Kaley Cuoco talks past 'excruciating decision' to re-home dog: 'It's important to be honest'
Kaley Cuoco recently posted an emotional video in which she discussed her late dog Shirley, whom she said she previously had to move to another home after an "excruciating decision."
In the video posted Sunday to Instagram, Cuoco spoke out about her "special" dog Shirley, the behavioral troubles that led to her decision and the importance of honesty in discussing her animal care.
"I think it's important to be honest about everything animal related," began Cuoco, who is outspoken about her animal advocacy and founded a pet brand, Oh Norman!, which donates money to rescue dog causes.
"Most of you know I had her for many, many, many years, and of all of a sudden you kind of stopped seeing her," she said, adding that she fielded several questions about where Shirley went.
Cuoco revealed that Shirley struggled to get along with her fiancé Tom Pelphrey's German Shepherd named Blue. "He moved across the country with his beautiful German Shepherd, Blue, a couple years ago. Unfortunately, Blue and Shirley started getting into some mega fights, and Shirley was determined to kill him, and it was very scary," shared Cuoco.
Cuoco said Shirley would frequently fight with other dogs as well. "She loves people, loves kids, loves families, loves everybody. I mean, I cherished that dog. We obviously bring many dogs into our home, and I started to get really worried that she would really hurt another animal," said Cuoco, sharing that she was forced to make a difficult decision.
"She just could not live with us, with how she was behaving, and I loved her so much, but I was really scared, and I didn't want something really bad to happen, or possibly a person accidentally be there and get hurt," said Cuoco.
Cuoco said her pet handler Tony and his wife Angie offered to take care of Shirley a few years ago, adding that "they have loved her so so much."
"It was an excruciating decision for me to…I would never say give her up, but place a dog elsewhere" said Cuoco. "This was for the safety of Shirley herself, because I didn't want her to end up in a home that didn't understand her, because she was so special."
Since Cuoco made the decision, Shirley has "been living the life out on the most beautiful farm with Tony and Angie for years."
Towards the end of the video, Cuoco revealed that she had recently received news that Shirley had died from an aggressive bone cancer.
"I just wanted to share her story and what we had to do. It was the right thing to do for our family, and really for Shirley. And she has had an amazing life," said Cuoco.
Cuoco concluded by saying she was opening up about this story now because she felt it was important to be open about her struggles with animals she rescues.
"I promise to be extremely honest and forthcoming in the future, considering what I stand for. I want every animal saved. I will speak up and stand up for every four legged creature. So that's what I wanted to share today," she said.
