On the heels of our Marshall BioResources exposé, we thought it appropriate to highlight the awesomeness of Beagles* – amazing family companions, laboratory survivors, and so much more!
Name:
“Beagle” is thought to come from the French word “begueule”, which translates to “gaped throat”, or from the Gaelic word “beag”, which translates to “small”.
History:
Beagles are small scent hounds who were originally bred in England to hunt hares and rabbits alongside other dogs. Their ancestors go back thousands of years, and it is thought that “when the Romans invaded England, they brought small rabbit-hunting dogs that might have been bred with the local hounds, laying the foundation for the modern Beagle.”
Traits:
- 15-or-fewer inches “at the withers”.
- 20-30 pounds in weight.
- Distinct vocalizations, including the “standard bark, a yodel-like bay sound for hunting, and a howl”.
- Double-coats that shed year-round and have high oil contents.
- Large, expressive “hazel or brown eyes”.
- “Long, floppy ears” that can reach the ends of their noses “when drawn out” and help to “trap”, “concentrate and funnel scents toward their noses”.
- Tri-color or bi-color (though entirely white at birth!).
- White-tipped tail (commonly referred to as the “flag”, a selectively-bred feature to make them easier for hunters to spot).
Personalities:
- Active!
- Adorable!
- Adventurous!
- Aggressive chewers (who, likely as a result of their “hunting background and breeding”, “won’t give up chewing until whatever they have is destroyed”)!
- Amiable!
- Cheerful!
- Cute!
- Entertaining!
- Food-obsessed!
- Friendly!
- Gentle!
- Highly trainable!
- Imaginative!
- Independent (which can sometimes be “mistaken for stubbornness”)!
- Intelligent!
- Loveable!
- Mischievous!
- Outgoing!
- Playful!
- Quirky!
- Trusting!
- Vocal!
Acclaim and Fame:
- Peanuts! Snoopy, the cartoon character created by Charles Schultz in 1950 (which was originally slated to be called Sniffy), may be the “world’s most famous Beagle”!
- Popularity! Beagles are one of the most popular dog breeds in the U.S.
- President Johnson! President Lyndon Johnson had three Beagles, including one named “Edgar” (after F.B.I. Director J. Edgar Hoover).
- Sense of Smell! Beagles have “exceptional olfactory abilit[ies]”, facilitated by their 220 million scent receptors (compared to humans’ approximately 5 million) and “second only to the Bloodhound”. The Department of Homeland Security “employs a ‘Beagle Brigade’” for scent work in international airports, and a Beagle named Elvis was trained to identify the pregnancy status of captive polar bears by smelling their poop (and he was accurate 97% of the time!).
- Space Flight! In 1959, two Beagles “became the first dogs to orbit the Earth” as “part of the Soviet space program”, and Snoopy became a NASA mascot in the 1960s.
You can help protect Beagles (and other animals!) now.
“Beagle Bills” are state legislation that provide some protections for dogs and cats bred and sold for animal research within the state. Among other items, these bills prohibit animal research breeders from selling dogs and cats if they’ve been recently cited by the USDA, and require animal research breeders and facilities to make certain dogs and cats available for adoption placement.
*We’ve previously spotlighted ferrets and pigs, two other types of animals also exploited by Marshall.