A golden retriever's heartwarming reaction to meeting a litter of tiny newborn kittens has captured the imagination of social media.
Lucy the dog might be significantly bigger than her new feline friends, but she remains a softie at heart as the video posted to TikTok by Pearl Frazier, who lives in Fort Worth, Texas, shows.
Frazier regularly posts videos of her golden retriever's interactions with her cats to social media under the handle @pearlsragdolls.
"I find it interesting to see how dogs and cats interact when they first meet," Frazier previously told Newsweek in another story about her cats and dog. "Some cats tend to be more spicy in the beginning, but they usually warm up to a dog eventually."
Lucy certainly appeared drawn to the kittens. Though initially cautious, after giving them a couple of well-timed sniffs, she was happy to lie close to the young cats and can even be seen on the video napping next to their bed. You can watch the video here.
@pearlsragdolls She will nap next to the kittens and wake up every time a kitten makes a noise to check on them
♬ suara asli - DENII - DENII
The golden retriever grew up on a farm in Lima, Ohio, surrounded by other animals, which may go some way to explaining why she is so comfortable around them. "Lucy is great with cats," Frazier said. "She helped when Justin [her partner] raised a foster kitten in 2017-2018."
However, the idea that cats and dogs cannot coexist is, in truth, something of a myth.
In 2008, a study published in Applied Animal Behavior Science saw over 1,200 pet owners who had both cats and dogs quizzed on how they interacted with each other. Researchers also spent time at these pet owners' homes to get a clearer idea of how these pets behaved around each other.
What they discovered was that in 66 percent of instances, cats and dogs were amicable to each other. By contrast, less than 10 percent were found to be aggressive in these interactions, with the remainder proving largely indifferent to the other species.
Lucy certainly seemed at ease with her new four-legged friends, in fact she appeared happy to take on the role of favorite aunt to the kittens, much to the delight of viewers on TikTok.
"Lucy is absolutely beautiful. So gentle. She a great Aunty to the new kittens," one user wrote, with another commenting: "Look how calm relaxed and esp gentle with the kittens good job Lucy."
A third said: "Lucy is the goodest girl and will be the best bonus mom to those babies!" with a fourth writing: "I have a Golden and he is the same way with every living thing he meets, animal or Human. So gentle and loving."
Newsweek has contacted Frazier for comment.
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