This Is the Plan to Save the Ridglan Dogs

A puppy is trapped in a cage awaiting her death. You can save her.

I blogged earlier this week about how the government has refused to help thousands of beagles suffering from criminal abuse. Now I have an urgent ask: we need 100 brave people to join a historic rescue effort to save them by July 1, the date when all the dogs must be sold off for experiments. If we get the numbers to pull this off, we won’t just save thousands of dogs who are on the brink of torture and death. We’ll bring powerful momentum to end the use of all animals in labs.

RSVP to the next Saturday legal briefing where we’ll discuss the right to rescue the Ridglan dogs—and how you can be involved.

What do we need to do? The theory of change is simple: we have to be the change we want to see in the world. We can’t just ask everyone else to help the animals. We have to help them ourselves. And if we get 100 people to openly commit to being part of the rescue, it’ll accomplish two very important things: bring attention to the plight of lab animals, at a moment when the industry is historically vulnerable; and force the government to choose between saving the animals and trying to prosecute 100+ people for doing the right thing.

For the first time in animal rights history, this will be a completely transparent mass open rescue. The case for the legal right to rescue is stronger than ever. Indeed, local prosecutors already tried and failed to prosecute rescuers once. If they try again, it will simply bring even more attention to the vivisection industry’s corruption and cruelty.

Here’s what we need from you:

• Come to at least one of the weekly 30-minute briefings over the next few months, as lawyers set out the right to rescue and our activist defense toolkit.

• Join (or be matched to) a 10-person rescue team where you will train together, online or in person, probably for about an hour a week. You’ll build the trust and camaraderie to be part of an exceptional crew of rescuers.

• Attend an upcoming conference where you’ll connect with world-class experts in nonviolent direct action, renowned lawyers, and all the other rescue teams to walk through a simulated action to save the dogs.

Our first briefing will occur on Saturday, January 10 at 1 pm ET on Zoom. After that meeting, we’ll launch a savethedogs.io website that will set out an initial goal of 25 people publicly committed to rescuing the Ridglan dogs. The thermometer will keep going up until we hit 100.

Once we hit that final target, we’ll send a letter to the authorities demanding they act. Or we will. It’s possible we’ll save the Ridglan dogs just by making the demand, as the government will feel pressure to act!

In the meantime, we’ll ask every person who is part of the action to recruit animal lovers, rescue groups, university students, and people from churches and other faith-based spaces to join the effort. And we’ll give you materials to help make presentations or have conversations in those spaces. (I’m open to speaking anywhere, especially if someone can cover costs and guarantee at least 20 people will show up.)

Our stretch goal will be to get to 100 people trained and ready to take action by March – at which point, we will head to Wisconsin to save the dogs. If the prosecutors dare to charge us, we will all demand speedy trial and defend the right to rescue in court.

Here’s the best part. The action won’t end with the rescue of the Ridglan dogs. The coalition we create will be deployed for other efforts, from foxes being skinned for fur, to pigs trapped in crates, but especially for all the animals tortured in labs. The long-term vision is to build a fast-acting, cooperative, and whip-smart network of rescuers, embedded in universities and faith-based spaces, who can be quickly deployed wherever the movement needs us.

First, we’ll save the animals at Ridglan. Then, we’ll save them all.

Other Stuff

• The Simple Heart is awarding fellowships to support exceptional organizers working on ambitious, scalable change, particularly within institutional frameworks. A lot of people have been reaching out recently to ask for jobs, internships etc. TSH has never had traditional employment, beyond a few unique situations required for bureaucratic reasons. And I am still a believer in volunteer-based movements. (Paid staff are hard to scale, and employment often kills creativity.) However, with two civil cases recently resolved, our budget now has some flexibility. And, particularly for individuals with extraordinary talents and accomplishments, funding may be available. Here’s the form.