FEBRUARY 2, 2023, Greene County
FEBRUARY 17, 2023, Greene County
APRIL 6, 2023, Greene County
APRIL 13, 2023, Greene County
APRIL 22, 2023, 1st Adoption, Greene County
APRIL 25, 2023, Returned to Greene County
APRIL 25, 2023, Ani’s Orphans
JUNE 16, 2023, Greene County
JULY 4, 2023
BoBo doesn’t know it, but this 4th of July I have written to ask our friends to remove him from their euthanasia list. We have a plan!
His life is just about to begin. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for caring about BoBo. I can’t wait to tell the story.
JULY 6, 2023
While our friends at the shelter watch Bobo experience his final lasts, we are excitedly anticipating all of his firsts.
At six years old and with an abysmal past, BoBo is about to receive his first chance — at a real life, at being understood, at expressing himself in safety, without fear of repercussion. This is his FIRST REAL SHOT at living inside a loving home, permanently relieved of pulling guard duty on the chain.
He’ll get to have a bed for the first time; things of his very own; to be the center of attention. Pets. Snuggles. Treats. Love. Companionship. Peace — what every dog deserves to know before they leave this earth.
We’re thinking about his environmental and mental health needs and are working closely with his savior, Karen, who is elated to be his friend.
If you’d like to send BoBo some of his firsts, I have made him a list and we would be so grateful for your help and support! 
JULY 10, 2023
Smells like the holidays in CRAZY TOWN!!
The gifts you sent for BoBo’s homecoming have been arriving and making their way to his foster mom, (read: savior) Karen. I took some of those prezzies over yesterday, setup a bed, and Karen had already made BoBo a drawer in the kitchen, so we started a little treat stash there. It might be the first time anyone allotted inside space for the 6-year-old dog.
I have this thing about welcome home meals, and to complement the food you bought, I hoped to cook for BoBo. A turkey, the main protein in the food you sent us, is exponentially more expensive in July than during the pre-Thanksgiving sales. Yet, it’s the best choice for BoBo and our goals during phase 1 of his rehab.
Magically, Karen had a turkey in the freezer that she had no use for, so I hauled that thang over here and cooked it up! We’ll pair this concoction with probiotics to fill the Kongs and top the food you so kindly donated.
I will travel this afternoon to meet our good boy for the first time, and take him home to Karen who is eagerly awaiting his arrival.
Thank you all for contributing, for caring, for making it possible to give BoBo a fighting chance and for never making me sacrifice our standards for quality care.
JULY 10, 2023 Rescue Announcement, Greene County
JULY 10, 2023 Welcome to Ani’s Orphans!
BoBo has arrived!
JULY 11, 2023
BoBo checking in from his new front porch! He’s already a different dog than we met yesterday and that is to the credit of his foster mom, Karen, although she is identifying herself as Gramma. Whoever she is, she’s everything BoBo needed; rich in resources most precious to BoBo, not the least of which are love, empathy, understanding. She’s done a remarkable job of respecting his boundaries and because of that, he’s already asking for her affection.
The greatest gift we can ever give a dog is the feeling of safety. BoBo is safe and he knows it— he’s just adjusting to it. He’s been resting and sniffing and finding himself, and Karen the angel has given him the space to do so.
I can’t just say that I am proud, but I marvel at what a team of people can do when we pool our resources to save a dog — entirely. He loved the home cooked menu, and because Karen is killing it in the foster game, and is already leveling him up to working for food — a huge part of his rehab.
Big cheers to Gramma Karen for doing all the hard work and the HEART work!! I love my team and am humbled by their goodness.
We all love you, Lowrider BoBo!
JULY 12, 2023
Things are really getting interesting with BoBo and I continue to be amazed by his story.
Our little lowrider has deemed Gramma Karen his friend and advocate, and is easing into the idea of being a proper dog.
Old behaviors tend to surface during this period of discovery, and Karen has done so well at reading BoBo’s body language and respecting where he is on his journey today.
She’s making shrewd observations that help us understand how he’s feeling and what he needs.
And most importantly, she’s protecting him from situations he’s not ready for. 
We know BoBo grew up on a chain without any sense of safety — without the option to retreat, and suspect no one ever respected his boundaries the way Karen does.
If he says I’m not ready for that, she says okay.
Today Karen did an impromptu but extreme act of advocacy and ensured the neighbor who came into their space kept himself at a distance acceptable to BoBo. As a dog person, he understood and respected what Karen said, “he’s still feeling things out. He’s learning.” It was beautiful. The respect. The love. The willingness to show up for this dog who was neglected and has been stressed to the max and needs a chance — they gave it to him via their respect.
BoBo wasn’t comfortable and we wouldn’t expect him to be, but he also wasn’t in distress or exhibiting any of the behaviors we know about. Apprehensive perhaps, but the lesson paid dividends for their relationship.
Karen ensured BoBo’s bubble of safety was respected and honored — something new to him — during this decompression period which is FOR HIM, when he needs protection and guidance and understanding more than anything else.
