Boots with a shelter kitten. (Arizona Humane Society)
Almost 10 years ago, Hurricane Katrina devastated the coastal region of Louisiana. Among the victims were roughly 300 animals saved by the Arizona Humane Society. While nearly 60 of the rescued animals were reunited with their owners, one dog, a Chow-Golden Retriever mix nicknamed Boots, was unfortunately not among them. But the rescued pup was so loved among the staff that he ended up being fostered and adopted by one of the volunteers.
Now, Boots is paying it forward by helping shelters kittens learn to be comfortable around dogs, improving their chances of finding forever homes.
When the volunteer that adopted Boots brought him home, she noticed how well he got along with the cats at her house in Phoenix. So when the Arizona Humane Society opened their kitten nursery in May, Boots was the perfect choice to help kittens acclimate to life with canines.
"Kittens have a very small window of time, when they're growing up - from the 2-week to 7-week age range - in which the things they are exposed to are going to positively impact them for the rest of their life," said Bretta Nelson, a spokeswoman for the Arizona Humane Society.
Boots laid back personality was ideal for a kitten’s first interaction with a dog.
"He doesn't care about what the kittens [do]. He doesn't get excited. He doesn't get in their face. He just basically lets them come to him on their terms," said Liz Truitt, part of the humane society team that rescued Boots after Hurricane Katrina. "He's the sweet little dog he's always been. He just has a few extra gray hairs."