Aska's Animals Gives Pups a New Leash on Life

Aska’s Animals, based in Victor, Idaho, provides a missing link in animal rescue. The organization began after founder Aska Langman set out to apply a behavioral lens to animal welfare, both improving outcomes for dogs after adoption and giving puppies a solid foundation to thrive with their new families. Aska’s Animals, according to Executive Director Lantz Hartley, “provides a specialized environment that traditional shelters aren’t designed for” to “actively interrupt the cycle we so commonly see in the rescue system.”

To do this work, Aska’s Animals partners with fellow Jackson-based organization Dog Is My Copilot to provide a comfortable home for new dog-moms and their pups brought to the valley from overcrowded shelters around the country. Then they work with animal rescues in the surrounding area, including Jackson’s own Animal Adoption Center, to foster and adopt out the dogs they’ve worked with. 

In February of this year, Aska’s Animals took in Mimi, a dog from Texas who started out raising her seven puppies in a crate. Providing a better home for the puppies before they’re ready for adoption is incredibly important; as Lantz points out, early intervention is essential. “A puppy raised with an enriched, behaviorally-focused foundation is far better adjusted for adoption than one that grows up in an overcrowded shelter.”

Aska’s Animals also offers free resources to the community in the form of an extensive video library, community workshops, and one-on-one sessions to help pet owners understand the psychology behind their dogs’ behavior. Going beyond classic commands like “sit” and “stay,” these courses are designed to “help you build an in-tune relationship with your dog.”

Their work in the community extends to inspiring the next generation to “advocate for rescue” by sharing their two children’s books, Where Puppies and Pigs Fly and Stewie’s Story, with the community through local bookstores. Their events, held across the valley at local businesses including MODERNBEAST, Violet Volumes, Wilson Book Gallery, JH Book Trader, and Basecamp, always feature plenty of rescue puppies to play with. “Reading to a future generation of rescuers helps plant the seeds of empathy and animal advocacy early on,” Lantz says.

Speaking of pigs, the farm in Victor also serves as an animal sanctuary for pot-bellied pigs. “Pot-bellied pigs have an incredibly high abandonment rate because they are socially complex and require more specialized care than people often realize,” Lantz explains. Aska’s Animals is able to offer the pigs the community and care they need to live happy lives. “The pigs bring a whimsical life and energy to the farm.”

There are many ways to get involved from attending events and workshops to following along on social media. Volunteering is a major way to make an impact. Whether you’re coordinating events or being hands-on in the “daily reality of animal welfare,” volunteers work across the organization. You might find yourself in the barnyard with the pigs or in the puppy palace, gaining hands-on experience with the daily care of the many different kinds of animals that call the farm home.