Llama Drama, 4,000 Beagles Rescued: Top Animal Stories 2022 In NoVA

VIRGINIA — For most of 2022, it looked like last January's capture of a chicken in a Pentagon parking lot might be the most unusual animal story of the year in Northern Virginia. Then a little llama drama occurred in Fairfax County.

Animal Protection Police responded on Dec. 21 to a call about a female llama running along the Fairfax County Parkway near Popes Head Road, which is in the Fairfax Station area. As shown in a police video, it took an effort and the help of a police helicopter to capture the "furry suspect."

In comparison, the capture of a wandering chicken at the Pentagon by officers from the Animal Welfare League of Arlington was small potatoes. Still, the incident did inspire Jimmy Fallon to sing a song about the bird on "The Tonight Show."

In April, employees at an Alexandria auto repair shop discovered three baby squirrels sleeping under the hood of a customer's car. In a similar story, Fairfax County Fire & Rescue helped rescue a kitten that had gotten stuck inside the engine compartment of a vehicle on Richmond Highway in June.

The big "rescue" story of 2022 involved the effort to find homes for the 4,000 beagles held at a breeding facility in Cumberland, Virginia, owned and operated by the company Envigo.

The Cumberland facility served as a breading factory for beagles and provided them to companies who conducted medical and other types of traumatizing research. A 2021 PETA undercover investigation found thousands of beagle dogs and puppies confined to small, barren kennels and cages at the Cumberland breeding facility.

As a result of the investigation, Homeward Trails Animal Rescue, together with the Humane Society of the United States and other groups, worked on plans to remove all the approximately 4,000 remaining beagles housed at Envigo’s facility.

On July 22, a federal judge permanently barred Envigo from “any activity requiring [a federal Animal Welfare Act] license” at the company’s Cumberland beagle-breeding factory and laboratory, including breeding and raising dogs for sale and experimenting on animals.

"The dogs in this facility were kept in filthy prison-like conditions and were hungry, sick, mistreated, and in some cases, dead. Those who were able-bodied were headed for testing labs and they didn’t know how to play," the Humane Society said. "But after this large rescue operation, ALL of these beagles are set to be released to loving owners for new lives of grassy yards, couches, and walks!"

In the aftermath of the Cumberland facility's closing, several local shelters and animal rescues participated in the effort to find new homes for the newly freed dogs.

• VA Beagles Bred For Research Get Spa Day, Head To New Homes
• 16 Beagles Rescued From Breeding Facility Arrive At Fairfax Shelter
• Rescued Cats From Ukraine Await Warm Welcome At Dulles Airport
• Baby Bald Eagle Hatches At Dulles Greenway Nest In Leesburg
• Baby Squirrels Make For Nutty Discovery In Franconia Car Repair Shop
• TSA's 2023 Canine Calendar Features Dogs From Reagan National Airport

While beagles being saved from a breeding facility and other rescue stories highlighted positive animal-human interactions, that was not the case with all the animal stories reported by Patch in 2022.

In April 2021, Kevin was abandoned outside the Manassas Park VRE station. Someone had fired six shots at him, striking him multiple times, police said at the time.

After the shooting, Kevin received treatment at the MedVet Animal Hospital in Manassas. Doctors amputated his right hind leg, removed the bullet from his jaw, and stitched up his shoulder.

Eleven months after the shooting, Kevin's story had a happy ending, even though police were still looking for the shooter.

"The City of Manassas Animal Shelter is thrilled that Kev has picked out his forever family. All of us here have been honored to be able to love and care for him during his stay," Kimberly Wieland, who works for the animal shelter, told Patch in March. "While we will be sorry to have him leave, we look forward to receiving many happy updates and visits with Kev.”

In June, volunteers with the K2C Wildlife Encounters reptile rescue received a call from a Fairfax resident who had a snake in their backyard that they wanted removed.

"They described it as a large black snake," K2C volunteer Bonnie Keller told Patch. "That right there, narrows it down to one of two species, both of which are harmless. We explained to them it was harmless, but the person just said, 'We're frightened of it. Please come get it.'"

What the caller hadn't told Keller was that someone had stuck the snake in a garbage bag and stomped on it.

"When we took it out of the garbage bag, that's when we could see that there were some massive injuries," Keller said. The female, eastern ratsnake had a torn jugular vein, a hole in her trachea, a protruding eye, numerous lacerations, and broken ribs.

Keller immediately took the injured snake to her home, rinsed it off, and contacted the Blue Ridge Wildlife Center in The Plains, Virginia. Bill Crisp, one of the other K2C volunteers, was able to take the snake to the center the next day for rehabilitation.

About six weeks later, Keller and three other volunteers released the snake along a trail in Clifton.

"Just because someone is afraid of a snake doesn't give them the right to attack it," Keller said. "It could certainly be argued that if it was a venomous snake on your property, OK, but still you have the opportunity to walk away."

Here are some other animal-related stories from Northern Virginia that Patch covered in 2022:

• Bonded Senior Dogs In Alexandria Shelter Want Home For The Holidays
• Heart + Paw Expands Ballston Staff, Plans Tours At Holiday Dog Party
• Dog Who Went Missing In Columbia Forest Area In Arlington Located
• Bill To Prevent Sale Of Unsterilized Pets Under Consideration
• Dog Bit Leesburg Man Who Was Sexually Abusing It: Police
• Bond Vet To Open New Primary, Urgent Care Clinic In Arlington
• Animal Cruelty Charges Filed Against South Riding Father And Son
• 'Hound Harvest Festival' Coming To Herndon Next Month
• July 4 Fireworks 'Utterly Terrifying' For Virginia Dogs
• Fairfax Pets On Wheels Seeks Volunteers
• AWLA Kennels At Full Capacity As Adoption Fees Get Reduced This Week
• Loudoun County To Host 'Clear The Shelters' Event Saturday
• Celebrate Adopt A Shelter Pet Day At Fairfax County Animal Shelter
• Help Find Miles: Dog Missing From Franconia Since Last Summer
• Woofie's Acquired By Maryland Company With Major Growth Goals