San Francisco, CA
50 Beagles Rescued From Wisconsin Lab Arrive in Bay Area, SF Activist Faces Felony Charges
Animal rescue groups persuaded a Wisconsin breeding lab to sell 1,500 beagles after activists worked for a decade to free them, and 50 of the dogs arrived in the Bay Area Sunday. Meanwhile, an SF activist faces 12 years in prison for rescuing some of them prior to the deal.
Last month, several animal rights activists attempted to free 1,500 beagles at Wisconsin-based Ridglan Farms, the second-largest breeder of beagles for laboratories in the US, as KGO reported last week. Four activists, including Dean Guzman Wyrzykowski of San Francisco, were arrested during the rescue operation and charged with felonies, with up to 12 years in prison, according to a post by Wyrzykowski on social media.
“There are thousands of dogs just like her in laboratories across the country,” says Wyrzykowski, while holding the dog he’s accused of stealing.
Last week, animal rights group Big Dog Ranch Rescue, which is based in Florida, and DC-based Center for a Humane Economy made a confidential agreement with the lab to purchase the animals to be adopted out by rescue groups. Per KGO, well-known Berkeley activist Zoe Rosenberg, who brought one beagle named Chester home with her, was among the volunteers helping the dogs in Wisconsin after they were rescued.
As KGO reports, the Northern California Beagle Rescue Group brought 50 beagles to the Bay Area via school bus Sunday, and they’ll be adopting them out to homes in San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, and nearby cities once they’ve received veterinary care.
The dogs had likely never touched grass until after leaving the lab, and they’ve been slowly acclimating to their new lives. Some were reportedly malnourished and most had bad teeth and were in need of dental work.
“It was very emotional,” says Wendy Lansdon, a volunteer with Northern California Beagle Rescue, speaking to KGO about when the bus full of dogs first arrived in the Bay Area. “Some of them were really quiet when we got in there, some of them were happy, and the other ones were terrified.”
Prior to the dogs’ arrival, the Northern California Beagle Rescue Group announced on social media it was seeking foster home volunteers in Fremont, San Jose, and Sacramento — near where the beagles will be receiving veterinary care. The group is also requesting donations to help fund the dogs’ vet care.
According to the site Save the Dogs, activists had been pushing for the closure of Ridglan Farms for almost 10 years, as investigators, whistleblowers, veterinarians, and others worked to spread the word about the inhumane conditions of the lab, which stayed in operation for decades, despite being hit with hundreds of state-level cruelty violations.
“The dogs born there were treated as inventory: bred, confined, sold to research, disposed of,” says Save the Dogs.
Save the Dogs notes that activists are now targeting Marshall BioResources, the largest breeder of dogs for laboratories in the country, which has operations in New York and the United Kingdom.
Image: Northern California Beagle Rescue/Facebook
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Pride kicks off with rainbow lasers, ValQueeries celebrate at Valkyries Pride Night
San Francisco kicked off Pride weekend with the return of the Market Street Pride lasers, while the Golden State Valkyries celebrated Pride Night alongside the ValQueeries, an LGBTQ fan group building community through basketball.
San Francisco, CA
Newlyweds celebrate Pride-themed weddings inside SF City Hall as parade preparations underway
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — On Friday in San Francisco, hundreds of newlyweds began the next chapter of their love story at City Hall.
As they got married inside, Pride preparations were also underway outside of City Hall.
These Pride-themed City Hall weddings were all happening as the setup for the Pride celebration at Civic Center were wrapping up in preparation for Pride Saturday and Sunday.
More than 250 couples arrived for Pride Friday, some of them getting commemorative Pride marriage licenses.
2026 SAN FRANCISCO PRIDE PARADE: How to watch exclusively on ABC7, what to know
Couples like Chris Parker and Jared Duensing got a very special officiant: San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie.
“This is such a wonderful day, and so happy to finally be married after four years of knowing each other in such a wonderful location. Being married by the mayor was so special,” said newlywed Chris Parker.
“Just happy and excited for those couples, and I’m happy and excited for our city to show off what makes San Francisco so great — and our LGBTQ+ community is a huge part of why San Francisco is so special,” Lurie said.
All of this leads to a huge weekend in San Francisco.
The stage being set up just outside of City Hall will mark the end of the parade route — but there’s a lot happening before that.
MORE: San Francisco Pride insiders reveal their must-know tips for the weekend
On Friday afternoon, the annual Trans March takes place at Dolores Park.
On Saturday, both the Trans Ally March and Rally and the Dyke March will take place.
