Early this summer, Niles resident Stephanie Stanton noticed her long-time friend Torie Morris, also of Niles, posting on Facebook about ending animal cruelty and animal testing.

Rather than simply pressing the share button, Stanton decided to team up with Morris to make a real-world impact.

“I could tell this was something [Morris] was really passionate about,” Stanton said. “That really drove me to get involved.”

Morris, 26, and Stanton, 27, recently started a non-profit organization called Wagging Wishes, aimed toward ending animal testing. The friends make and sell dog treats and other dog care items like shampoo, and donate the proceeds to Beagle Freedom Project on the first of each month. Beagle Freedom Project, founded in 2010, is a Los Angeles-based charity that works to rescue dogs and other animals from testing laboratories.

“I learned about [Beagle Freedom Project] on Facebook, and a lot of the things I learned about animal testing through them really broke my heart,” Morris said. “I knew I had to help them in some way, but I obviously don’t live in California. So, Steph and I decided to start something here and make a little bit of movement in Niles.”

Though the pair began a Facebook page for their nonprofit and started making products in the summer, Wagging Wishes’ first major outing was at Fernwood Botanical Gardens’ Howl-O-Ween event, where dogs roam the gardens in costume, on Oct. 22.

Stanton and Morris rented out a booth at the event.

“The event was a huge success for our very first time. We sold more than we thought we would just starting out,” Stanton said. “We are really just trying to get our foot in the door and get started.”

With both Stanton and Morris being dog owners and dog lovers, the pair is strongly against animal testing and are happy to use their new business to raise awareness.

“I love dogs. They are part of our families and you wouldn’t want your pet to go through what some of these animals go through. It’s just awful,” Stanton said. “I see the images and the videos from testing facilities that do these experiments on animals and I see that it’s unnecessary and it’s cruel. It would break my heart to have those things happen to one of my dogs.”

Stanton and Morris believe that people need to be more aware of the products that they are using and how those products have been tested in order to fight animal mistreatment and animal testing.

Both said they are aware that the task of going cruelty free can be difficult as animal testing is widely used in products ranging from cosmetics to household cleaners to even pen ink. However, the pair are quick to promote incremental ways of going cruelty free, such as installing Beagle Freedom Project’s app, Cruelty Cutter. The app is able to scan items and tell a user whether or not an item has been tested on animals.

“Every little bit people can do helps,” Stanton said.

Despite the fact that their organization is still in its infancy, Morris and Stanton have big plans for Wagging Wishes.

“I would love to see us one day have a little shop in downtown Niles where people can come and bring their dogs and buy our products,” Morris said. “Eventually we want to bring on some volunteers. We want to do this for a long time and continue to raise awareness about animal testing.”

To order from Wagging Wishes, message the non-profit on Facebook at facebook.com/waggingwishes.