If anything can bridge a drastically divided Washington, D.C., it might be Uno.
The beagle from the Kindness Ranch in Hartville, Wyoming, was on Capitol Hill earlier this month, enthusiastically meeting lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who rallied around the concept of the humane treatment of animals.
Sporting his embroidered harness with the words "I survived Envigo," Uno strolled through the U.S. Capitol building, receiving adoring pats from staff and aides who dropped to their knees to pet him. By his side was John Ramer, executive director of Kindness Ranch, who rescued and adopted Uno in February 2022.
Uno was one of 4,000 beagles released from Virginia research animal breeding facility, Envigo, which had come under scrutiny two years ago for multiple violations, prompting the release of the animals.
Given his fame as the first beagle released, Uno has become the poster dog for Kindness Ranch and its efforts to provide former medical and lab research animals with a happy retirement.
The 1,000-acre animal sanctuary in southeastern Wyoming is the only facility of its kind in the nation to take in only former research animals, including beagles, cats, horses, sheep, pigs, llamas and others.
Occasionally, it’ll make the exception to take in our other animals in emergency situations, such as recently rescuing 10 refugee dogs from the war-torn West Bank.
Once rescued, Ramer and his staff spend months socializing the dogs and cats for adoption. In the sanctuary’s 17 years of operation, it has successfully rescued and placed nearly 2,000 animals in homes.
Just Look At That Face
Though Ramer has been invited to D.C. before to talk about his rescue efforts, this was Uno’s first trip. Having the beagle as proof to the ranch’s ability to rehabilitate these former lab animals appeared to be effective, he said. It made Ramer’s work easy.
“Almost everybody was so distracted and engaged with Uno and the fact that he’s a survivor,” Ramer said. “Now they have his face to cull back on and keep in mind.”
Ramer and Uno were invited to meet with legislatures (legislators?) after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in January scrapped its earlier announced plan to phase out unnecessary animal testing for pesticides and chemicals by 2035.
The effort to reduce testing on animals had been signed in 2019 by former EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, who had visited Kindness Ranch and applauded the sanctuary’s efforts to give these animals a second life post-retirement.
Ramer remains agnostic about the politics of animal testing in general and was not there to speak about that particular issue.
Instead, he said he and Uno met with legislators to lobby for saving animals after their clinical trials have expired with Uno representing the fact that they can be successfully rehabilitated and re-homed once their trials expire.
“I’ve tried hard to prove that these animals can be successfully transitioned from clinical trials into homes,” he said.
To this point, Ramer said that the more than dozen legislators he met with — despite their varying views and talking points on animal testing in general — seemed to agree that providing an afterlife for animals specifically bred for testing is a laudable mission.
Left, during his visit, Uno and Kindness Ranch Executive John Ramer visit Florida Republican Congressman Brian Mast, who has been an outspoken advocate against animal testing.; Right, Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis enjoys a little cuddling from Uno during his trip to the capital city on May 7-8, 2024. (Courtesy John Ramer) 
Staffers stop to pet Uno during his two-day trip to the Capitol. (Courtesy John Ramer) 
John Ramer and Uno visit with South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Grace between hearings at the Capitol. (Courtesy John Ramer) 
Kindness Ranch Executive Director John Ramer bonds with Florida Republican Congressman Greg Steube over their shared passion for saving rescue animals. (Courtesy John Ramer)
Cuteness Factor
It doesn’t hurt that Uno was very well behaved and is amazingly cute — despite the unfortunate accident the pup had while visiting the office of Florida Democrat Rep. Jared Moskowitz’s office.
Uno was playing with a couple standard poodles in the office when he felt the need to mark his territory by urinating on the door jamb, garbage can and desk.
“Everybody was really nice about it,” Ramer said, adding he’s almost certain Uno wasn’t making a political statement.
During his visit, Uno also met with U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, who is a big fan of Kindness Ranch and the work that Ramer and his staff are doing.
“Kindness Ranch is doing an incredible job rehabilitating animals, like the ones used in Dr. Fauci’s labs for horrific animal testing experiments. This rescue is a great testament to the Wyoming way of respecting and appreciating animals,” Lummis said in a statement to Cowboy State Daily. “I had the privilege of meeting Uno and John in my Washington, D.C., office last week and want to commend them on the outstanding job they’re doing giving these animals a second chance.”
Living His Best Second Life
For his part, Uno has come a long way since being rescued two years ago. When Ramer first picked him up in Virginia after his release from Envigo, Uno was overstimulated and barked the entire trip back to Wyoming.
Once out of the facility, the former lab animals have a hard time adapting to all sights and sounds of the outdoor world as well as connecting with other dogs and humans. It takes several months to get the animals of constant care and training to get the animals assimilated to post-lab life.
Uno navigated the U.S. Capitol and the city with ease, Ramer said, only flinching at the screech of a Jake brake from a passing semi. However, he hesitated to cross the lush green grass, a foreign sight in Wyoming.
“He was a perfect little dog on his first trip as an ambassador,” Ramer said. “That was the goal, to show that it’s possible.”
Now home in Wyoming, Ramer is gearing up for two more rescue missions for a total of 42 beagles over the next six weeks.
“I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing,” Ramer said. “I’ve got the best job in the world.”
Jen Kocher can be reached at jen@cowboystatedaily.com.
