By Diane Herbst for Tonic.com

Maty, a rescued Australian Shepherd mix, comforts feral kittens and transforms them into sweet, friendly purring machines.

When Maty’s left leg was amputated shortly after birth, the Australian Shepherd mix adjusted just fine. She jumped and leaped her way to two appearances at World Frisbee competitions as the first three-legged competitor. And thanks to a personality as sweet as Mother Teresa’s, she unwittingly became a nanny of sorts for tiny feral kittens.

“We knew Maty was good with the kitties, and they would go up to her,” says Lynne Ouchida, community outreach coordinator of the Humane Society of Central Oregon in Bend. “Since Maty is missing her left leg, when she lays on her right leg, she has a nook (where her left leg once was) and it creates a cradle. They lay in that spot against her belly.”

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