelm them.
– [Rocky Kanaka] We wanted the dogs to experience grass but they didn’t even know if they could walk out of their kennels.
At first, they were really nervous and they wouldn’t even put both paws down. But then this happened. Wow, seeing something like that makes me so happy. Okay, now, let’s circle back around to our Dog’s Day Out dog, Tashi and watch her experience the park for the very first time ever.
Hi… A lot of smells.
Promise you now, girl, you’re more than just a number and we are gonna do whatever it takes to find you a home.
I have a lot of great things planned today for her Dog’s Day Out. But one of the most important things for today is to get her adopted. I thought we’d start this dog’s day out with something I think every dog should have. Her very own Puppuccino! This will be her first Puppuccino.
– Oh My gosh! I’m so glad I get to be a part of this!
– She could probably probably smell it. ♪ Feeling good ♪ ♪ Like I should ♪ ♪ Went and took a walk around the neighborhood ♪ ♪ Feeling blessed ♪ ♪ Never stressed ♪
Rocky Continues:
It is so fun to see her little character come out. Look at that! She’s so happy. They actually gave us two of them. That’s so nice. And they’re so small. I’m gonna let her have both. For her beagle nose that has to smell so good. And now she thinks everything’s a puppuccino. She’s like, “Where? Where’s some more pup-” Oh, you watch some more puppuccinos?
It’s really fun watching her enjoy her puppuccino. But I’m also trying to hide the fact from her that I’m worried because there’s a big problem.
I’m working with Priceless Pets, an awesome rescue group. They pulled hundreds of beagles and have adopted most of these beagles. And the final adoption event is happening today. And there are 15 beagles that sill need a home but only 12 families coming. That means there’s a strong possibility that Tashi won’t get a family.
The good news is I have a plan. I made a promise and today is all about working to fulfill that. Number one, I need to promote Tashi and to do that, I feel like I really need some good pictures. So I’m bringing in a photographer. Two, I want Tashi to experience new things. To really learn how to be a dog.
Now, her foster mom has done a fantastic job at letting her decompress over the weeks.
-[Foster Mom] I don’t think they were able to run or play or stretch. So she’s definitely getting a lot more activity and you can tell she really enjoys it. And she’s really just opened up.
Rocky:
Now, it’s time to experience new things with her, to be there for her as she tries all of this out. Three, I wanna show her that she’s loved. And one way to do that is through new taste and smells. So I’m gonna make her all kinds of fun stuff so that we can really learn what she loves. And I think a great way to kick this off is to take her shopping and buy her everything she touches!
Whatever you want, I’ll buy it! All you gotta do is touch it! You want a toy? She’s touched it! Look at that. You can have that. Oh, she touched it! Whoa, you bought another one! Man, she’s moving fast now. Whoa, where we goin’? Is this your first meeting with a kitty cat? Oh, no, you can’t have a kitty cat!
You want a cat toy? She’s buying cat toys. You like cat toys? You want a new collar or harness? Oh no, don’t buy a bed. Oh, you’re gonna buy an expensive bed. Oh, a watermelon bed?
She’s really going down the middle of the aisle a lot because she doesn’t know what any of this is. So, we’re gonna do a fun little game here where I’m gonna set up a bunch of stuff in the middle of the aisle, let her explore. And if anything she touches of that, I’m gonna buy for her.
Here we go. Oh yeah! Oh, cool. Oh, you like the little lamb? That’s really soft like you, huh? Oh, want that one? Okay. You want the pizza?
Oh, man. She’s good at this when I put ’em all in the middle of the aisle. What is it? A harness? Okay. Oh, you like that outfit? We can get you one of these. A little tutu. We can use this one for the photo shoot. Here. All you gotta do is touch it, we’ll add it to the photo shoot. Okay, it’s in. Oh no, not cat. Do you want? You just bought cat litter? Oh, a cat scratcher!
We’re gonna help a girl out. We’re gonna set some treats in the aisle again so she can smell them. You like beagle treats? No, no. She does not want to have any good breath. She did good. I’m scared about how much is this is gonna cost. How much do you think it’ll cost? Let’s go check out, girl. You did so good.
– [Employee] Some durable chews are always useful. Oh, there we go.
-[Rocky] I’m a little nervous about the total.
– [Employee] $276.75.
– [Rocky] $276.75. That’s not too bad. You did, oh wait, I forgot this one.
– [Employee] Oh. $303.80.