Thank you, Karen, for inspiring me to write about the relationship you are nurturing; the soul that you are saving.
Be proud. Be so proud!!! Not everyone can be a phase 1 foster— you’re a rockstar!!!! Cheers for Karen and BoBo!!!!!
JULY 13, 2023
Gramma Karen is officially a BoBo whisperer!
I went to take over more homemade food this morning and they were relaxing on the porch, BoBo’s favorite thing to do.
I approached calmly and sat down at a distance that is respectful to BoBo’s current (PERCEIVED) bubble of safety.
He wasn’t threatened. I talked with Karen as he walked calmly off the porch and sniffed in the grass. His tail softly swinging, ear tips flopping, completely at ease.
He sniffed me. I didn’t touch him. He was grateful for that and thanked me with that soft, carefree tail as he tootled off to sniff some more.
JULY 15, 2023
BoBo is moving on up AGAIN!
For starters, the boy is feeling safe! He loves his cozy den next to Karen’s couch and has been choosing to go there when he needs to, though he’s got plenty of resting spots.
Frankly, I think the finds his entire home to be a very safe place, and he has a funny little way he communicates to Karen, who always listens, that he’s had enough of something and that she can stay outside but he’ll be retiring to the AC.
He spent the day today napping ON the couch and Karen reports that each time he hops up there, he gets closer and closer to her, and he’s been known to steal her spot if she gets up.
Meanwhile, on the leash, BoBo is exploring a little bit more of his surroundings and the world is opening up at just the right pace. He is a pro at ignoring the neighboring house of wackadoodles (Crazy Town) and tuning into the peace of the day. Except if there’s a cat in the bush…
He seems to like to have porch time with Karen before having her serve his breakfast, and we had to switch probiotics because he snubbed the first ones. He’s trying hard to convince her to switch back to the bowl from which he can inhale his meal, but Auntie over here is playing bad cop for Jen. 
Sorry BoBo we’re in cahoots!
Today’s big news is that the trachea and fish skin chews which were also previously snubbed suddenly struck his fancy.
Whether a dog has a history of guarding resources or not, it’s wise to prevent it, but this little clip tells me that BoBo never wanted to have to resort to some of the behaviors that got him labeled. That he was pushed to his breaking point.
We’re less than a week in and in this clip BoBo discovers the chew is of value, and he had the option to retreat to HIS safe place to explore it.
As Gramma Karen says, “he’s gentle.”
And he’s SPOILED! She got him a fountain that filters his water and he prefers it to a standard bowl.
From death row to straight BOUGIE! 
JULY 16, 2023
Bougie BoBo has gone….belly up! And with his very fist blankie. Thank you Kelly!!
JULY 25, 2023
JULY 31, 2023 Foster Care Update
If this doesn’t make you get all up in your feelings….
Karen and BoBo!! 
AUGUST 3, 2023
I watched Karen and BoBo this morning. I had a 3 zone snuffle going in Crazy Town; Cookie on the leash, the cutest little learner; spunky at all hours.
It was quiet, everyone engaged in peace, including me.
I looked up as I cannot NOT watch BoBo tootle proudly beside his Gramma Karen – this human who was a stranger to him just over 3 weeks ago, now his entire world.
Karen protects him. She stands up and advocates for his space. She fills his Kongs and gets them unstuck when they roll out of his reach. He watches her set boundaries on his behalf, keeps him out of situations he doesn’t want to be in, and he looked at her like she was pure magic when she stopped an oncoming, self-proclaimed “dog lover” just by putting up her hand and saying “you need to stop!” The “dog lover, determined to TOUCH HIM, couldn’t read or respect BoBo, but Karen could. And ever since that day, he was hers.
She built a solid foundation of trust before she did anything else. She let him be. She is a safe haven, the port in the storm for a traumatized dog, and Karen proved herself to BoBo early on.
Karen and I locked eyes this morning, but knowing we were both training, and to respect BoBo’s triggers, I gave a subtle, gentle ‘good morning’ wave with my arm locked at my side.
Karen pointed to her pocket and I saw that BoBo had started to play the game they’ve been working on. I mime another arm-locked move – this time a cheer, and I mouthed “GO KAREN!” silently but with vigor.
As an organization, Ani’s Orphans, Inc. is in its infancy, and as we collectively endure and suffer through all the paperwork, the bureaucratic process; the forms —— these moments fill me up. They keep me going.
I started as a foster mom and that’s who I will always be, regardless of any other title I am assigned. But before I was a foster mom, I was the labeled dog.
I’ve been labeled just about everything over my 38 years, and my journey has been to analyze those labels, understand their origins, and then remove them as faulty, erroneous inputs that resulted from the same uninformed judgment that humans foist onto the misunderstood dog.
Except “bitch.” I’m proud of that one and it’s my longest standing label which I very much intend to keep. You wear that one with pride because what it really means is that I have standards for which I’m willing to fight. It means that I will speak up when others may stay silent, and what I would label as tenacity has helped me save more than a hundred dogs in my tenure as a foster mom, with the quality I believe in and never intend to sacrifice. Even if it means I’m tired every day, that people think I’m difficult, or that I eat the dregs of the refrigerator for most of my meals.
