The Washington Post Covers Beagle Freedom Project’s Red, White & Beagle Fundraiser In Washington D.C.

Check out this article on The Washington Post about EKC PR client Beagle Freedom Project, and their Red, White & Beagle fundraising event held last night in Washington D.C.

Thank you Sarah Polis for covering!

Red, White and Beagle event champions for animal testing adoption bill, despite no-show Lara Trump

By Sarah Polis

George the beagle at the Beagle Freedom Project’s Red, White and Beagle event at the Hotel Monaco on May 3, 2017. (Sarah Polus)

Democratic Maryland State Del. Benjamin Kramer was mingling among the crowd, and Lara Trump — the president’s daughter-in-law — was expected to walk the red    carpet at any moment, but all eyes in the ballroom of the Hotel Monaco Wednesday night were on the beagles.

The four-legged guests, dressed in their cocktail best, were the VIPs of the event thrown by the Beagle Freedom Project (BFP), a charity that aims to get animals, primarily beagles, adopted into homes after research is done for pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies and universities.

Beagles? “The laboratory technicians have told us that beagles were specifically chosen because they’re so docile, they’re forgiving … so for the very reason people love beagles is why they’re exploited,” BFP founder Shannon Keith said.

The organization is working to push through a “common-sense bill” called the Beagle Freedom Bill, which has passed so far in five states.

“All it says is listen, when the testing is over, let the dogs and cats go, instead of killing them,” Keith explained. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are in favor of passing this legislation, she said. “I would say a good 95 percent of lawmakers are completely in support of this. It’s truly a non-partisan issue.”

The roadblocks are the “big dogs” such as the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins universities, Del. Kramer said.

Johns Hopkins Medicine spokeswoman Audrey Huang said in a recent Baltimore Sun article that Hopkins complies with all federal laws and ethical standards, and this bill could get in the way of the research they’re doing. The use of dogs for experimentation has slowed and an adoption program is already in place, she added. The University of Maryland School of Medicine released a statement saying the bill would “inappropriately” place the adoption of these dogs in non-veterinary hands.

Alas, the big-ticket advocate of the night, Lara Trump (who has a beagle) was a no-show, saying her doctor recommended she not travel while sick and pregnant. She sent greetings via video.

In a desperate attempt to meet their $50k fundraising goal for the night, BFP Vice President Kevin Chase said he’d even do a dance. “Do you take cash?” a crowd member yelled. “It’s not that kind of dance!” Chase joked. Luckily Kramer stepped in to help by matching donations. “I’ll put my money where my mouth is,” he said.

To view the original article, click here!