Lion

World hasn’t seen a friendship of this kind yet: a 500-pound crippled lion and 11-pound sausage dog have grown so close that the dog even cleans the lion’s teeth after dinner. Bonedigger, a 5-year-old lion, was born with a metabolic bone disease, which left the animal partly crippled. 7-year-old Milo the dog, sensing his disability, took the lion into his protection, and the couple has not parted ever since. The odd couple can be seen at the G.W. Exotic Animal Park in Wynnewood, Oklahoma.

John Reinke, the manager of the zoo, said you can tell that the lion clearly accepts the dog only because they’ve grown so used to each other over the years: “‘He wouldn’t be so friendly with other dogs – it’s all down to them being pals since he was a cub,” says Reinke. The couple shares meals of raw meat and rests side by side every day, and Milo even tries to copy Bonedigger’s growling by making his own puffing version of the sound. True friends last a lifetime!