-[Rocky] Better number, I think. Okay, let’s go girl.
Rocky Continues:
As you can see, Tashi’s really coming out of her shell. And I thought something fun to do would be to take her to a doggy daycare so she can see other dogs, so that she can run a course, play. Have fun just like other dogs.
I called up my friend, Kathy Miller, the owner of Dogtopia and she said, absolutely come over. She wanted to help.
Now Eric, who is a canine coach is actually gonna show us one of the fun things that some of the dogs get to do at doggy daycare.
-[Rocky] As you can hear, we have a special guest with us. Who’s this?
– [Eric] This is Valor.
– [Rocky] Valor’s gonna show us how the course is run. Ice pools for dogs are great. Helps engage their senses and keep ’em cool.
-[Rocky] So this right here is Tashi.
– [Eric] Hi, Tashi!
-[Rocky] Tashi’s really timid. She’s never been in this sort of environment. So I’m hoping you have some tricks to really help bring her out of her shell. I’ll take her off her leash.
– [Eric] Hey, Tashi. What do you think?
Rocky:
I’ve kind of backed off over here. ‘Cause I just want to not have any pressure on her.
Something that’s really encouraging about this is that there’s a lot of potential hiding spots in here that she could just go hide and want everyone to get away. This is real progress for a dog that has been in a two foot cage her entire life.
Let’s put her in the ice bath and see what she does. What is that? Maybe a little too scary? Okay, okay. The idea is to introduce her to things and have nothing forced. So she’s obviously not interested in this ice bath and that’s okay.
Okay, now we’re gonna bring in some more dogs that have similar energy levels to Tashi so they can help guide her and show her how to be a dog.
Here they come. She’s gonna meet another dog.
– [Eric] Go say hi.
-[Rocky] Who’s this?
– [Kathy Miller, Owner of Dogtopia] This is Firecracker!
-[Rocky] Who is this?
– [Kathy Miller] This is the one and only, Stitch!
-[Rocky] Stitch! Oh, I remember Stitch. He is an awesome dog. In fact, last time I was here making flavored bubbles for the dogs. Stitch was helping me out or, well, I don’t know if helping me out is the right word.
I remember Stitch kept stealing my mixing bowl. Oh my goodness.
Okay, we’ll pull Stitch and these two dogs right here. Their energy seems really good. Look at this. I think they’ll be perfect for her because right now, look at her right now. She just wants out of the room because Stitch brought the energy level up so high.
Okay, so Stitch is outta here and now the room is much more calm. Wow. Overall, I would say a success.
– [Kathy Miller] Me too.
-[Rocky] I mean, she had fun, but the fact that she’s even come this far, that’s a big, awesome opportunity.
I asked Kathy for one last favor because I hear they have world class grooming there and they can even give dogs blueberry facials. She agreed. Let’s give Tashi a spa treatment.
Now I wanted to be very gentle with bath time for Tashi because remember, for her, human touch is a lot of people grabbing her and running tests on her and taking her puppies from her. It was never about love or care.
With patience and a gentle touch, Tashi was able to get pampered in a way that she never has been before.
– [Rocky] Wow!
– She’s all ready!
– [Rocky] You look so good. Hi! Wow, so fresh and so clean. Well, this is fantastic. And what’s great about this is now, she’s ready for her photo shoot.
A big thank you to Kathy and the whole Dogtopia team. If you happen to live in the South Bay area in California, make sure you stop by and tell ’em we sent you.
– [Rocky] Hey Navid, how are ya?
– [Navid, Photographer] Hey, I’m good.
– [Rocky] Hey! I would love to get some pictures of her where she’s the only focus.
– [Navid] Beautiful.
– [Rocky] Okay.
– [Navid] I have that set up.
– [Rocky] And no flash, right?
– [Navid] No flash.
– [Rocky] Yeah ’cause she’s very timid and very scared. I’ll let you work your magic and I’ll help out.
Wow. This is the biggest challenge we’ve had with Tashi. She just will not sit still. I don’t know what we’re gonna come up with to get these pictures.
She doesn’t understand sit or stay. She hasn’t been trained yet and she definitely doesn’t know what the camera is. It’s probably pretty scary.
So we tried treats, that didn’t work out and I was about to give up because I don’t want her to feel stress in any situation. And then we tried peanut butter and she loves it!
– [Rocky] Come here! Come here!
– [Group] Yay!
– [Navid] All right, lookat this one.
