LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A year ago, forty beagles were living in an animal testing facility in Spain that closed down. Most of the dogs had never been outside, run with kids, smelled grass.

What a difference a year makes. And, as CBS2 and KCAL9 reporter Jeff Nguyen reports, one is a big number for the Yanez family and their pet beagle “Uno.”

Says 8-year-old Olivia Yanez, “I love him a lot because he gives love to us. He’s a good dog. He listens.”

That wasn’t the case a year ago — when he was adopted.

Paola Yanez recalls,  “He was really, really skinny. He had some wounds on his paws and on his head.”

The dogs would’ve been euthanized had it not been for the group Beagle Freedom Project.

Today, the dogs and their new families celebrated an extended year of life in Sherman Oaks.

Nguyen reports that beagles are often used in laboratory test because the breed is docile — beagles will not fight back when cosmetics or household products are injected into their eyes or bodies.

Shannon Keith of the Beagle Freedom Project says, “Most of the people who adopted from us changed almost everything about their lifestyle. They stopped purchasing products that were tested on animals.”

Eddie Yanez, 10, says, “If I was a dog I wouldn’t want to be locked up in a cage.”

Older sister Sophia says over the past year, Uno has helped her grow up. She’s 12 and has learned how to be more mature. “I’ve gotten a little bit more responsibility because I have to feed him a little bit.”

Paola Yanez believes her children have also become a lot more compassionate. “Hopefully that’ll encourage them to make a difference in their lives and their worlds too when they’re a little bit older.”