Tear-Gassed and Pepper Sprayed For Rescuing Beagles: What Really Happened at Ridglan Farms

Food Heals

Allison Melody

Mental Health, Health & Fitness, Nutrition

4.8 • 635 Ratings

🗓️ 24 April 2026

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We came prepared to carry beagles to safety. Instead, we walked into tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, manure trenches, chaos, fear, and what felt like a war zone. In this raw episode of Food Heals, Allison sits down with fellow beagle rescuers Hannah, Ella, and Alex to talk about what really happened at Ridglan Farms, where thousands of beagles are still trapped inside a facility breeding dogs for research. We trained to carry 15 to 30 pound dogs. We prepared for possible arrest. We knew there could be resistance. But we did not expect to be tear-gassed, pepper-sprayed, and shot with rubber bullets. We did not expect to see people choking, crying, falling, getting injured, and helping each other breathe. We did not expect police and security to use force against people who were there for abused dogs. Allison, Hannah, Ella, and Alex share the moments they cannot stop replaying: the tear gas canisters, rubber bullets, hay bales, manure trenches, panic, fear, strangers holding each other up, and the heartbreak of leaving without the beagles. They also push back on the false media narrative that rescuers came to hurt anyone. They came to help dogs who have never known freedom, grass, sunlight, or loving human touch. And the fight is not over. Because the beagles are still inside.We wo’nt give up until every beagle is free to feel the sun on their face, the grass on their paws, and the love of their family. Follow the rescuers on Insta: Hannah Golanski: @hannahgol11 Alex Tello: @furthestfromthewild Ella Magers: @sexyfitvegan Allison Melody: @allisonmelodytv Learn more: blog.simpleheart.org Take action now: SaveTheDogs.io

Transcript

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0:00.0	There are some folks, including the sheriff, that said that you guys were there as activist, that you wanted to be violent. You came in with tools. You wanted to hurt people. You wanted to attack law enforcement. Tell me what really happened yesterday. Tommy, that could not be further from the truth. We came with peace and love in our hearts because we knew that these beagles needed to be rescued. There is a lot of media saying that we came violently.
0:22.3	Look at me. Do I look violent? Do I have a weapon? No, I don't even know how to do that. I'm a law-abiding
0:27.1	citizen who just wanted to get the beagles out. And so the lies that we're seeing by the media are
0:31.7	really abhorrent. And we were there peacefully and lovingly. And we had no intention whatsoever to harm anyone. All we wanted to do
0:40.8	was get those dogs out. We came as peaceful puppy rescuers, law-abiding citizens. We were ready to
0:46.9	carry those dogs out. We wanted to get them out of a world of suffering and into safety.
0:51.8	And instead, we were met with tear gas. We were treated like criminals
0:55.3	while the police protected the actual criminals responsible for the abuse instead of the law
1:00.9	abiding citizens like us. So today I'm talking with some of the rescuers who were there with me
1:05.5	at Ridgeland Farms, who we are now all trauma bonded. They've all become my best friends. And
1:09.6	that was the site where
1:10.8	Beagles are being tortured and abused for profit. And we're going to talk about what really
1:15.1	happened that day, what the public needs to understand and why the fight is far from over.
1:21.3	This is the Food Heels podcast. Warning, side effects of this podcast may include increased health
1:26.5	and vitality, thoughts of living longer,
1:28.0	developing a more positive outlook on life, feelings of joy, cravings for kale and Keehaw,
1:31.6	and a spike in Tinder matches.
1:34.6	All right, I'm so grateful to have all of you here with me.
1:37.2	We've got Hannah, Alex, and Ella.
1:39.5	We are all an amazing team together, and I really appreciate being with you guys on the ground.
1:44.8	You know, I don't think we had any idea what it was going to be like until we got there.
1:50.0	So I want to talk about our expectations versus our experiences.
	...

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