A social media video that captures the budding friendship between a lonely donkey and a shy horse living together at an animal sanctuary has tugged at viewers’ heartstrings.
The viral clip, which has been viewed more than 102,000 times since it was first shared to TikTok on December 13, shows the unlikely duo bonding by rubbing their snouts together. The emotional clip has moved many of those who have seen it on the platform.
The “mini donkey” and the “big horse,” who are named Rooster and Zeus, are being cared for at the Rewild Refuge Farm Sanctuary, an animal rescue shelter that rehabilitates abandoned and abused large animals at risk of being slaughtered.
Staffers at the sanctuary, which is located in Kingston, Washington, captioned the post: “A mini donkey who lived alone for 6 years and a big horse who’s never understood how to make friends become inseparable besties forever. This is sanctuary.”
The staff’s caption went on: “Rooster and Zeus are so perfect.”
In addition, the staffers wrote in the post’s comments section that the “besties” live together at all hours of the day, saying that “little Rooster follows his big friend everywhere all day and night.”
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On its website, Rewild Refuge Farm Sanctuary, which was established in 2022, describes itself as a “vegan 501c3 non-profit rescue organization” that is “dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating, and giving a forever home to abandoned, abused, neglected and slaughter-bound animals.”
Newsweek reached out to the Rewild Refuge Farm Sanctuary for more information by email.
What Do the Commenters Say?
Since it was shared to the social media platform by Rewild’s TikTok account, @rewildrefuge, the post has been liked by over 10,000 users and commented on more than 100 times.
“We all need someone to love and [to] be loved [by],” one user wrote.
Another user added: “Hope they have unlimited play time to live large together.”
“I was feeling very sad today. Seeing this video made me feel a little better,” said a third TikToker.
“Every living thing needs a friend,” wrote another user.
“[I] want to feel happy, but too much suffering these animals go through. I guess this is way better than before,” said another commenter.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to [email protected] with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.