50 Unique Animal Friendships That Will Convince You The World Isn't Such A Bad Place

From BFF's of the same species to the most unexpected bonds between creatures of different kinds, we've got them all here to warm your heart.

Stephanie

• Published in Animals
• November 5, 2020

If you're having a tough time at the moment trying to remember the good in the world, you're certainly not alone. We're in the midst of a global pandemic, and life is a crazy, stressful ride.

But, never fear, we have some photos of animal friendships to share with you that are nothing short of magical. From BFF's of the same species to the most unexpected bonds between creatures of different kinds, we've got them all here to warm your heart.

Jenny Dagnino, a manager at Arizona Humane Society's Pet Behavior and Pet Training, says that these kinds of relationships between animals of different species are actually fairly common. "It is safe to assume that animals who do have social relationships with other species likely had exposure to them during an early stage in their development, or had interactions over a long period of time that were positive for them," she said.

1. The Start Of An Awwesome Friendship!

Animals of different species communicate with one another, much like they communicate with us humans. In the same way we can try to understand what our dog or cat is trying to tell us, an animal can do the same with a friend of a different species.

2. Rescue Fox And A Bulldog Become Inseparable And Form A Real-Life “The Fox And The Hound” Friendship

3. He Made A New Friend At Doggy Day Care

4. Cat And Fox Are Best Friends

5. A Pelican Befriended A Stray Dog Who Was Often Spotted Hanging Out All Alone Along The Boat Docks. The Man Who Photographed This Has Adopted Him But Brings Him Back Every Day To See His Friend, Petey The Pelican

6. Duck And A Dog

7. Meet Mickey And John, They're Best Friends

8. Tinni The Dog And Sniffer The Wild Fox

9. Today, At Doggy Daycare, My Dog Made A New Best Friend!

10. Friendship Between A Horse And Husky

11. These Horses Always Come For A Kiss Whenever We Walk Past

12. Golden Retriever And An Abandoned Kitty

13. Give Us Back Our Friend

Many friendships between animals can happen naturally, but some bonds are developed predominantly because of us. Humans domesticating animals has made inter-species relationships that otherwise would never occur far more common.

14. Friendship Is A Very Beautiful Thing

15. Buddies

16. Welcome To This Beautiful, Unlikely Friendship.

17. Friendship Goals

18. These Best Friends. Even The Look In His Eyes Is Adorable

19. Making New Friends

20. You’ve Got A Friend In Me

21. Our Neighbor Sent Me This Adorable Display Of Pure Joy Between Our Dogs. They Finally Got Him A Stool So He Could Greet His Big Friend Properly

22. I Went To The Shelter To Adopt A Dog, And I Found Those Two In This Posture, I Couldn't Separate Them So I End Up Adopting Both Of Them

23. Goat And Sheep Friends

24. Unusual Friendship

25. Mani The Wild Boar Piglet And Candy The Dog

26. Ingo The Dog And His Owl Friend

27. Baby Elephant And Ostrich's Friendship

28. Friendship Goals

"At the Arizona Humane Society, we have opportunities to pair animals of the same species (dogs with dogs, cats with cats) to provide some more social interaction, and sometimes it can provide a shy animal some comfort," Dagnino continued. The AHS team are also experts at helping adopters to introduce their new rescue pets to their existing pets.

29. Bubbles The African Elephant And Bella The Black Labrador

30. Comforting A Friend

31. Family Isn't Always Blood

32. Torque The Dog And Shrek The Owl

33. Dog And Crow Are Best Friends

34. Best Friends

35. Best Buddies

36. Now This Was An Unexpected Friendship

37. "A Rare Friendship Developed Between A Gray Wolf And Brown Bear"

38. Cheetah And Doggo Stayed Best Friends From The Start!

39. My Girlfriends Horse Got A New Friend

40. My Friend's Cat And Rat Are Best Buddies

41. Anjana The Chimpanzee And Tiger Cubs

42. Dog And Raccoon Friendship

43. Doggo & Cow Friendship

44. Friendship Through The Toughest Of Times

Although we are all familiar with the saying, "fight like cats and dogs," Jenny says dogs and cats can actually get along very well together. "But their ability or inclination to do this is affected by both animals' experiences in early development and maintained by positive or negative experiences during their lifetime, even genetics," she said.

45. Unexpected Friendships Are The Best Ones

46. We Adopted A New Cat Not Knowing They’d Become Inseparable

47. My Aunts Goat Thinks It's A Dog. It Wont Associate With The Other Goats And Only Hangs Out With The Dogs

48. Dog And Newly Rescued Calf Who Are Best Friends At The Gentle Barn

49. Little And Large

50. Meet Herman, The Flightless Pigeon And His Best Friend Lundy, The Chihuahua Who Can’t Walk

Stephanie