Talk about a best friend: Former Boise State star saves 19 dogs from euthanasia
If dogs are man’s best friend, then former Boise State wide receiver Khalil Shakir has 19 new besties.
Shakir, entering his fourth year in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills, helped save 19 dogs from being euthanized on Sunday.
Shakir worked with Nickel City Canine Rescue, a New York-based dog rescue, to transfer in the 19 dogs from a shelter that euthanizes animals when space is needed, according to ESPN. Shakir and his family adopted their dog, Missy, from Nickel City last year.
The rescued dogs will be put up for foster care, with the eventual aim of adoption.
This wasn’t the first time Shakir has come to the aid of some four-legged friends in need. He helped save 26 dogs from euthanasia in May, according to ESPN, and he repped Nickel City on his cleats during the NFL’s 2024 campaign, My Cause My Cleats.
Shakir held a pet adoption event last weekend to help people adopt dogs from eight different Buffalo-based shelters. It was mentioned to Shakir during Saturday’s event about the dog rescue campaign occurring a day later, so he sprang into action Sunday as well.
“(Shakir’s) eyes lit up! He said he would love to come help again,” a representative for Nickel City Canine Rescue told ESPN in an email.
Shakir may not have been rescuing dogs while at Boise State, but he was undoubtedly a dawg on the field. Shakir played in 43 games across four years for Boise State, recording 208 catches for 2,878 yards and 20 touchdowns.
The Bills drafted him in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, after a senior season in which Shakir had 77 receptions for 1,117 yards and seven TDs.
