Sheryl Smith has been rescuing and rehoming animals for years. She has a tendency to try and help those who’ve had everyone else turn their back on them. When she first became aware of Shiro – a partially blind and deaf dog who’d spent time in two shelters and 12 foster homes, only to be adopted and returned on 4 separate occasions – Sheryl knew she needed to get involved and help. The poor Shiro had crippling anxiety, and that is when Sheryl and her family made the decision to adopt him in order to give him the forever home he deserved.
“He was a handful but everyone else had given up on him and we weren’t prepared to do that too,” Smith told The Dodo.
She adopted him back in 2018, and said, “He still to this day cries in the car because he thinks he’s being dropped off somewhere else.”
Even though Shiro still has his struggles, he had made leaps and bounds compared to where he started. Based off his past, this dog has a very sweet and understanding nature that helps him comfort all the other rescue animals who come through.
“Just after his rescue l rescued a pregnant dog who was too sick to care for her pups, so Shiro climbed in with them and started cleaning them,” Smith said. “He’s done that with every rescue I take in. He will just sit patiently with the feral cats/kittens and bonds so strongly with them, they trust him before they trust me.”
Recently, Smith took in a tiny feral kitten, later named Tiny Tolley. Smith couldn’t believe how skinny and sickly the baby cat was, and immediately began nursing her back to health. If she’d been on her own any longer, she wouldn’t have survived – and it seemed that Shiro sensed just how much this kitten needed help.
“Shiro never left her crate for a second,” Smith explained. “He knew she was so sick and so scared and that she needed to be comforted.”
As Tolley slowly began to regain her strength, Shiro remained by her side.
And as a sign of his comfort, he gave her a giant kiss – something that caught her by surprise.
Tiny Tolley is getting bigger and stronger every day, and once she is completely recovered Smith will be looking for a forever home for her. But until that day comes, Shiro will no doubt continue to be her best friend and a best friend to all foster animals who pass through his home.
“His love and compassion for the other rescues is nothing short of amazing,” Smith said.
