Basbousa

The Golden Queen of the “Jazz Hands”.

Every mission has a beginning, and for Love All, Feed All, that beginning is a resilient dog named Basbousa. I first met this beautiful golden dog and her brother, Jack, in early 2021. Back then, they were just two starving, skinny canine shadows following me while I was making my daily rounds to feed the local cats. While my focus was on the cats that morning, Basbousa quickly proved she was a dog with a spirit that wouldn’t be ignored. Her road to happiness was paved with challenges that would have broken a lesser animal, but this loyal dog stayed by my side.

She has endured the hardest parts of street life: the heartbreak of losing her first litter, the pain of tick infestations, and the loneliness of being left behind when her brother joined another pack. Life had made her tough and protective; she even had to learn how to trust humans again through training with my husband. But beneath that survival instinct was a mother’s heart waiting to shine.

In early 2024, Basbousa showed us her true colors. She didn’t just care for her own surviving puppy; she opened her heart and adopted a little ball of fur named Bolt. Seeing her as a mother changed everything.

By April 2024, we made sure she was fixed and vaccinated, ending her cycle of struggle and ensuring she could finally focus on herself.

Today, Basbousa is far from that skinny girl I met years ago. She has traded the harsh streets for a peaceful life in a nearby boarding house garden where she is the neighborhood celebrity. She is a total gourmet—while she has her favorite kibble, she’ll never turn down a plate of home-cooked chicken liver or lamb chops.

But her most famous trait? Her “Jazz Hands.” Whenever she sees me or my husband, she doesn’t just wag her tail; she does a joyful, front-paw dance that lights up the whole street. Basbousa didn’t just survive; she thrived, teaching us all that love is the best medicine.