Page 102 - Showsight February 2013

I’m blessed to
breed specific groups within
a species.
What about predators? Well,
one does not see mountain lions
cavorting with black bears or
wolves cooperating in a hunt
with coyotes. The competition
for food among predators is
too keen for that. Dogs are
predators, too, but we’ve all seen
how various breeds will mingle
and play together at dog parks.
Many hound and some terrier
breeds do hunt cooperatively
in a pack, albeit with strict,
unwritten rules of behavior that
are enforced by pack leaders.
Even among dog breeds,
however, breeders can’t help but
notice the extra excitement and
interest that a dog of a particular
breed shows when meeting “one
of his own”. It would seem that
interspecies friendships in the
animal kingdom remain quite
rare – that evolution has directed
both herbivores and carnivores
to feed or hunt with their own
species.
Among all the animals,
however, domestic dogs seem
the most amenable to friendships
with animals of another species.
In researching some of these
friendships, I did not include
animals that had grown up
together. Puppies will happily
bond with just about any species
of animal! Nor did I include
any bitch that raised young
from another species. All dog
breeders have owned a bitch or
two with a very maternal nature
who would mother any baby, no
matter the species! No, I wanted
to investigate adult dogs who
had formed strong friendships
with other non-canine adult
animals.
Actually, quite a few of such
attachments exist, despite all
the odds. The following are just
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS
Friendships That Defy The Odds
I’m blessed to lIve In a part
of the country where “the deer
and the antelope play”, but they
actually never play together.
They live in different biozones.
Up in the pine-covered hills and
mountains the deer roam, and
down on the plains, the antelope
play. Humans’ horses and cattle
range in both areas which creates
an interesting scene. Even
among cattle, the Longhorns stay
in one group, while the Angus
congregate in another. The deer
are off in their own corner eating
while the horses stay in their own
herd as they munch grass. Out on
the plains, the antelope always
graze apart from cattle and
horses. The animals just listed
are all herbivores as well as prey
animals. They not only maintain
distance from other species, they
even segregate themselves into
Sandra Murray
“Among all the animals, however,
DOMESTIC DOGS SEEM
THE MOST AMENABLE TO
FRIENDSHIPS WITH ANIMALS
OF ANOTHER SPECIES.”
98 • ShowSight Magazine, February 2013