Boonie Tails

By Grace and Aria Keilbach

Making Rescue Our Own

Living on a tiny island in the middle of nowhere, we needed to figure out how to share our story with the rest of the world. With just a bag of dog food, old iPhones, twenty Instagram followers, and too many puppies in our backyard, Aria and I looked to social media to turn our dream of saving the Boonies into a reality. As our rescue and following began to grow, we slowly but surely started to find our own unique voice with it, on and offline.

Learning as we went and making our rescue and platforms our own, Boonie Babies turned into so much more than just a page or an organization, it was a piece of who we are. We started sharing everything, not shying away from reality, educating, and gaining more and more attention online which enabled us to make more and more change. With the positive impact we were making and all the lives we were saving, we never would have guessed that saving dogs while wearing bikinis on the beach would become so controversial.

Hot Girls Rescue Dogs

As you may have guessed, living and rescuing dogs on Saipan is hot. As in 86 degrees with 99% humidity hot. Posting in our bikinis was never a strategic move for us, it was purely a survival tactic. We were often outside and just doing our best to not pass out from heat stroke.

As we began to share more of our personal day to day moments, a lot of those shots featured us in bikinis (usually while giving boonies baths or bringing them on beach outings) and our online presence was soon inundated with loaded accusations and assumptions. Comment sections quickly lost focus on the dogs, claiming that our bodies took away from all credibility and the difference we were making. It’s important to note that the vast majority of our content never did and still doesn’t even include us in it! On the rare occasions we make appearances in our videos, we typically do have clothes on (shocker I know).

Honestly, at first these vulgar comments were quite hurtful and embarrassing. All our emotionally and physically hard rescue work, the vast amount of knowledge and intelligence we had collected, and the incredible feats we had accomplished on Saipan were diminished completely to “dumb hot girls in bikinis.” We found ourselves editing out wonderful clips of the dogs just because of how we looked in the shot. Sometimes even deleting videos altogether to avoid the backlash and being perceived in that light. Not only was it extremely frustrating to have to completely miss sharing amazing boonie dog moments with our followers just because we had to go change first to placate the bothered few. It was also simply ridiculous and demeaning that it was an issue in the first place. We eventually realized it wasn’t worth the anxiety and anguish attempting to please every single person who sees our videos. So we decided to continue to be the same intelligent, empathetic, dog rescuing girls whether we are wearing bikinis or sweaters.

“Hot Girls Rescue Dogs” quickly became our slogan as a joke in response to the numerous, continuous hate comments and backlash we receive based on what we wear. Or should I say, what we don’t wear. For us, it was a way to highlight the absurdity of what was being said, and to emphasize the demanding, unfair standards women are held to no matter what they are doing. A way to reclaim something that never should have been an insult at all. If our bodies were that important to our success (or downfall) we thought, might as well lean into it and make it our own.

As we grew up while growing our rescue, we learned how to make an impact our own way. When we embraced the shaming and resigned ourselves to the fact that haters will hate, we were met with incredible support from the majority of our followers! Jumping on the opportunity to show us (and the haters) that there are people there for us and the boonies regardless, our Hot Girls Rescue Dogs shirts and Boonies and Bikinis calendars sold to dedicated friends and followers. We are so grateful for you every day.

Boonie Babies is not just an organization or an Instagram page, it is a piece of who we are. The good, the bad, and the bikinis. We’ve yet to find a Boonie dog upset by our outfit choices so until then, we won’t be trading in swimsuits on a tropical island anymore than we’d advise you to buy a doodle. #HotGirlsRescueDogs

Don’t let a surprise vet bill torpedo your budget

Routine vet checkups are rising, and some surgeries can cost as much as a holiday in Europe. Fortunately, pet insurance can help offset these unexpected costs. With some policies starting at $10 and reimbursing up to 90%, you can keep your pet healthy without sacrificing your savings.

PROTECT YOUR PET AND WALLET

Boonie of the Week: Apollo’s Crash Landing in Colorado

Story By: Shanan

In 2023, my husband and I were in the busiest, most challenging time of our lives – we were both working, I was in physical therapy school and my husband was finishing my Dad’s new house. Both of our dogs were seniors at this point and slowing down. I felt that we were just going through the motions, we had lost our spark!  It was a ridiculous time to consider adding a new puppy to the family… but sometimes adding the right type of chaos can create balance.

Enter Apollo!

Shortly after picking up Apollo from Aria it was clear that the new name we had been considering for him was perfect. And so, Apollo became Crash. This happy, ball of energy was just what our family needed. I truly believe he helped give an extra year of health to our girl that we recently lost. Both of my senior dogs gained muscle and lost weight - which I largely attributed to playing with Crash. My husband had a ‘road dog ‘to keep him company on the long drives to my Dad’s house and I had some comic relief and extra cuddles.

Crash truly is a wonderful dog, very even keeled and great with other dogs and people. We just adopted another Boonie named Clover, and she adores her brothers. Crash is busy teaching her how to properly “dog” and is very happy about the new influx of toys!

We love our Boonies!  

Boonie Tails is free to read. But if you liked this post, support Boonie Babies and this newsletter by pledging a monthly or annual donation. Thank you for reading and we’ll see you next week!