– [Rocky] Whoa! That is good! Yes, awesome photos! These are only going to help her get adopted. And also, we will send this to her new family so they have some really great photos of her.
Rocky:
I have something amazing for you. All these ingredients right here are gonna make the very first doggy ice cream you’ve ever had. She doesn’t look excited because she doesn’t know what it is yet.
Go ahead and relax. Good girl. Okay, okay, okay, okay!
Even as a pro, having been through this before I forget that everything is new to her. So when I put her on a bed and I put a toy right there with her, she doesn’t know what that is. And so I’ve gotta give her the opportunity to inspect these items.
There you go, come here. You know what, do you have one of her towels out of her crate? Okay, so this is her blanket from her crate. I’m gonna set this down to kind of introduce, this is her space.
Come here. There you go. Yeah! Now you know, this is your bed. I realize you have to teach her what a bed is. She doesn’t even know.
Okay, I’m gonna go make a delicious frozen dog treat for you and you hang out here. I’m gonna throw my pet chef apron on here cause this can get a little messy.
Now that Tashi’s settled. Let’s get to making her first doggy ice cream. Now with this, I want Tashi to experience different smells, temperatures and flavors and get this, I even made her a Barkuterie board. It’s like a Charcuterie board that you find at a fancy party but filled with my dog safe treats.
If you wanna get one for your dog, you can by going to thedogbakery.com and we’ll sell out fast ’cause I’ve only made 150 of these. But if you want one, go now and get it.
Rocky continues:
Let me just jump in here real quick and say it’s amazing how far Tashi has come. And it really has to do with her breed, the beagle. And in fact it’s why this evil lab used beagles because they’re so forgiving. They’re so loving. They’re so kind.
Now I’ve worked with a lot of shutdown dogs Blossom who came from a hoarding situation, who took nine months to a year before she really learned how to be a dog.
Homer who had been running and fending in the wild by himself for who knows how long resorted back to a wild animal, a feral dog. And it took about three months for him to finally come out of his shell.
So the fact that Tashi has come out of her shell in two to three weeks is just a testament to what an awesome dog she is.
Beagles are just amazing, period. And the words getting out. People are adopting these dogs, even famous people. Here’s the reason Megan Markle and Prince Harry’s dog has a tattoo on their ear. Their dog came from the same place that Tashi did.
But how fun is that? They did adopt a dog. The dog’s name is Mama Mia. Hopefully this awareness also helps lead to more beagles getting adopted because there are thousands left still that need a loving home.
Now, it’s time to take Tashi to the big adoption. They’ve gotta get ready with her and all of the other beagles. But they need a couple hours to prepare for the event. So I thought while we’re waiting, what if we brought ice cream to all of the Priceless Pets dogs? Because it’s a hot day and they deserve it.
Now, I’ve worked with Priceless Pets in the past. And I gotta tell you, they are a rockin’ organization. They put so much heart into helping these pets get adopted. This is Sarah and she’s gonna help us dish out the doggy ice cream.
– [Rocky] Who are the first two dogs you think should have some doggy ice cream?
– [Sarah] Let’s do two of the littles.
– [Sarah] Hello Nacho! Hey buddy! ♪ Feeling good ♪ ♪ Like I should ♪ ♪ Went and took a walk around the neighborhood ♪ ♪ Feeling blessed ♪
Rocky:
It’s going so good but we definitely need more ice cream. So I’m gonna keep the ice cream going. We’re keeping these dogs happy.
– [Rocky] Who is this? This is Choppo.
– [Sarah] This is Choppo!
– [Rocky] Okay, Choppo.
– [Sarah] Good boy! ♪ Despite the challenge ♪ ♪ All you gotta do is leave it better than you found it ♪ ♪ It’s gonna get difficult to stand ♪ ♪ But hold your balance ♪
– [Rocky] Look at this, sprinkles and creamed coconut.
– [Rocky] Hi! ♪ Everyone falls down sometimes ♪
Rocky:
I know some people might think that all of this is over the top but I gotta tell you, I’ve seen it firsthand really make an impact on these dogs.
These small efforts really show these dogs that are in a situation where they don’t know where they’re at and what’s happening. It really shows love and care.
Treats for dogs are more than just food. They’re also affection. Think about it, the last time someone you love cooked something for you. It means so much. And it can also help lead to their adoption because then they know that humans do care. Whereas in the past they may have never experienced this.
– [Rocky] Sarah, how long have you worked here?
