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Boots The Dog, Hurricane Katrina Survivor And Kitten Nanny

10 years after golden retriever Boots was rescued from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, he's giving back to the shelter that saved him as a 'nanny' for its kittens

Meet Boots. Boots is a kitten nanny. He's also a big cuddly golden retriever.

And it's pretty much the cutest thing we've ever seen.

Boots helping to socialise a kitten (Arizona Humane Society)
Boots helping to socialise a kitten (Arizona Humane Society)

I mean just look at them. We cannot even handle it.

Yesterday it was all about the Newcastle cats home that wanted human cat cuddlers, but today life has given us an even greater gift in the form of these pictures of Boots and his kitten cuddling ways.

Boots is super chilled out with his kittens (Arizona Humane Society)
Boots is super chilled out with his kittens (Arizona Humane Society)

Boots was one of 300 dogs found abandoned or lost in the wake of the hurricane. His paws were so badly burned he needed medical attention (and earned his name) and was rescued by volunteers from the Arizona Humane Society (AHS).

One of the volunteers, Susan Juergensen, adopted him and took him home to Phoenix where she already had plenty of cats...

Boots after he was rescued following Hurricane Katrina (Arizona Humane Society)
Boots after he was rescued following Hurricane Katrina (Arizona Humane Society)

...And noticed how calm the Chow-Golden Retriever was around them. So he was chosen to be introduced to the first kittens to be looked after in the AHS's new kitten nursery.

And now he pops in once a week to interact with the kittens and is happy to let them play and climb all over him without so much as a peep.

The kittens don't seem phased by their much-bigger friend (Arizona Humane Society)
The kittens don't seem phased by their much-bigger friend (Arizona Humane Society)

The AHS's Liz Truitt told NBC Today: "He’s been an unofficial nanny for us. When he came into the nursery, he was the perfect dog for this role, because he’s so laid-back

"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. It’s the perfect first interaction with a dog for these guys."

Kittens aged five to eight weeks play with Boots (Arizona Humane Society)
Kittens aged five to eight weeks play with Boots (Arizona Humane Society)

The idea is that by introducing the kittens to a dog at a few weeks old, they will be easier to rehome and will find it easier to settle into new homes where their owners already have other pets.

One kitten snuggles up to Boots (Arizona Humane Society)
One kitten snuggles up to Boots (Arizona Humane Society)

Since the pictures were released by the AHS, Boots has unsurprisngly taken the internet by storm, with most of us falling in love with him and is chillaxing with tiny kittens.

We're totally smitten.

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