Posts tagged "InterspeciesFriends"

Remember the story about the goat and the Great Dane who had fallen in love after being rescued together at a downtown wedding venue in the Dallas area? Now the two inter-species soul mates -- Minelli the goat and Judy the Great Dane -- have been separated thanks to a state law that differentiates between pets and livestock.

The unlikely pair had until now been inseparable after they were rescued by animal lover Sandra Harrison on June 25. However, a tragic phone call came to the rescue center Tuesday that was destined to break up the odd couple's love fest. "I got a call that said, 'Dr. Fling, you're in violation of state law. State law says any stray livestock must be collected and impounded by the sheriff's department,'" East Lake Pet Orphanage veterinarian Karen Fling tells KXAS-TV.

Shortly thereafter, the livestock deputy arrived at the East Lake Pet Orphanage with a trailer and hauled heartbroken Minelli away. Apparently, both Minelli and Judy had a rough go of it for awhile, but both are bouncing back.

According to Dr. Fling, Judy is back in "good spirits," while Minelli the friendly goat has reportedly made a few new friends.

Sometimes, good friends like to give each other baths. But get your mind out of the gutter -- we're just talking about interspecies animal pals, like Hoppy the deer, who likes to make sure his feline friend, Tiptree, is clean as a whistle.

Hoppy himself is an especially worshipped creature. He was found abandoned as a fawn on the doorstep of loving couple, Tony and Amanda. There's even a documentary about him! So let's celebrate Hoppy, not only for his being in the care of a caring couple, but also for his kinship with that sweet tabby!

There's an orangutan whose best friend is a hound dog; a cat whose playmate is a crow; an elephant whose constant companion is a Chow-mix dog; a baby hippo who pursues a friendship with a 130 year-old tortoise; a lioness who bonds with baby antelope; and the story of Christian, a lion cub purchased at Harrod's Department Store in 1969, who remembers his first owners a year after returning to the wild.

You may have seen them on Youtube, but now in "Unlikely Animal Friends," the National Geographic channel explores these six unusual animal bonds in depth with extensive footage, interviews with the animals' owners and commentary by experts.

Perplexing as the unlikely friendships are, they illustrate the "ability of animals to feel complex emotions," says one expert on the show. Love and compassion, it seems, are not solely the domain of humans: witness other inter-species videos such as the fawn who bathes a cat and the dog who befriends a duck.

The one-hour program, "Unlikely Animal Friends," premieres this Saturday, September 26 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on the National Geographic channel.

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