A dog who used to be terrified of cats has ended up becoming a loving and caring parent to kittens.
Border collie Phoebe was adopted by Aki Yamaguchi from a foster service and managed to change her stance against the felines in just a few days.
Nearly a year later, Aki decided to tell Phoebe's story to the world, to encourage more owners to adopt both cats and dogs and have them get along with each other.
She said that, at first, Phoebe was a timid and scared little pup, who was afraid of anything new, including cats.
To help her overcome her fear of cats, Aki started fostering kittens, "thinking she'd be less nervous around little ones", she said.
However, Phoebe was still very scared of 5-week-old kittens.
"We did a slow and positive introduction, and within a week, she decided she was going to be their momma dog," Aki said and added: "The transformation was incredible--from a growling dog to giving them her fluffy tummy to sleep in.
"She loves all the kittens differently, but equally."
She also told her followers: "Each dog has a gift. Some become working dogs, your personal comfort dog, your protector, or simply your best friend. Phoebe has found her calling as a nanny dog.
"This is one of the reasons I can't keep our foster kittens, even though I'd really want to... at least not for a while.
"Phoebe will help so many more kittens to be dog-friendly cats and be adopted by wonderful families."
Later, Aki explained: "At first, we would walk down our street and there was a stray cat standing there. She just freaked out, barking, lunging and running around."
Phoebe, who is three, now acts as a surrogate mother and pampers the kittens when they are young.
She plays with the kittens, cuddles them, lets them sleep on her stomach, and moves around at their eye level so as to not scare them.
Aki added: "She's completely crazy. She's wild sunny and playful, but when the kittens are little she immediately changes, she slows down and gets eye to eye to not scare them.
"She understands [their] size and how vulnerable they are."
Aki, from Houston, Texas, US, regularly fosters kittens before they are placed with permanent owners.
She noted: "I think Phoebe plays different roles When they're young she's a mama and helps them go potty and lets them hide under her tummy.
"Once they get older, she's like a sibling and plays with them. I call her a grandma dog because she plays with them but never gets mad."
