Some dogs have to be rigorously trained in order to become good therapy dogs, and others are just born that way.

Such is the case with Sherio, who likes to spend all of his time helping mom out with the foster animals that come into her care. Sherio didn’t stumble onto his caregiving skills by chance, though. What makes him so great at it is the experience he brings to the table.

When Sherio’s mom, Sheryl Smith, first met him, life had already wrung him out and hung him to dry.

It turns out that Sherio was no stranger to the animal shelter. The deaf and vision impaired pup had been there over two years when Smith learned of him. That’s a long time for any pup, but that wasn’t the worst of his story.

The sweet, lovable furbaby had been through 12 foster homes already and, even worse, had been adopted by four different families. All of which rejected him in the end.

After learning about all he’d been through, Smith knew that he was going home with her.

The pain of so much rejection weighed heavily on Sherio, and it manifested itself as severe anxiety and insecurity.

“He was a handful but everyone else had given up on him and we weren’t prepared to do that too. He still to this day cries in the car because he thinks he’s being dropped off somewhere else,” Smith explains in an interview with The Dodo.

Sherio’s luck took a hard turn for the better when he met his mom.

As it just so happens, Smith likes to dedicate her time to taking care of the foster animals no one else wants. Fortunately, Sherio seems to be a natural helper in this department.

The rough life that Sherio had led up to being adopted makes him a pretty darn empathetic pup.

When he sees other animals in pain or distress, he seems to know exactly how to comfort them. From the very day he stepped foot in his new home a little over a year ago now, Sherio has taken his duty as head-comforter very seriously.

All the animals that mom brings home have serious issues in one form or another that has prevented people from adopting them. Something Sherio knows about all too well. Being that he’s been in their paws before, he knows that they all need a little love.

Sherio is so good at what he does that he’s even able to bond with the foster animals before mom.

“Just after his rescue l rescued a pregnant dog who was too sick to care for her pups. So, Sherio climbed in with them and started cleaning them. 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,” Smith explains.

Earlier this month Smith was informed about a tiny feral kitten on the brink of death.

She instantly picked the kitten up and brought it home to Sherio’s care. The poor thing was so scrawny and ill that Smith wasn’t too sure she’d make it. In fact, she was sure that she would have already died had she not been found when she had.

The kitten was struggling to survive and Sherio was determined to help see her through it.

“Sherio never left her crate for a second. He knew she was so sick and so scared and that she needed to be comforted,” Smith recalled.

Under the sweet blind and deaf dog’s constant care, the kitten slowly regained her health. The kitten was named Tiny Tolley. Tolley started to slowly get her strength up too, and even spent some time in Smith’s lap. Of course, Sherio was right there with her.

The compassionate pup was so happy to see Tolley feeling better that he couldn’t contain himself. He walked up and gave her a huge, wet, smooch on the head. Tolley was left a little rattled, but we’re sure she forgave her furry little nurse.

Now that Tiny Tolley is on the mend, Smith will set out to finding her the purrfect furever home.

Though we’re sure that Sherio will miss his sweet little friend, he will have no shortage of animals to care for. In fact, according to the post below from his mom just a week ago, the kind dog already has his paws full nursing another sickly kitten back to health.

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It’s so wonderful that Sherio got to go from being the dog that no one wants to being a dog who spends his days rescuing other animals like him. To keep up with Sherio and all of his well-loved patients, follow him on Facebook at Sherio’s Shenanigans.

Source: The Dodo/Sherio’s Shenanigans