Unlikely Friendships - Jennifer S. Holland [26]
Her sleek beauty amazed Paul. The deadly power turned tender took his breath away. “My heart was pounding and I was elated every time she’d approach. It was the most remarkable interaction I’ve ever had,” he says.
Over the course of several days, this wild creature that dwarfed him in size and strength became a human photographer’s greatest companion. At the end of the shoot, “it was hard to leave her behind,” he says. “I’d experienced something unique and magical that I’d never forget.”
{TEXAS, U.S.A., 2009}
The Pit Bull, the Siamese Cat, and the Chicks
CHICKEN
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Chordata
CLASS: Mammalia
ORDER: Galliformes
FAMILYM: Phasianidae
GENUS: Gallus
SPECIES: Gallus gallus
PIT BULL
Pit bulls often get a bad rap for being dangerous, but studies have shown that they are no more aggressive than other breeds: it’s the way they are raised that determines how they will be have.
SIAMESE CAT
originally from Siam, the siamese cat is considered to be one of the few “natural” breeds in existence, which means it developed entirely with out the intervention of humans.
Chicks dig sharky. The tiny cotton puffs perch on his back, peck at his snout, and use him as a raft in the pool. They’re also strangely fond of a Siamese-snowshoe cat called Max, who noses them into line. And Max and Sharky, well, since the cat put the dog in his place with a paw-slap or two, they’ve gotten along better than fine. To Helen Jürlau, an Estonian who moved to Texas, it’s a crazy circus of personalities—just the way she likes it.
She grew up on a farm raising pigs and cows, gathering eggs still warm from the hen. So when she moved to the States with her American husband, Helen was soon bringing animals back to the house, starting with a potbellied pig. “It made me feel at home,” she says. And as the zoo grew, the relationships among the animals took wonderful turns.
Sharky dove into fatherhood before he was a year old and was like an excited big brother to his pups. “He couldn’t wait to see them, even more than the female,” says Helen. “If I’d ask, ‘Where are your babies?’ his eyes would sparkle and he’d run off to look for them. He’s just in heaven when he’s surrounded by all his babies.” Those babies came to include Siamese cat Max and the batches of chicks that Helen gets each spring. “When he sees those chicks, his eyes grow huge and he wants to play,” she says. He doesn’t discriminate between furred and feathered. “I think he just wants to protect anything that’s small and helpless. Guinea pigs, rabbits, chicks, the pig, he just won’t leave them alone. Everyone gets kisses.”
Now, Helen photographs and videotapes the animals to share their bizarre friendships with the world. Some favorite scenes caught on film could be subtitled this way: Chicks line up atop dog. Chick slides down seated dog’s back. Dog, cat, and chicks cuddle together. Chicks ride cat. Cat nuzzles chicks. Dog and cat nap. Dog and chicks play in the pool. Cat slaps dog playfully while riding by on automatic vacuum cleaner. No doubt Helen’s is the only house on the block—in the world?—boasting such antics among its pets.
The animals don’t seem to mind being stalked by paparazzi; they just do their thing regardless of the audience. But the clearest bond is the one ever growing between dog and cat. “They make me laugh so much,” says Helen. “Sometimes Sharky and Max sit in exactly the same position, one paw stretched out straight and the other crunched inward, like they’re mocking each other.” And other times, she says, they sprawl out back to back by the pool, two friends just looking at the sky.
{GERMANY, 2009}
The Potbellied Piglet and the Rhodesian Ridgeback
RHODESIAN RIDGEBACK
The Rhodesian ridgeback is named for the ridge of hair that runs along its back in the opposite direction of the rest of its coat. Originally bred in South Africa to hunt lions, it is known for