This sweet dog is a nanny for orphaned kittens. Our hearts can’t take it.
Ten years ago, Boots the dog survived Hurricane Katrina, and ever since then, he’s been hard at work helping stray kittens feel comfortable and get acclimated at the Arizona Humane Society (AHS).
Boots is a Chow/Shepherd mix who, along with close to 300 other dogs, was rescued from New Orleans exactly one decade ago and brought back to Arizona for treatment. One of the AHS emergency animal medical technicians who helped rescue Boots ended up adopting him, and then after seeing how good he was with the kittens, brought on Boots to be the shelter’s official kitten nanny.
Boots has been doing his part to help out in AHS’s kitten nursery, which according to the AHS website, has been instrumental in saving the lives of many kittens who were too young to be adopted.
When the kittens arrive to AHS, many of them have never been around a dog before. So one of Boots’ many jobs is to help them get acclimated to having a dog around. Since many families may already have a dog at home, feeling comfortable with dogs increases the chances of the kittens getting adopted.
“One factor that can increase a cat’s chance of adoption is its ability to live in homes with other pets,” notes the AHS website. “By socializing kittens with dogs like Boots early in life, we are able to open up an entirely new world of potential home environments to that kitten. The simple process involves one day of positive playtime and socialization with a kitten nanny like Boots each week. When started with kittens between two and seven weeks old, they are much more much more likely to live happily along with other animals.”
Not only does Boots seem to really love his job, he’s also really good at it.
Perhaps all of his work at the Humane Society is just his way of giving back, because after all, he was once in a desperate situation of his own. We love you, Boots!
(Photos courtesy of Arizona Humane Society)
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