If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know how much I like to take my dog Bodhi with me on walks around the neighborhood. The folk village on campus is one of our favorites, especially in Spring and Fall.
I’ve been asked about Bodhi’s story a few times, so thought to tell it here. Life for Bo is pretty easy-going compared to his past. He’s my fourth dog in Korea, and like the others, he’s a rescue. I typically rescue older dogs and they live out their natural lives with me in the lap of loving luxury. Bo has been with me about a year now.
I retrieved him at a somewhat ramshackle shelter in Pocheon, which is a town about 90 minutes north-west of Seoul. I knew about him from a photo in a pet adoption group in Facebook, and from there I got information about him and his situation, and decided we should meet. To be honest, before I even traveled to Pocheon, I had more or less decided that he was mine. I learned that Bodhi had cheated death already at least twice, and I wasn’t about to let him suffer any more.
The shelter lady called him Moss. Moss once belonged to an older man who had many dogs, and the man beat and scolded them. It happened that the man couldn’t keep his dogs anymore where he was staying, so he tried to give them away to a rescue – many of them had nowhere to go, so they were euthanized, including my boy. However, Bo miraculously survived the injection and was subsequently taken in by the Pocheon shelter. At first, he was sent to a foster home, but he was afraid, and bit anyone who tried to get close. It took some time for him to get used to people that were kind to him.
At his foster home, he stopped eating and lost a lot of weight. It was discovered that he had parvo, which is a grave illness. The shelter lady took Moss/Bo to the local vet and he underwent a two-month recovery. After that, Bo went back to the shelter and stayed with the shelter lady, who was really the only kind and reliable person he had known up to that point.
No one showed any interest in adopting him until I came along. When I brought him home, he had some issues, to be sure. He was a chewer and had tremendous separation anxiety. I had to train him to be properly housebroken. He basically had to learn how to be a real dog.
After a year with Bodhi, he has opened up to life as a pampered and beloved family member. He loves his routine and is comforted by it. He lives for walks, snacks, and belly rubs. He will never again have to worry about where his next meal is coming from, if his caretaker will treat him kindly, or where he will sleep at night. He’s also a real character and a great buddy to me. He’s king of the house and my day is built around his walks and meal times. I’m so glad I found him.
The Frill Seeker 
I loved hearing Bodhi’s story. You are both lucky to have found each other. It was meant to be:)
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Awww that was sad but I’m glad hes okay now!🥰
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