Larry Reeves is a conservation biologist and a grad student at the University of Florida.  He was in the Amazon attempting to get photos of vultures by attaching a trail-cam to a carcass, hoping they would land and feast while the camera did all the work.

Reeves’ camera didn’t have all that long to wait before something walked past and triggered a photo to be taken.  However, what the camera caught wasn’t vultures, but a very rare breed of wild dog.  Just to prove that these sightings are so rare, a researcher at Duke University called Renata Leite Pitman has been trying to study this animal for more than 14 years now, and has only managed to collar five in total.

The animal is a part of the canid family, however they are not closely related to foxes or wolves.  They have evolved in the Amazon for millions of years, and have special adaptations that allow them to thrive in a jungle environment where many of their relatives couldn’t do so.  The species is listed on the IUCN Red List, putting them in the “near threatened” category.

According to a National Geographic report, “Leite Pitman and others suspect the dogs’ numbers are declining as a result of deforestation and prey depletion — as well as the presence of domestic dogs, which can introduce a host of diseases, such as parvovirus.”

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In this video we have a very gentle pooch spending some quality time with his new BFF the squirrel. The two of them have such a special bond that the dog doesn’t mind his tiny friend perched on top of his head. What he does mind is the lurking cat wanting to come check out the wild pet.

Curiosity killed the cat and if this feline is not careful his seven lives will soon be down to six.

The inquisitive kitty wants to meet the squirrel but it seems he doesn’t have the best intentions in mind and the dog knows it.

The dog probably said something like “I’m warning you kitty. Step away from my little friend and you won’t get hurt.” But did the cat listen? Not at all.

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Ellie had no family and to make matters worse, he was also fighting an umbilical chord infection. Rescuers from South Africa’s Thula Thula Rhino Orphanage tried nursing the elephant back to health, and even though they succeeded in meeting the elephant’s nutritional needs, his emotional state deteriorated with each passing day.

The orphaned elephant longed for a herd, a friend, someone he could make a strong connection with, and that someone was Duma.

As soon as Ellie met Duma, the baby elephant’s life change. Now Ellie is happy, plays, runs and shows that he has something to look forward too each day – his best friend Duma, the dog.

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Pierce was home alone with Dublin and around 8:30 p.m. that night, the young pet owner took his dog out. As usual, the lights were turned on and the boy clapped loudly in an attempt to scare off any small bears wandering around the home. Believing there was no wild animal out there, Pierce let the dog out, but a larger and hungry bear was waiting outside.

“I heard the dog barking like never before,” the teen told Metro News Canada. “I went outside … and I just see a bear pounce on my dog. My dog was right under it. It wasn’t one of the little bears. It was huge. It was probably a mom.”

Scared for his dog’s life, the boy grabbed a pot and a wooden spoon and banged loudly hoping to scare the bear away, but when this failed, the teen rushed back inside the house and grabbed the first thing he saw to defend his pet – a 6 in. kitchen knife.

Pierce ran back outside and saw the bear had a hold of Dublin, without hesitation, the courageous boy charged the bear and stabbed it in its back. The knife puncture forced the bear to release the dog and both, dog and teen, ran back inside the house.

The bear hung around the property with the knife lodge in its back for a while longer but then retreated into the woods. Miraculously, Pierce and Dublin didn’t have major injuries from the bear attack, just a few scratches.

Area police set up a bear trap but took it down a few days after. No injured bear was found and authorities believe the bear could have survived the knife stabbing or hid and died.

Pirece and his family are glad this attack did not turn into a tragedy. The teen and the dog were shaken but happy to be alive and unharmed.

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Rose Kemp lives in Nassau, Bahamas, with her rescue dogs. One day, a baby raccoon fell out of a tree in her garden and broke a leg and Kemp didn’t hesitate to help. The rescue woman wanted to look after the little mammal until the baby’s mom returned to the nest, however, the mother raccoon never got back and Pumpkin the raccoon became an orphan. Knowing the injured raccoon couldn’t fend for herself out in the yard, Kemp decided to adopt the raccoon into her pack.

Well, Pumpkin adapted very well to a life as an indoor pet. So much that she thinks she is a dog and follows Kemp and her two rescue dogs everywhere they go.

“She instantly bonded with us and our two rescue dogs,” Kemp told The Dodo. “She now thinks she is a dog. She is able to play and be rough with [Toffee and Oreo] and she respects them when they have had enough.”

The adventures of Pumpkin are documented on Instagram. Follow Pumpkin on Instagram and see more adorable pictures of the three “dogs.” Sorry, two dogs and a raccoon.

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Lucky for us, photographer Alberto Ghizzi Panizza was ready with his camera to capture the dispute.

The fish pieces landed near the sea lion and large animal immediately picked them up. A dog rushed to marine animal and growled at it trying to force the sea lion to drop the food. Instead, the sea lion grunted back, showed its teeth and jumped back into the sea with the treat.

Ghizzi Panizza says this kind of face off is very common outside the cafeteria. The dogs are used to pelicans and sea lions stealing their treats but this was the first time the unusual face off was captured on camera.

The sea lion came out victorious this time, but the dog knows he has more treats coming his way.

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On July 31, 2015, Best and his dog were working near the Michell River, about 186 miles northwest of Cairns. Best is a pig hunter and lives a simple life with little luxuries, he doesn’t even own a car. On that day, his four-legged best friend was working with him and chased a pig too close to the edge of the water. There, a crocodile jumped, attacked the dog, dragged him into the water and left him severely injured.

Choco’s life miraculously did not come to an end then, but the crocodile bit one of his rear legs breaking it, and left several puncture wounds along the back end of the dog’s body.

With no car, Best carried his friend for two days until hitching a ride to the closest veterinarian in Mareeba.

The dog needed surgery to reconstruct his leg and needs to rest for several months to allow the bones to heal properly.

When area animal lovers learned about the crocodile attack on the dog, they wanted to help. They’ve sent many donations to the veterinary hospital were Choco was cared for.

Dr. Ethan Maloney told The Cairns Post that his two clinics are overwhelmed with the amount of public generosity they’ve received.

“We had calls from all over Australia across our two clinics,” Dr. Maloney said.

Choco is expected to make a full recovery as long as he rests and lets his leg heal. He is an active dog and veterinarians have asked Best not to take his dog hunting for at least several months.

Best and his dog plan to stay with a friend in Dimbulah for a while before returning to their home in the bush. The pet owner wants to get a local job in to help pay for food and shelter.

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