Harry and Meghan adopt elderly beagle named Mamma Mia and refused to take a puppy

2022-08-24

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex recently welcomed a new pet into their family home, with the pair adopting a beagle from a rescue organisation.

Meghan, 40, and Prince Harry, 37, have adopted a seven year old beagle named Mamma Mia, who was rescued by federal authorities in July along with 4,000 other beagles.

The dogs had been living in inhabitable conditions at the Envigo breeding and research plant, located in Virginia.

Meghan, who recently launched her new Spotify podcast, got in touch with the Beagle Freedom Project directly to enquire about adopting one of the beagles, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.

The Beagle Freedom Project is ran by animal rights attorney Shannon Keith, who spoke to the Duchess personally over the phone but didn't initially realise who it was she was chatting to.

“She calls on my cell with no Caller ID and says, ‘Hey Shannon, this is Meghan,’” she told the publication. “We talked for 30 minutes, and I thought, ‘Is this Megan Fox?’”

Meghan and Harry then made a low-key after-hours visit to the San Fernando Valley house on Hartsook Street earlier this month, with the royal pair's spokeswoman confirming the visit to The Times.

The visit wasn't publicised and the duo were joined by just two security guards as they searched for their new pet.

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Meghan and Harry played with Mia outside, who had arrived at the centre alongside eight of her newborn puppies. However, the couple did not want to adopt a puppy as they wanted to help an older dog.

Shannon explained: “The duchess is holding Mia and was like, ‘We’re adopting her'. She was like ‘No, we don’t want a Christmas puppy. … We want ones we can help who are older.’”

It's well known that Meghan is a dog lover, with the mum-of-two having previously had a rescue beagle for many years.

When she came across the story about Envigo's shutdown in July, she wanted to get involved, her spokeswoman confirmed told The Times. Meghan wanted to help an older beagle as it is usually easier for puppies to find homes.

Mamma Mia joins Harry and Meghan's two other dogs – a beagle named Guy, who Meghan adopted while living in Toronto, and a Labrador named Pula, who she adopted with Harry.

The pair live in California with their two children, Archie, three, and Lilibet, one, who will no doubt be thrilled to welcome home a new four-legged friend.

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