Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are the poster couple for happy family life.Not only are they parents to two young children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, but the couple are also proud pet owners to two rescue dogs.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are strong advocates for animal rescue, having adopted both of their pooches, Pula, a black Labrador, and Mamma Mia, a beagle, from rescue centres.
And it turns out Meghan’s decision to take on their beagle, affectionately nicknamed Mia, was a very specific choice, with the Duchess “personally” calling up the rescue sanctuary in Virginia to adopt her.
Earlier this week, The Beagle Freedom Project shared a video spotlighting Mia’s journey after being rescued in 2022. The charity, which rescued Mamma Mia from a breeding facility alongside her puppies, shared a throwback clip of the pup nursing a litter of puppies before her adoption.
Meghan Markle’s special interest in Mia
During the video, it was explained that Meghan had personally called the charity’s founder, Shannon Keith, to express her interest in adoption.
As it was explained, it wasn’t long after that the Sussexes were in the backyard of the charity headquarters playing with Mia. Four years later, the rescue dog is happily living with the couple at their home in Montecito, California, and is known by millions as one of the most famous dogs in the world.
Mia was recently featured in Meghan’s 45th birthday post, with the Duchess and her husband seen happily dancing around the kitchen with both dogs. Both had been dressed in matching silver party hats, with Pula having extracted hers to carry around in her mouth instead, much to the amusement of her owners.
© InstagramIn the background of Meghan’s birthday video, Harry can be heard saying “oh dear”, as they share a laugh. After the couple rescued Mia in 2022, the charity’s founder shared details on how Meghan had been adamant that they wanted to rescue an adult dog, not just one of her cute puppies
.”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.'”
© Getty ImagesMia was the couple’s third dog after rescuing Pula and another beagle, Guy, who died in 2025. They adopted Pula shortly after getting married in 2018.
Shannon knew Meghan and Harry were the right match for Mia after the Duke insisted that they find her favourite toy at the breeding facility before bringing her back to California with them, the Prince hoping it would comfort her on the long journey.
