Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reveal first glimpse of their rescue dog Mia after adopting her back in 2022
Royal fans have reacted with glee after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle unveiled their Christmas card, which included several snapshots from the last year.
Among six pictures included in the festive greetings card was one which featured the Sussexes with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, as well as their rescue dogs including Mia – who has not been seen since she was adopted in 2022.
The picture of the Harry, 40, and Meghan, 42, shows Lilibet, now three, running into her father’s waiting arms, while her brother Prince Archie, five, makes a beeline for Meghan.
Dotted around the beaming couple were the wagging tails of their three dogs, a black Labrador Pula and rescue beagles Guy and Mia, the latter who was rescued from an animal testing centre by the couple in 2022.
The Sussexes adopted the nine year-old pup two-years ago from a group of dogs rescued from the facility in the US. They named her Mamma Mia, or Mia for short.
The pup was one of 4,000 dogs bred for Envigo breeding and research facility in Virginia. Mia had arrived at the rescue centre having just given birth to eight puppies.
The dogs had been bred for pharmaceutical and biotech research – but inspections of the centre had found dozens of violations of federal law over a two year period.
Animal lover Meghan has adopted a number of rescue dogs over the past few years and brought her American rescue beagle Guy – who is the oldest of the Sussex trio of pups – to the UK when she married Harry.
Royal fans were left gushing yesterday after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle unveiled their Christmas card, which included several snapshots from the last year (pictured)
Among six pictures included in the festive greetings card was one which featured the Sussexes with their two children, Lilibet and Archie, as well as their rescue dogs including Mia – who has not been seen since she was adopted in 2022 (pictured after being rescued with her eight puppies)
Also in the picture is the couple’s black Lab, Pula, who was introduced to the family ahead of Archie’s birth in 2019.
The pooch’s unique name is the currency in Botswana, a country the couple visited in the early days of their relationship.
Though not included in their greetings card, the Sussexes also own several rescue chickens, who live with them at their $14m, seven-acre mansion in Montecito, California.
Other photos included in the picture showcased the highlights of the Sussexes’ year, including snaps from their four-day visit to Colombia in August.
The card was shared on X/Twitter by the Sussexes’ long-time friend and royal reporter Omid Scobie.
Scobie, who wrote Finding Freedom about Harry and Meghan’s departure from the UK for a new life in California, captioned his post: ‘The Sussexes share highlights of their year on the 2024 Archewell holiday card.’
The card also included a personal message from the pair, which read: ‘On behalf of the office of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Archewell Productions and Archewell Foundations.
‘We wish you a very Happy Holiday Season and a joyful new year.’
Mia was one of 4,000 dogs who were at the test facility centre in the US. She was rescued in July, 2021, and taken in by organisations including the Beagle Freedom Project, who looked after 25 of the dogs.
Dotted around the beaming are the wagging tails of the couple’s three dogs, a black Labrador Pula and rescue beagle’s Guy and beagle, Mia, the latter who was rescued from an animal testing centre by the couple in 2022 (pictured with her puppies two years ago)
The dogs had been bred for pharmaceutical and biotech research but inspections of the centre had found dozens of violations of federal law over a two year period
The card also included a personal message from the pair, which read: ‘On behalf of the office of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Archewell Productions and Archewell Foundations
She had been specially chosen by Meghan, who specifically requested she adopt one of the ‘older’ dogs.
At the time Mia was adopted, Meghan had called Shannon Keith, an animal rights attorney who runs the project, ‘personally’ to ask if she and Harry could have one of the ‘older’ rescue pups.
She told the LA Times: ‘The duchess called me personally. She calls on my cell with no Caller ID and says, ‘Hey Shannon, this is Meghan.’
At the time, Shannon had wondered whether she was speaking to Megan Fox, but it was indeed the Duchess of Sussex.
Meghan and Harry are said to have made an after-hours visit and played with Mia, who had been brought there with eight of her newborn puppies.
Shannon recalled: ‘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.”
The former actress chose animal welfare charity Mayhew as one of her first patronages.
When she moved to England to be with Harry she had to leave Bogart – a Labrador-shepherd mix – in the US.
When officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture made an inspection of Envigo in 2021, they found a female beagle whose paw had been trapped in loose flooring for so long that she was suffering from dehydration, according to court documents.
Employees at the facility admitted to inspectors they did not know how long she had been stuck.
Another inspection found that nine injured beagles were euthanised instead of being provided with veterinary care.
On a later inspection it was found that many of the 196 beagles who had actually needed to be put down were not anaesthetised before having a deadly injection straight into their heart muscle.
Throughout the inspections which lasted for two years, officials found instances of neglect and mistreatment, from malnourished dogs to sick and injured ones.
Faeces and food waste was allowed to pile up in cages where the dogs were kept, according to court documents.
At the time Mia was adopted, Meghan had called Shannon Keith, an animal rights attorney who runs the project, ‘personally’ to ask if she and Harry could have one of the ‘older’ rescue pups
On May 18 2022, the USDA inspector general and other law enforcement agencies executed a federal search warrant of the facility and seized 145 dogs and puppies which vets deemed to be in ‘acute distress.’
The following day, authorities filed a complaint in a federal court in the Western District of Virginia.
The complaint stated that more than 300 puppies had died in the facility between January and July 2021.
The company website claimed that they breed ‘healthy, well-socialized animals’ and that it holds a license issued by the USDA to breed and sell the dogs.
Parent company Inotiv, which bought Envigo in November 2021, agreed to the plan to rescue the dogs and said it would shutter the Virginia facility as part of a restructuring effort.
In late July, a federal judge approved a plan to rescue the beagles.
They were transferred to the Humane Society of the United States, before being moved to shelters or groups such as the Beagle Freedom Project. The organisation took in 25 of the beagles, one of those being Mia who was taken on by the Sussexes.
Earlier this month, it was revealed Prince Harry and Meghan will not be joining the royal family for Christmas this year as they have reportedly not been invited to the festivities.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex haven’t received an invitation to the royals’ Christmas at Sandringham, it has been reported.
Photos taken earlier this year showed some of the rescued dogs on their way to Homeward Trails Animal Rescue
They are expected to spend the festive holidays in America instead with their children Archie and Lilibet.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex relocated to Montecito, California, after they stepped down as senior members of The Firm in January 2020.
Meghan previously revealed how the Sussexes celebrate the holidays in America in an interview with Marie Claire, noting the festivities are always ‘low-key’.
She said: ‘We’re always making sure we have something to do,’ the Duchess told the magazine. ‘Like any other family, you spend time having a great meal and then what do you do? Play games, all the same stuff, someone brings a guitar – fun.’
The former Suits actress also stressed the importance of making ‘room at your table for your friends who don’t have family’ such as feminist icon Gloria Steinem, who once joined the Sussexes’ Thanksgiving party.
Meghan, who married Harry in 2018, added it is important to the couple that Archie and Lilibet experience the ‘magic’ of festive traditions such as putting out ‘carrots for the reindeer’ at Christmas.
