A few weeks ago, I stood in a tre
nch filled with manure while tear gas canisters flew over my head… trying to help save beagles from a breeding facility in Wisconsin.
If you had told me a year ago that I would be dodging rubber bullets in an attempt to rescue dogs bred for research, I’m not sure I would have believed you.
And yet here we are.
The last several weeks have been an absolute whirlwind, and I’m still processing everything that transpired, but I want to share at least part of the story with you…
And let’s start with the happy news:
As of today, 1,000 beagles from Ridglan Farms have been released, and another 500 are being released over the next couple of days.
I had the honor of helping with the evacuation.
As many of you know from following me on social media, I was a team leader for what became the largest mass open rescue effort in history — the attempt to free the beagles trapped inside Ridglan Farms in Wisconsin on April 18th.
And before I go any further, I want to say this:
The vast majority of us who showed up that day were ordinary people.
Teachers. Veterans. Students. Parents. Animal lovers.
People who simply reached a point where looking away no longer felt acceptable.
People who believed that if innocent beings were suffering behind those walls, someone should do something.
I won’t go into every detail, but as trained and prepared as we thought we were… nothing could have prepared us for the level of violence we were met with by law enforcement that day.
When we arrived at the facility, I was one of the first on the scene with my super fit team. Our responsibility was to move the massive hay bale barriers that had been set up around the property.
We waded through trenches filled with manure (yup, Ridglan spent big bucks on literal booby traps), and as we approached the hay bales, the tear gas canisters started flying.
The first canister hit, and when I inhaled it, I truly felt like I was suffocating.
In that moment, every carefully prepared plan went out the window.
There were somewhere between 600 and 1,000 of us there that morning.
Many people were injured by law enforcement, who were protecting the interests of an animal-abusing corporation instead of protecting the innocent victims trapped inside those walls… the dogs.
My friend and co-lead, Christy — an Army veteran — agreed when I told her it felt like a war zone.
And honestly… it did.
There’s something deeply revealing about a society that responds to people trying to carry beagles to safety with tear gas and rubber bullets… while calling the cages and experiments happening behind those walls “science.”
Without going into too much detail, I can tell you that everyone I spoke with who was there agreed on one thing:
The physical pain from the tear gas, pepper spray, and rubber bullets was nothing compared to the emotional pain of walking away that day without beagles in our arms.
And even that pain was nothing compared to what those dogs endure.
The cages.
The isolation.
The fear.
The experiments.
In the days and weeks that followed, I buried myself in the ongoing efforts to ride the momentum of the attention we had gained.
There were press conferences, protests, sit-ins outside the jail (many of us had been arrested), and demonstrations at the Wisconsin State Capitol.
I helped heavily behind the scenes with media efforts — trying to make sure our side of the story was heard far and wide, while encouraging people to pressure public officials to enforce the animal cruelty laws and free these dogs.
And then, less than two weeks later, I was back in Miami, leaving a client’s place when I got the call…
The negotiations that had been ongoing with a large rescue organization had finally gone through.
1,500 of the dogs trapped inside that hellhole…
were going to be released!
The wave of emotion that came over me in that moment is honestly indescribable.
Was it ideal that money was exchanged for their freedom?
No. Of course not.
The authorities should have enforced the law and evacuated those dogs themselves long ago.
But at the same time…
1,500 precious souls are being saved.
And the truth is: it took all of us.
It took whistleblowers.
It took organizations like Dane4Dogs, who had been fighting for these dogs for over a decade.
It took the leadership of Wayne Hsiung and Direct Action Everywhere.
It took rescue organizations willing to negotiate and fund a deal.
It took media attention.
It took public outrage.
It took pressure campaigns, protests, lawsuits, calls, tears, courage, and persistence.
It took ordinary people willing to put themselves in harm’s way because their conscience told them they couldn’t stay silent anymore.
It took all of it.
And when I had the opportunity to return to Wisconsin last week to help with the evacuation efforts…
I jumped on it immediately.
And this time…
I got to carry dogs to freedom.
Hundreds of them.
I got to look into the eyes of beagles touching grass for the very first time.
I got to kiss trembling little faces and gently reassure them that they were finally safe.
One little beagle buried her face into my chest and completely melted when I scratched behind her ears, and it hit me all at once that this may have been the first moment of tenderness she had ever experienced.
I don’t think I’ll ever forget that.
This whole experience has changed me in the best way possible.
As exhausting and emotionally intense as parts of it have been, it has also energized me, brought deeper meaning to my life, and reconnected me to my purpose in a way I can barely put into words.
Talk about soul-aligned.
And I think one of the biggest lessons I’m taking from all of this is that compassion is not passive.
Real compassion is fierce.
Sometimes compassion looks soft and nurturing.
And sometimes compassion looks like standing in front of cages and refusing to pretend what’s happening inside them is acceptable.
At this point, roughly 500 dogs still remain inside the facility.
These dogs are under contract, meaning they have already been designated for experimentation.
Ridglan Farms is losing its breeding-for-sale license on July 1st, but incredibly, they still hold a research license — meaning they could potentially continue breeding and experimenting on dogs.
Which is absolutely insane in 2026.
Especially considering that roughly 95% of animal testing data fails to translate to humans anyway.
This outdated and cruel practice continues largely because there is money to be made.
And it needs to end.
While I can’t share everything happening behind the scenes right now, I can tell you there are many people working tirelessly to save the remaining dogs and shut Ridglan down for good.
And we’re not stopping there.
Campaigns are already being strategized to target even larger corporations involved in breeding animals for experimentation.
Because this isn’t just about one facility.
It’s about questioning what we’ve been conditioned to accept as “normal.”
I have never been more convinced that ordinary people, acting from a place of love, can change the course of history.
I saw it with my own eyes.
And I think that’s exactly why systems built on cruelty work so hard to convince us we’re powerless.
But we’re not.
Not when we refuse to look away.
If you’d like to learn more or help support the ongoing efforts to shut Ridglan down for good and help end cruel animal experimentation, I invite you to visit SaveTheDogs.io and check out this list of actions you can take today to help make animal experimentation a thing of the past.
And if this story moved you, please share it!
With fierce compassion,
Ella
