Boots, a pretty, spayed, tuxedo-wearing lady, used to quietly, politely approach shelter visitors, just the way that she’d welcomed her person home for nine years. Then Boots waited to be rewarded with a kind word or a chin rub. But shelter visitors always looked at kittens, toddling or tumbling. Boots waited, but her turn never came.

Now Boots has waited longer than any shelter animal. Now Boots sits queen-like on a cat tree, watching. She’s afraid watching others live is all that’s left. Yet Boots offers so much. She’s through the leaping on counters, shredding curtains phase. Instead, she knows to be comforting for her person.

That awareness takes time to develop. For someone whose days are busy and demanding, Boots makes home a sanctuary.

Sally is the symmetrical puppy. Her eight-week-old fuzzy face is perfectly divided with brown eyes and ears and a white face. Sally’s white boots on her front paws match, too. Sally might say, if she could talk, that her markings make her more interesting than her sisters. She might say that was a reason to take her home.

However, each baby girl has her own charm. That’s why people need to meet shelter pets. Words and photos can never explain who they are. And nothing but looking, puppy’s eyes to person’s eyes, can ever show pet and person how they’ll feel about each other.

So, Sally and each shelter puppy, dog, kitten and cat are begging people to come experience the unforgettable feelings they produce.

The woman agreed to care for a friend’s dogs. The dogs were affectionate, sweet, and compatible with her dogs and each other. It didn’t seem like a problem. But then the friend didn’t return for the dogs. And the dogs were too compatible. Puppies started arriving. Eventually there were 23 dogs.

Now those dogs and puppies are coming to the shelter. This week’s group are adorable, eight-week-old, female, wire-haired Jack Russell Terriers. This one, named Sky for her flaps-up, airplane ears, has a face that’s an endearing combination of funny and sad.

Sky will never cease to be funny. However, once she gets over missing her mama, she won’t be sad, just as long as Sky finds a forever home with kind and puppy-appreciating people.

Squirrel earned his name by being the cat room’s acrobat and entertainer. The six-month-old, neutered kitten, wearing a dazzling silver coat, races across the room, climbing the cat trees just as fast as any squirrel could climb a spruce tree. One key difference is this little Squirrel really wants an audience. He’s performing to get a human friend’s attention.

Another difference is that, when this feline Squirrel wears out, he doesn’t want a hole to hide in. He desperately wants a lap. Unlike any of his namesakes, Squirrel is a cuddler. He’s seeking affection, not food.

It’s a shame to have this little fellow’s most formative months spent without an owner. With the right person, Squirrel would be encouraged to continue cuddling and entertaining forever.

Aideen was obviously a house pup. The spayed 18-month-old has the perfect manners that everyone who longs for an easy-to-live-with companion wants. She’s housebroken, walks beautifully on a leash, is fastidiously tidy, calm and very quiet. Aideen’s quiet, self-contained nature is worth mentioning because the beautiful, shiny-like-a-new-copper-penny pup looks as if she has some Coonhound relatives.

Because they’ve been bred and trained to loudly lead their owners, sometimes people forget what loyal, loving and easy-going dogs hounds are. Anyone who’s read the book or watched the movie “Where the Red Fern Grows” knows what these amazing pets really are like.

Someone who is touched by Aideen’s soulful, intelligent eyes could look for the book. Or they could come personally experience this wonderful companion’s unforgettable adoration.