Kaley Cuoco Talks Past ‘Excruciating Decision’ to Rehome Dog: ‘It’s Important to Be Honest’

Kaley Cuoco recently posted an emotional video discussing her late dog Shirley, who she said she previously had to rehome after an “excruciating decision.”

In the video posted Sunday to Instagram, Cuoco opened up about her “special” dog Shirley, the behavioral issues that led to her decision, and the importance of honesty in discussing her pet care.

“I think it’s important to be honest about anything animal-related,” he began Cuocowho is outspoken about his animal advocacy and founded a pet brand, Oh Norman!, which donates money to save dogs.

“Most of you know I had her for many, many, many years and all of a sudden you stopped seeing her,” she said, adding that she asked more questions about where Shirley went.

Cuoco revealed that Shirley was struggling to get along with her fiance Tom Pelphrey’s German Shepherd named Blue. “He moved across the country with his beautiful German Shepherd, Blue, a few years ago. Unfortunately, Blue and Shirley started getting into some mega-fights and Shirley was determined to kill him, and it was very scary, Cuoco said.

Cuoco said Shirley would also often fight with other dogs. “She loves people, loves kids, loves families, loves everybody. I mean, I loved that dog. We obviously bring a lot of dogs into our home, and I started to get really worried that she was going to really hurt another animal, Cuoco said. says that she was forced to make a difficult decision.

“She just couldn’t live with us with the way she was acting and I loved her so much but I was really scared and I didn’t want anything really bad to happen or maybe someone accidentally was there and was hurt,” Cuoco said.

Cuoco said her pet dealer Tony and his wife Angie offered to take in Shirley a few years ago, adding that “they have loved her so much.”

“It was an excruciating decision for me to…I would never say give her up, but place a dog somewhere else,” Cuoco said. “This was for Shirley’s safety 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 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 of 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’s had an amazing life,” Cuoco said.

Cuoco concluded by saying that she opened 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 want to speak up and stand up for every four-legged creature. So that’s what I wanted to share today, she said.