As a child, you probably grew up with a healthy diet of Disney stories and animated films. Other than fairy tales, Walt Disney also produced stories that showcased tender friendships between animals through Bambi and The Fox And The Hound. Those sweet stories taught us that animals can create special bonds like we can, and more importantly, friendship knows no bounds. In December 2018, a Disney-worthy story involving Koda the husky and her new friend in the forest unfolded, and it’s definitely got us feeling enchanted by the magic of friendship.
Koda the husky disappeared for three days
Koda, our little hellion, has been missing since Thursday night, she had a camo collar on. if anyone’s seen or heard her…
Posted by Rachel Howatt on Saturday, 22 December 2018
When their beloved two-year-old husky got loose and ran away from home, Rachel Howatt and Clinton Subbick couldn’t help but worry. One of the worst feelings in the world is not knowing where and how your loved ones are. They desperately tried to find their furbaby by scouring their neighborhood and searching the woods. Even a plea was posted on Facebook asking locals to keep an eye out for her! But sadly, the dog was nowhere to be found.
“We definitely searched for her, but in the end, she just came back. She is really smart, so I didn’t doubt she could find her way home,” Koda’s owner said.
It took the dog three days to finally turn up at her fur-parents’ home at Manitoba, Canada. Needless to say, her owners were overjoyed and relieved to finally be reunited with their pet. The husky returned from her three-day excursion unscathed.
But it made her owners wonder what she’d been up to for the past three days
Posted by Rachel Howatt on Friday, 1 March 2019
While they were happy to have Koda back again, Rachel and Clinton were still burning with curiosity as to what had kept their pet dog away for three days. Fortunately, their neighbor, Garry Suderman, the resident hunter of the area, had trail cameras in the woods. The curious owners asked if they could review the trail camera’s footage and sure enough, their darling Koda had been caught on the camera!
Their neighbor’s trail camera caught the husky but she wasn’t alone
Funnily enough, while her humans were going through a rough time worrying about her, Koda was apparently having quite the adventure. The trail cameras showed the adventurous husky wandering the woods together with a male deer.
“It’s pretty hard to believe at first, you know, that’s what she was doing for all that time, and we had no idea,” Howatt said. “In my opinion, I think she’s just such an outgoing dog. She just wants to be everybody’s friend.”
Their neighbor’s trail cameras captured Koda’s interactions with her wild forest friend
At first, the hunter wasn’t so sure what to make of the strange duo. Suderman says the deer appeared to be injured, likely by another buck. He suspected that Koda might have been checking the situation to see whether the animal could be prey. But when he saw the animals bonding, his opinion shifted.
He saw the furry twosome huddling up to each other at night, playing, eating and just napping during their time together. These affectionate interactions between the husky and buck made Suderman understand that Koda wasn’t assessing if the buck was fit for consumption. Instead, it appeared to him as though the domesticated pooch was trying to protect the injured buck!
“It was quite amazing,” Rachel said. “Based on the time they spent on frame, it looked like they spent over 12 hours together. There’s also another photo where there’s two bucks in the picture with her.”
“Will I ever get pictures like that again in my lifetime? Nope,” Suderman said. “That is definitely the weirdest thing I’ve seen before.”
The phenomenon certainly caught the attention of many, including animal behaviorist Catherine McMillan. Upon observing the husky and buck’s interaction. “Any dog that’s comfortable enough to sleep in that environment shows me that [she’s] comfortable around that deer.” McMillan said.
When the bonding sessions with the buck lessened, his owners got him a new friend
After going viral with over 30,000 shares on Facebook, Koda hasn’t had much time to play with her dashing friend. So, to keep her company, her owners decided to get another dog. Aptly, they named their new companion “Buck” after her unusual friend. We’re kind of waiting for Hallmark or Disney to immortalize this adorable inter-species friendship, to be honest.
The husky’s adventure certainly stirred up the Internet. Everyone found the story to be adorable and praiseworthy. After all, we don’t always hear about animals getting along in the wild. We’re so happy that Rachel’s furbaby found her way home safe and sound, thanks to the company of the buck(s) she met!
People were amused and amazed
Source: Facebook