Friendships that develop between animals of various species are not rare.
But it wasn’t until I saw these charming photographs by Tanja Brandt, a professional animal photographer and collage artist in Germany, that I realized an owl and a dog might be great friends.
Poldi, the adorable owl, and Ingo, the Malinois shepherd dog, appear to be quite content to snuggle up to one other for photoshoots.
Poldi is constantly near to Ingo, and he always provides his affection and protection. Tanja claims that Poldi “doesn’t know how to live independently.”
“I take them outside together — Poldi on my hand, Ingo roaming wild,” Tanja explained.
“Not so with Poldi,” she says, referring to the owl flying free. It’s far too risky. Every cat would murder him; he has no idea how to live alone.”
“Every now and again, Ingo will go for a walk with Poldi riding shotgun on his back.”
“At other times, the two will just snuggle up together, with the small Poldi finding a comfortable area to nestle, such as beneath Ingo’s chin or behind his paw.”
“If Ingo is getting something, Poldi may occasionally land and take advantage of a fresh and different vantage position.”
Poldi, the owl, was the tiniest of the seven hatchlings. He’s lucky to be alive because he almost didn’t make it out of his shell.
Poldi is a little more susceptible than his siblings. He was born two days later than his siblings and is a little owl in comparison to his brothers.
In summary, he required more care and attention than others.
This is in stark contrast to Ingo, who has a history of defending others.
The Belgian Shepherd hails from a line of police dogs, so he’s had his share of adversity.
“Ingo, feeling Poldi’s vulnerability, assigned himself the position of protector and closest friend,” and the rest, as they say, is history.
“Now that Poldi has a particular woman, and Ingo is a dog with a full interspecies social calendar, these closest friends occasionally find themselves with other duties.”
Still, whenever they get the opportunity, they return to one another and enjoy simply hanging out — two unexpected friends who adore each other.”
Ingo is also Poldi’s guardian; in the touching video below, Ingo is snuggling up to ‘Gandalf’ to keep him warm.
If you enjoy these photographs, check to Brandt’s website to see more of Ingo’s amazing animal friendships, whether it’s with other Belgian shepherds or fearsome birds of prey besides Poldi.
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