All of the dogs were in a rescue waiting for an adopter when the friend passed away. All the dogs sounded like the same breed which sounds like a breed specific rescue. Usually you can’t just wander off with a rescue’s dogs. They have vetting processes. And what foster family has 8 large dogs, some of whom can’t be by other dogs at once? None of those sound like real things. The “friend who is boarding them” sounds like the rescue. Also how are these her “babies”. They were a friend’s rescue fosters and have been boarded with someone else since then. These dogs have no idea who she is.