“In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.” – Khalil Gibran

Unconditional Love

True friendships are a rarity and if you’re one of the lucky ones who’ve stumbled upon at least one special friend, that friendship is destined to last a lifetime. Now, it’s no secret that man and dog have shared an enchanting bond since the beginning of time. You know the adage – dog is a man’s best friend. What makes the bond between man and dog so beautiful is the unconditional love that dogs shower their pet parent with – rain or shine! Dogs will adore you on your bad hair days and when your bank account is on the verge of flat-lining. It’s a matter of heart – and quite honestly – dogs reign supreme when it comes to love, with no strings attached!

And being the doting canine creatures they are, other species can’t resist their affectionate ways either. Yes, there are other species vying to be dog’s best friend, too! Oh, but no need to worry, humans, and dogs will continue to be man’s best friend!

Opposites Attract

Ben the Dog & Duggie the Dolphin:

Some well-known stories of interspecies relationships include Ben the dog and Duggie the dolphin. A dog and a dolphin, huh? Yes, indeed. Every day, Ben would run down the stairs with excitement into Ireland’s Tory Island Harbor, to play with his dolphin friend, Duggie. The cute yet odd pair would play for hours at a time until Ben would grow tired and need Duggie’s help swimming back to shore. Watching the two interact in the water is quite a marvelous sight. Many onlookers wonder how Ben the dog knows when to jump in the water and meet his friend, Duggie. It’s as if Ben just intuitively knows that Duggie is waiting on him.

Tink the Dachshund & Piglet:

In 2008, a piglet was born weighing less than a pound and could not open its eyes. Seeing that the pig's hope for survival was slim, the owner, Johanna Kerby, took the piglet to her dachshund dog that had just given birth to puppies a little while before. Well, the rest, as they say, is history. The dachshund, Tink, loved the little pig and accepted him immediately, even licking the piglet all over to clean him!

The pig was lovingly adopted into the Dachshund family and nursed to health by his new canine mother; he never chose to return to his pig family. His brothers are now canine and that’s how it will stay.

Curiosity Doesn’t Kill the Cat

These days there’s no shortage of odd animal pairings. Dogs have been sighted frolicking, caring, and resting with baby alpacas, ducklings, pigs, monkeys, lambs, and cubs, among other animals. Perform a Google search for odd animal couplings, particularly with dogs, and you’re sure to receive hundreds of thousands of results, including YouTube videos and blogs, dedicated to these relationships. As humans, we have an innate longing for companionship and these odd pairings provide us with the inspiration and motivation to love unconditionally.

People are really craving to be ‘re-wilded. They’re craving to be reconnected to nature, and it’s these odd examples that are really seductive.¹

1 “Learning From Animal Friendships”

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/27/science/so-happy-together.html?_r=0