It’s common to expect friendships between certain types of animals. For example, many people have dogs and cats living happily inside of the same home. Also, you might see a couple of farm animals be able to get along nicely with each other. However, there are certainly some combinations of animal friendships that might make you look twice. If you haven’t seen an odd animal friendship lately, get ready to be exposed to one. The Internet is showcasing an unlikely friendship between a tiny owl and a giant dog.
This friendship is particularly interesting because only one of the animals is domesticated. Ingo is a Belgian Shepherd. He is descended from a long line of police dogs. He lives with his owner, a photographer named Tanja Brandt. Ingo’s little buddy is an owlet named Poldi. Photos of the two animals together showed the world that some friendships are destined to happen.
Brandt began studying photography after attending a workshop several years ago. She quickly discovered that she enjoyed linking her new found hobby of photography with her natural love of animals. In a short amount of time, Brandt began taking pictures of all sorts of animals she found around her neighborhood. However, Brandt was drawn particularity to dogs and birds of prey. Throughout her life, Brandt has had a fascination and love for these two types of animals.
Eventually, Brandt started seeking out opportunities to take photos of her own dogs with local birds she encountered. She hoped some shots of her dogs and birds interacting would be particularly interesting. This ultimately led to the friendship between her dog Ingo and the adorable owlet Poldi. Check out some of the photos of the dynamic duo below.
Interestingly, Brandt isn’t just interested in taking photos of birds with her dog. Brandt shares her home with injured birds. Many of these birds are hawks, falcons, and other owls. She allows the birds to stay in her home until they are rehabilitated and ready to return to their lives in the wild. Since the birds are natural predators, sometimes this can take a while. These birds must be almost entirely back to their former strength to be able to hunt and take care of themselves again in the wild. What an inspiring hobby!
It was actually thanks to this kindness to birds of prey that allowed Ingo to meet his new friend. Brandt met Poldi shortly after he hatched from his egg. He was the smallest of all of the eggs to hatch in his nest. In other words, you might be able to say Poldi was the “runt of the litter.” Thanks to his small size, Poldi needed a lot more care than his brothers and sisters. Brandt was happy to provide this care. Sensing his owner was nurturing little Poldi, Ingo decided to help out. He quickly became friends with Poldi as Brandt worked on helping the little owlet grow big and strong. Ingo became Poldi’s protector and best friend.
Poldi eventually grew out of his health problems. He is now a strong and healthy bird. He even has a lady friend now. However, this hasn’t interfered with Poldi’s friendship with Ingo. The two animals still hang out as much as they can. This provides Brandt with plenty of opportunities to snap pictures of their friendship. Hopefully, the photos will remind you of the power of friendship. It also might inspire you to volunteer to help other birds of prey like Poldi.
What do you think about the photos? Do they melt your heart? Let us know in the comments below!