Watch How This Sweet Puppy Helps His Best Friend, a Cheetah Cub, Recover From Surgery

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This is like Disney movie come to life—meaning it’s a little sad, a lot of cute, and it all seems too good to be true. A 5-month-old puppy named Raina recently helped her best friend, a cheetah cub named Ruuxa, recover from surgery.

First, let us explain how these unlikely buds came together: Ruuxa was born at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and abandoned by his mother at birth. He had no siblings, so zoo keepers partnered him with a Rhodesian ridgeback doggy as his animal ambassador.

It’s safe to say the two instantly bonded:


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Ruuxa and Raina will now be lifelong companions, growing together and experiencing all the growing pains of life with one another (and if it seems odd: It’s worked before. Look at cheetah Kasi and her dog companion, Mtani, at Busch Gardens).

So when it came time for Ruuxa to undergo a surgery in order to repair growth abnormities in his limbs, Raina was right by his side, waiting nearby during the procedure and guarding over him during his recovery.

"Raina appeared very concerned about Ruuxa when she saw he was sleeping and she couldn't wake him," animal training manager Susie Ekard explained. "She licked him and nuzzled him, and when he awoke, she lay with him and seemed very content to know her cheetah was okay."

The Disney movie writes itself. In the meantime, here’s the cute surgery video:

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