Be Like Harry and Meghan: Consider Adopting a Pup on National Dog Day

National Dog Day: Harry and Meghan adopt beagle
National Dog Day: Harry and Meghan adopt beagle
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Anastasiia Levchenko / EyeEm / Samir Hussein / Getty

Prince Harry and Meghan have adopted one of the beagles rescued from the Virginia breeding facility last month—just in time for National Dog Day.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex recently adopted Mia, a 7-year-old mother dog who was rescued from the Envigo breeding facility last month. She's one of the roughly 4,000 beagles who've been freed from the mass breeding facility and sent to dozens of shelters across the country.

Mia and her eight puppies were taken to the Beagle Freedom Project in California. Soon, Shannon Keith, who runs the project, got a call.

"She calls on my cell with no Caller ID and says, 'Hey Shannon, this is Meghan,'" Keith told the Times. "We talked for 30 minutes, and I thought, 'Is this Megan Fox?'"

Wrong Meghan. It was the Duchess of Sussex, and soon she and Harry visited Keith's rescue to meet their potential new family members. The couple's spokesperson told the newspaper Meghan owned a rescue beagle for years, and she wanted to help when she heard about the beagles rescued from the Envigo facility, where the dogs were kept in dirty, deadly confines.

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Rather than one of the puppies, the couple picked Mia. Her life of breeding was over.

"The Duchess is holding Mia and was like, 'We're adopting her,'" Keith told the Times. "She was like 'No, we don't want a Christmas puppy. … We want ones we can help who are older.'"

A little later, the newest member of the royal family—favorite fox toy in tow—was heading home to her new sprawling estate.

Be Like Harry and Meghan

Friday (Aug. 26) is National Dog Day, and a good reminder that you can be like Harry and Meghan and bring home a new dog today.

You can inquire about one of the Envigo beagles, sure, but there are plenty of other dogs in America's overcrowded shelters who could use a home.

Remember: Adopting a dog can potentially save two lives—the dog you're adopting and the one who takes your pup's place at the shelter. And if you can't adopt a dog—and not everyone can—you can still help by temporarily fostering a pup. That's still a commitment, so volunteering at your local shelter or donating food, toys, or funds can help, too.

RELATED: The U.S. Saw More Dogs and Cats Killed in Shelters Last Year, the First Increase in 5 Years

But if you can adopt, your nearby shelter would surely appreciate it. And you'd have a friend for life. In fact, if you live in or near Pennsylvania, you should adopt sweet Coco.

If someone doesn't take him home soon, I will vomit.