– [Sarah] Three years.
– [Rocky] Three years?
– [Sarah] Yeah.
– [Rocky] That’s so awesome. Why do you do this?
– [Sarah] Because I love it. It’s so fun. Finding these dogs their forever homes and seeing their transformation.
– [Rocky] Yeah.
– [Sarah] When they know that they got their home.
– [Rocky] Thanks for doing what you do.
– [Sarah] Thank you!
Rocky:
Rumor has it there are 12 people here and there are 15 dogs. So they’re gonna be dogs that don’t get adopted. If it’s Tashi that will just break my heart.
– [Rocky] Are you like the first in line?
-[Person in line] I am.
– [Rocky] What time did you guys get here?
-[Person in line] 8:30.
– [Rocky] 8:30?
-[Person in line] Yep.
Rocky:
I haven’t ever seen anything like this. It’s amazing. It’s like people lining up for a concert for their favorite musician. This is awesome.
Oh, Tashi’s in there. Look, Tashi hey! You see her in her little vest?
They let us in here. We’re a little early. So now we’re just waiting.
Oh my goodness. I’m so nervous. The first family has come in and they’re looking at all the beagles. That’s them right there.
It’s tough because I want to promote Tashi but I also want the families to pick the dog that they want so it’s a good fit. At this point, I think we’ve done everything we can possibly do and now, it’s just up to fate.
– [Adopter] This is the one I want.
– [Employee] That one right there?
– [Adopter] Yes.
– [Employee] Wow, that was quick.
– [Employee] Yeah. That was very quick actually.
– [Adopter] Well, this one I played with. Oh, she has like, five teeth and she’s old. I know but somebody’s gonna adopt you too. I know they are.
– [Rocky] How did you pick your dog?
– [Adopter] I picked her because she’s the oldest and I knew she’d be picked last so I picked her first. Ellie is eight years old.
– [Rocky] Yay, look how sweet she is.
– [Adopter] She’s super sweet.
– [Rocky] She’s so soft.
– [Adopter] Yeah. Super sweet.
– [Rocky] Okay, congratulations! Enjoy your new home! Number two, okay, number two. Okay, good luck!
– [Employee] Come on in!
– [Rocky] Number Two!
– [Adopter #2] We need to make up a decision.
Rocky:
Okay, number two’s in there right now. Still not Tashi. That’s okay. That’s okay. Tashi’s right there in the vest and she’s checking out that other dog and that’s all right.
– [Employee] The next family can come on in and check out the beagles.
– [Rocky] Okay, good luck! Tashi, Tashi, Tashi.
– [Employee] She does have a lot of energy. She will pick up anything off the floor at this point. So we’re still in the process of teaching her.
– [Adopter Family] This one’s so cute.
– [Adopter Family] Mommy!
– [Rocky] Hold on, they are holding Tashi.
– [Adopter Family] This one’s the one, huh? This one’s the one!
– [Rocky] Are you? Wait a minute. Are you guys adopting Tashi?
– [Family] Yeah.
– [Rocky] What? High five! Yeah, you’re going home! Wow, that makes me so happy. She’s going home to the perfect family with loving kids and just her journey from where she came from to where she’s at right now. This is so amazing. Yay!
– [Adopter Family] We drove from Vegas early in the morning to looking for a beagle to take home and we finally found a beagle to take home. So we’re super excited.
– [Rocky] What are you most excited to do first When you get home with Tashi?
– [Family] Play with her.
– [Rocky] We actually took Tashi shopping and she picked out these toys. She loves them. Look at this. She loves pizza. You wanna hold that one? Her favorite toy is this little lamb. So you can hold that for her. So those are for you to take home to Tashi.
– [Family] Thank you guys so much.
– [Rocky] Okay, I’m gonna go from here. Can I get a high five from everyone? Okay, all right. Congratulations! Okay, bye Tashi. Bye. Bye sweetie. Okay, thank you.
Great news! All of the beagles got loving homes. Every dog deserves a home and this makes me so happy we were able to do this for Tashi.
Thank you Priceless Pets for doing whatever it takes to save these animals. And thank all of you for being on this journey with me. I would love to have you be a member so hit that join button.
Be a part of this journey. Let’s help dogs together. And Tashi, I love you.
And again, a big thank you to Andrea, her foster mom.
– [Rocky] Who is gonna pick up all the poo poo? Wait, wait a minute.
– It’s me!
– It’s you!