On Saturday, performers will start taking the stage at Civic Center Plaza starting at noon.
All of this, of course, is leading up to Sunday’s big parade when thousands will line Market Street.
Zach Fuentes will be hosting SF Pride Parade coverage only on ABC7 Eyewitness News this Sunday with Drew Tuma, Cameron Bopp and Tara Campbell — as well as with our community guest hosts.
Copyright © 2026 KGO-TV. All Rights Reserved.
San Francisco, CA
I own a Turkish Restaurant in San Francisco. Turkey’s World Cup match here has changed my business.
This as-told-to essay is based on an interview with Aziz Aslan, 45, the owner of Turquaz, a Turkish restaurant on Mission Street in San Francisco. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I opened my Turkish restaurant, Turquaz, in San Francisco in February 2025. Typically, most of our customers are locals, and Turkish diners make up a small minority.
But Turkey’s World Cup appearance in San Francisco has brought a different type of customer through our doors.
Over the past week, we’ve had far more Turkish customers dine with us. Reservations are up, walk-in traffic has increased, and we’ve hired additional staff to keep up with demand.
Gabriela Hasbun for BI
Turkey qualifying for the World Cup changed my business
As soon as we heard that San Francisco would be one of the World Cup host cities, we were thrilled. We knew it would bring visitors to the city, and potentially new customers to our restaurant.
At that point, we didn’t yet know whether Turkey would qualify.
Gabriela Hasbun for BI
In March, Turkey secured its place in the tournament, and we later learned the team would be playing at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium on June 20. That’s when I knew we needed to start preparing for the tournament.
Over the last few weeks, we launched targeted advertising campaigns on social media. One Instagram post was written in Turkish. In another, we told visitors that wherever they were traveling from, if they were looking for good food, they should come to us. It helped spread the word about our restaurant.
Gabriela Hasbun for BI
Most of my customers aren’t usually Turkish
I’m originally from Istanbul, although I’ve been in the Bay Area for about 10 years. Compared with places like New York and New Jersey, there aren’t as many Turkish people in this part of California.
Usually, our customers come from a wide range of backgrounds, with Turkish people making up only 5% to 10% of those who dine with us.
With our usual customers, our most popular dishes are chicken kebabs and lahmacun, a flatbread topped with minced meat, vegetables, and herbs. We’re a traditional Turkish kitchen, and our pastry section is popular as well, especially our fresh baklava.
Gabriela Hasbun for BI
In recent weeks, however, we’ve had a lot of Turkish customers, which is unusual for us. Some have come from places like New Jersey and Texas, while others have flown in from Istanbul, all to watch Turkey play.
Turkey’s World Cup match in San Francisco has changed who our customers are and what they’re ordering. Dishes like beans and braised meats aren’t as popular with our usual clientele, but we’re selling a lot more of them now because of our Turkish customers.
Gabriela Hasbun for BI
They’ve been ordering foods like white beans with pilaf, braised meat with pilaf, and salads, all of which are really traditional dishes. Turkish customers can be tough critics because they’re comparing our food to what they have back home, but I feel confident in our food, and we’ve received compliments so far.
It hasn’t really affected our stock, thankfully. We have good inventory management, and my warehouse for the wholesale food business is only a short drive away, so we can pick up products whenever we need.
We’ve hired extra staff to meet demand
To prepare for the World Cup, we’ve had to hire additional employees. On top of the 24 staff members we already had, we added three more because of increasing demand. The staff is also working longer hours than usual.
Gabriela Hasbun for BI
For Turkey’s first match, against Australia, we didn’t do anything special, other than create a football-shaped cake. We decided to host watch parties for Turkey’s second and third matches because customers kept asking for them. We set up a big screen for fans to watch together.
I think the World Cup is giving Turkish people a reason to gather, reconnect, and talk about soccer.
I hope the World Cup leaves a lasting impact
The first few months of opening a restaurant are never easy. We spent them getting things set up, perfecting our recipes, and building awareness. We’re still a relatively new restaurant, so it’s been encouraging to see this positive momentum from the World Cup.
Gabriela Hasbun for BI
The city feels busy. You can see it on the streets. There’s an energy in San Francisco right now that’s having a positive effect on businesses like ours, and I hope we can keep that going.
Of course, the World Cup is a one-time event, but we’ll do our best to serve these customers well. If we can meet their expectations, I hope they’ll come back.
And who knows? Maybe the Turkish national team will stop by for a meal before the tournament is over. I’m still holding out hope.
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