Debbie Gibson, Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath want you to adopt a beagle rescued from an experimental lab in Wisconsin

Pop star Debbie Gibson and Terry “Geezer” Butler, co-founder of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, are singing the same tune when it comes to sparing dogs from medical experiments.

The unlikely pair came together Tuesday not for a most unusual duet, but instead to praise ongoing efforts to find new homes for roughly 1,500 beagles purchased from dog breeder and research facility Ridglan Farms outside of Madison.

Forget Black Sabbath’s anti-war anthem “War Pigs.” This day was all about the dogs — more specifically, the beagles.

“It was so profound to be able to hold each of these dogs in our arms and be able to assure them that their new life was starting,” Gibson said. “Today was a very emotional day.”

Gibson and Butler pet the beagles taken from research facility

Both Gibson and Butler held beagles from Ridglan Farms that had been transported from the facility to the humane society on Tuesday.

“They’ve never let me down,” Butler said of his pet dogs at the Dane County Humane Society, which is working to find new homes for 500 beagles. “They’re always loving.”

As they and others spoke in the humane society’s barn, beagles from Ridglan Farms sat in the arms of volun...