BoBo would be dead in the dump by now. Death row dogs don’t get a grave, an urn, a Facebook post.
But Karen stepped up to foster. To allow this labeled dog into her home to heal. To find himself. To LIVE.
And as she says, “he’s gentle, sweet, smart.”
BoBo is thriving because of Karen, and I think Karen is thriving because of BoBo — watching a dog find themself is an experience of beauty I cannot put into words. Fostering saves lives and souls, and most importantly, it’s a place to shed those labels which were assigned by an unqualified labeler!!!
Fostering is heroic work.
It’s not about the numbers for us, or how many dogs we can shuffle out of a never ending mill, but it is to take the ones who have no chance in our rescue system, to put them in safety, to change their labels, and tell their stories on the record.
Without fosters, we are NOTHING.
AUGUST 12, 2023
I’m not sure we could have asked for a softer place for BoBo to land. Karen has done a remarkable job of loving and respecting BoBo and they soared out of phase one.
There’s just not as much to report anymore because they’re living together as a happy pair
and (gasp) Karen doesn’t want to be on my videos! .
Nevertheless, they’re in sync. I watch BoBo tootle beside his best Gramma Karen every day, sniffing the earth, looking to her for guidance, reassurance, and always some belly rubs after they return inside.
He’s a regular dog now — no longer eligible for the title of death row dog. No longer eligible for any label aside from his name and the descriptors Karen gives him.
Gentle. Sweet. Funny. Spoiled.
Thanks to Karen’s fastidious study of our favorite low rider and her rock solid reporting, Jen has been able to easily support her training goals and add new tools to Karen’s already massive arsenal of BoBo hacks.
Frankly, I’d be skeptical too if someone pulled up in their Jeep, unloaded cardboard boxes into my back yard, schmeared a baggie of peanut butter/coconut oil on them , scattered random dried fish around and then said, “OKAY!”
But luckily Karen lives next door to Crazy Town where I am ALWAYS out-weirding Jen, and against her better judgment, jumps wholeheartedly into the experiment, and then takes it further, tailoring the new lesson to BoBo and telling us when it’s a NoGo.
BoBo is living in his own dream, getting filtered water from a fountain, escorted outings, THE ZOOMIES, air conditioning, two Kongs per day, treats when he’s a good boy, and a Gramma Karen who dotes on him when he asks, and rubs his belly when he asks, and LISTENS to him the first time, BEFORE HE EVER HAS TO RESORT TO ANY BEHAVIORS.
If he’d been treated in his old life with the respect he’s been shown in foster care, would he have ever gotten the label in the first place?
No.
The answer is 100% no, he wouldn’t have.
SEPTEMBER 12, 2023
I’ve been waiting for Karen’s return to tell you about my recent auntie gig with BoBo in retrospect, and now that all is right in the world I get to.
Karen didn’t want to leave, but her duties as a biped mom called her away; she made the commitment before BoBo even entered her life, and we committed to supporting her.
The day grew closer, and with it, Karen’s dread.
We talked through it and made a plan, and I even ran some tests to try to put her heart at ease. I promised I’d send updates and I tried to reassure her…. but that’s all I could really do. I know the dread of leaving your post — you don’t fix it, you cope with it.
And then off she went, with me, Auntie Inferior, signing on in her stead.
BoBo had a fine week, as fine as he could have without his treasured human, savior, and mega best friend, Karen.
Karen had a fine week, as fine as she could have away from her beloved, gentle, spoiled, snuggly lowrider.
I had a week that I can only describe as beautiful and insightful and rewarding, and I am forever grateful to BoBo for letting me in on borrowed trust and for his robust contribution to my studies.
My gift came this evening when I watched the pair bust out of the house in celebration of their reunion – BoBo with the happiest tail and more PEP than I’ve ever seen, Karen giggling that he’d just done his biggest zoomies to date.
Thanks for making my day, Karen!
OCTOBER 13, 2023
I’m on the worst posting delay of all time, but y’all still have to see BoBo in his harness that Karen went and got for him special (a month + ago.) He is so proud of himself in it!
He’s got Karen all trained up and has been making her get up early to feed him breakfast and then immediately going back to sleep on the couch for a few hours once she’s wide awake. Also he recently dug his first hole following a scent under the shed and has experimented with the great art of counter surfing. That is how to dog, BOBO! That. Is. How. It’s. Done!!
OCTOBER 17, 2023
This just in from Karen – BoBo is having a nap under the electric blanket and – I don’t know – I think he went from chained up dog, to labeled dog, to death row dog, and ENDED UP AS a Bougie Dog over there!
In the six years he lived on a chain, BoBo didn’t experience any of the “comforts of home” and he didn’t have a safe place to go when he was scared, nor a human who would protect and guide him.
He has all these things now. Because of Karen.
Make my day, y’all!
