George Clooney's family grew a little bigger over Christmas (15) after he adopted a dog for his beloved mother.

The Ocean's Eleven star made a holiday trip to the LuvFurMutts Animal Rescue center in Ohio, where he fell in love with a lonely terrier named Nate, which had been born with a leg defect.

He decided to give the pooch a new home with his parents, Nick and Nina Clooney, who had been mourning the death of their family dog, which also happened to be a terrier.

Organization officials recently shared the sweet story in a Facebook.com post, in which they revealed they had held back the news for a few weeks to give the Clooney family some privacy.

"George picked Nate out, then showed him to his Mom, Nina, on YouTube," shelter bosses recalled. "She watched his video over and over and she fell in love. He then asked his Father Nick how he felt about the way Nate walks and he replied, 'I guess it sounds like he gets around just as good as we do anymore (sic).'"

The acting veteran, 54, asked his assistant to arrange the pup's adoption, and Nate arrived at Nick and Nina's Kentucky home on Christmas Eve (24Dec15).

"What is impressive is the fact that George picked Nate out and Nick and Nina accepted Nate just the way he is," the post continued. "They could have any dog in the world but they chose to adopt a dog who was crippled and could have been with LuvFurMutts for life."

Nate will be a new friend for George's own dogs - he and his wife Amal adopted a four-year-old basset hound named Millie in October (15), and also took in a pair of rescued cocker spaniels.