A woman from California has melted hearts after sharing the story of how the cat she adopted instantly became best friends with her dog suffering from anxiety after an incident that traumatized the pooch.
In a post shared on Reddit in August under the username Ok-Marionberry-3109, a series of pictures show the two pets, Bear (the dog) and Niko (the cat), looking inseparable, cuddling, playing, and sleeping together like siblings.
“I got a cat for my dog after she got anxiety after an incident and they became instant soulmates,” reads a caption shared along with the pictures.
A dog owner got a cat to help with her pup’s anxiety after an incident, and they became “instant soulmates.”
Ok-Marionberry-3109 via Reddit
The poster, 22-year-old Amelia, told Newsweek that she got Bear when the pooch was only four months old and trained her to be her service animal, but soon after, an accident occurred that changed the puppy’s future.
“When she was one-and-a-half and nearly at the end of her training, we encountered three aggressive fake service dogs in a non-pet friendly store. These dogs came out of nowhere, the last one getting incredibly close at the end of its retractable leash trying to attack Bear,” she said.
“This caused her to become scared of all dogs, get really bad anxiety, and led to me having to ‘retire’ or ‘wash’ her from service work. After that, she sat at home and looked very bored and upset. She had gone on anxiety medication at this time. My partner and I decided it would be best to get her a friend.”
That’s when the couple found Niko on an online post, and decided he was the one. As soon as they picked him up, he instantly felt at home, and after settling down in a separate room for a while, he was finally introduced to Bear, and the two became best friends.
“I would like to say to anyone who reads this to please keep untrained pets out of stores that aren’t pet friendly. It puts service dogs and their handlers in more danger than they think,” Amelia said.
Because of what Bear went through, she got a friend but she also got severe anxiety, and the poster has so far spent over a year teaching her coping mechanisms. To this day, the owner said the canine gets a panic attack every time she sees another dog.
Although they’re often portrayed as mortal enemies, dogs and cats can live peacefully with each other and even bring comfort to one another.
A 2020 study carried out by Italian scientists, published in the journal PLOS ONE, that surveyed over 1,270 pet owners who own both a cat and a dog, found that the two can easily cohabitate without much conflict.
According to the study, over 64 percent of the cats and dogs living together played together; 58 percent chased each other; and 41 percent fought. Almost two-thirds of the pets sometimes playfully “ambushed” the other.
The post quickly went viral on social media, getting viewers from across Reddit. It has so far received over 29,000 upvotes and 450 comments on the platform.
One user, Monty_kurns, commented: “Despite their reputation, cats can be so affectionate. When I get really sick, mine won’t leave my side.”
TheVideogaming101 wrote: “I’m convinced anyone who thinks cats aren’t affectionate either never owned a cat or makes their cat scared of them.”
LRSartist added: “They are the most beautiful, photogenic pair I’ve ever seen. Plus cat dog friends are so sweet. You have blessings in your midst.”
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.
