IT’S a sad dogs’ tale that has a happy ending – thanks partly to a family from Basingstoke.

Angela and Richard Stacey moved from Brighton Hill to Playa Flamenca in Spain in 2006, and their daughter Marie joined them a year later.

After adopting a rescue dog, Marie decided to raise money for various animal charities.

The 35-year-old said: “Animals here are often not treated with the same regard as they would be in the UK. Every day there are hundreds of animals requiring new homes or medical treatment.”

The family fostered a puppy last February but the Podenco breed had already contracted a fatal disease and died 18 days later.

In her honour, the Staceys decided to help other abandoned and mistreated animals, and set up the Little Pod Foundation, named in memory of the Podenco.

The small team of volunteers have just accomplished their biggest rescue so far, helping to save 72 beagles from a medical research laboratory in Barcelona which closed down. A two-week deadline had been given before they would all be killed.

Marie said: “How could we rescue some of the dogs and leave the others behind, knowing their only fate was death?”

Marie and her family then set about trying to find help for the beagles. They were contacted by the Beagle Freedom Project in America, where members offered to take all the animals, which had been kept in cages and ranged in age from one to four.

The laboratory managed to re-home 25 of the dogs and seven more went to another Spanish charity. Eventually, the remaining 40 dogs were released to begin their rehabilitation before flying out to America.

Marie, who still has a sister living in Basingstoke, said: “You could see in the dogs’ eyes that they did not know what was happening to them.

“They all have terrible scars on their paws from needles being constantly inserted and they all have very bad teeth. They had no idea what to do outside a cage.

“They had never felt the ground below their feet and were reluctant to put their feet on new textures. They had never been in the open air or felt the warmth and love of a human being.”

Marie said: “I got to spend the most amazing four days with these dogs. They are a lovely breed and at no point showed any signs of aggression to anybody. We are told this is why laboratories use beagles as they are very placid.”

She added: “Tears of happiness and sadness have been shed and there were more tears when it was time to say goodbye. We know they all have wonderful lives ahead of them.”