Golden Retriever Sharing Toys With Baby Calf Melts Hearts: 'Best Buddies'
There are many reasons why golden retrievers are one of America's most-popular dogs. They are caring, affectionate and great with other animals, as demonstrated by Riley, the puppy who has been caught on camera attempting to make a zebu calf feel at home.
During the viral TikTok clip shared on October 5 by Frank de Bem (@kysarahgsd), Riley can be seen dropping his stuffed toy into the tiny calf's crate. The puppy appears to be excited as the zebu investigates the item and then stands up. The clip captioned, "Riley our Golden retriever sharing his toy with our bottle baby zebu calf," has received more than 6.2 million views.
Goldens are known for treating everyone as their best friend, according to the American Kennel Club (AKC). The dogs almost always want to play and they are highly adaptable, so Riley is living up to the breed's traits.
Since sharing the first video of the unlikely friendship, owner Bem has uploaded more footage. One clip captioned, "Riley giving our new Zebu calf kisses," has over 281,000 views. The big-hearted dog has also been caught on camera sharing cuddly toys, and the pair are seen even rubbing their heads on each other.
In the comments, the owner says that the calf is a miniature zebu, which is a rare and endangered breed, according to Oklahoma State University. The Department of Animal and Food Sciences says the animals originate from Southern India. However, some were imported to the USA's zoological gardens in 1920s; 19 were imported into Australia in 1995; and four went to New Zealand in 2009.
In this case, Riley's new friend lives on a farm, and it may be used as a draft animal, or kept for their meat or milk. Zebu miniatures range from 35 to 45 inches in height. A mature bull weighs 400 to 600 pounds, and a mature cow, 300 to 500 pounds. The Oklahoma State University website says zebus produce roughly 60 per cent lean meat if kept for meat consumption and a gallon of butterfat-rich milk as a dairy producer.
So far, the clip has over 712,000 likes and plenty of comments, many of which are encouraging the owner to let the animals play together.
"Dad let my grass puppy out to play," read one comment.
Another user posted: "Aw he just wants to play with the strange puppy."
"Guarantee that dog and that calf are gonna be best buddies when she's old enough to play together," wrote another.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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