The best friends at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden will soon be parting ways.
A special farewell celebration will be held at the zoo on Sunday for Cheetah’s pet dog, Cheetah, who will be leaving his feline friends for retirement, the zoo announced in a release.
Cheetah pet dogs are chosen as “surrogate siblings” for cheetah cubs. If a mother cheetah is carrying one or two small cubs, she will often abandon them. At the zoo, these cubs are part of the Cat Ambassador Program and are hand-raised by zookeepers.
However, these children miss out on socialization. That’s where companion dogs come in.
Cheetah dogs are often adopted from local shelters. Three retired moose, Remus and Daisy, joined the zoo as puppies, each paired with a baby cheetah of the same age. The dogs’ “job,” so to speak, was to teach the cubs how to socialize and play.
Details: At the Cincinnati Zoo, cheetahs and dogs have been best friends for decades. learned how it works
“They do a very good job here at the zoo, some of them for over eight years,” the release states.
Now they can retire.
Cheetahs reach maturity around the age of two and begin to prefer being alone at this age. All three cheetahs in the Cat Ambassador program have passed this point.
Some cheetahs and dogs continue to play, but play less and less often.
“They all get along well with Cheetah and are ready to live relaxed retirement lives,” the release states.
Each dog will be adopted by zoo staff.
The retirement party will be held at Cheetah Encounter Yard on Sunday, October 27th at 2pm. Zoo users are welcome to participate. All three dogs will be highlighted, and their caretakers will be looking back on their memories of the dogs over the years.
