The story of Marty.
The Marty Project is more than a mission — it's a promise. How will we write the next chapter for dogs like Marty?
Marty was a lemon-colored beagle bred for laboratory testing at Ridglan Farms in Wisconsin. At eight months old, he was sold to a testing facility in Colorado where he endured five years of drug testing. Like the other dogs in the lab, his vocal cords had been surgically removed so he could not be heard.
When the facility no longer had use for him, Marty was released to a rescue in Wyoming at six years old. That is where he met Ellie, the co-founder of this work — and where his next chapter began.
Despite the trauma of his early life, Marty slowly came back to himself. He learned what a couch was. He learned that hands could be kind. Over nine years of freedom he became a deeply affectionate, goofy, beloved companion — proof that these dogs carry extraordinary resilience.
“He learned what a couch was. He learned that hands could be kind.”
Marty inspired a decade of advocacy: a book, Laboratory Dogs Rescued: From Test Subjects to Beloved Companions, an educational podcast, and the groundwork for this organization.
Marty passed away in June 2023 at the age of fifteen, having lived nine happy years after rescue. The Marty Project carries forward what he taught us — that every one of these dogs deserves the chance he got, and that science has to do better.
Carry Marty's story forward.
Every dog like Marty deserves the chance he got. Your support funds the policy work that makes it possible.