These days, we often witness animal friendships, and it is always heartwarming to see animals belonging to different species building strong emotional bonds with each other.

Like the cat in this story, Baby Grey, who became friends with an American Eskimo dog and is still cherishing the memories with her late friend to this day.

Gracie, an American Eskimo, used to live with Shea Belew Brennaman’s family. Brennaman, a fourth-grade teacher in Decatur, Alabama, loved Gracie and would let her be outside on their porch for most of the day. The dog loved the outdoors, especially sunbathing in the yard with her friends.

Yes, the family does have another pet dog, but this was not Gracie’s only friend. In fact, although she was a guard dog, she was friendly with all the animals that she met. She used to hang out with chipmunks, rabbits and even hawks.

“She loved nature and, while she was a protector of our house, she loved all other animals and they loved her,” Brennaman told The Dodo.

And, then, one day, a little cat jumped Brennaman’s fence and landed on their yard. Contrary to what one might have expected, Gracie wasn’t mad at the cat at all. Actually, the two of them got along really well.

“Gracie accepted her into our yard immediately and the two became fast friends,” Brennaman said.

Brennaman had no idea where exactly the cat came from, but she suspected it was from a nearby neighborhood. She never found out what her name was, either, but she called her Baby Grey because of the color of her coat.

As time went by, Gracie and Baby Grey grew fond of each other, and they seemed to enjoy each other’s company a lot. They sunbathed together and even shared Gracie’s treats.

“We would leave Gracie tomatoes on our porch, as they were her favorite treat, and she would share them with the cat,” Brennaman said, “which was a huge deal because Gracie was very particular about sharing food.”

However, after some time, things changed and Gracie was not the happy, active dog she used to be. Her family was watching her health deteriorate and they were alarmed.

Eventually, a little after her 12th birthday, the dog was diagnosed with an aggressive lymphoma.

Gracie returned home, but she was not the same dog anymore. Her friend Baby Grey kept coming to her yard even more frequently, but the two didn’t share tomatoes anymore, they just sat there doing nothing. And it was okay because they had developed such a bond that just by being close to each other they both felt better.

Eventually, less than a month after being diagnosed, Gracie died.

This didn’t stop her cat friend from coming back to the yard multiple times per week holding vigil for her late friend- or in hopes that one day Gracie would return and sunbathe and eat tomatoes with her.

“It breaks my heart to see Baby Grey still looking for Gracie,” Brennaman said, “but at the same time it gives me so much hope that these two animals had such a strong bond.”

Indeed, such relationships between animals only remind us that they, too, are emotional creatures and have feelings that we should not neglect.

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Source: The Dodo, Facebook