We’ve seen our fair share of inter-species friendships before, but none are quite as adorable as the story of Duke and Rex!
Aimee’s Farm Animal Sanctuary in Queen Creek, Arizona specializes in rescuing farm animals and horses from slaughter and giving them a safe, loving home for the rest of their lives.
Many of these unwanted animals are in poor health or have physical disabilities that would make a regular barnyard life impossible for them. Aimee and her staff of volunteers nurse them back to health and occasionally re-home them if possible, but many of the 100 animals at the sanctuary will live there for the rest of their days.
One of Aimee’s residents is Duke, a calf who was born with no bones in his legs along with dwarfism. Duke was recently introduced to a new member of the sanctuary community named Rex, a rooster who was surrendered by a neighbor because the other chickens were picking on him. The pair fell instantly and obviously in love!
Duke and Rex are utterly inseparable, spending most of their time lounging under a shady tree in the farm and greeting visitors. They snuggle together all day long and sleep together at night.
The unlikely BFFS have become a few of the most popular residents at the farm. Adults and children, many of whom have special needs themselves, love to visit the farm to see animals who also have physical challenges. Duke and Rex are always a big hit.
When one visitor to the sanctuary captured a sweet video of Duke and Rex snuggling and uploaded it to Reddit, their story went viral. Suddenly the sanctuary got a lot more interest from the public as well as much-needed donations for the farm, which is a 501c3 charity and relies solely on donations and volunteers to survive.
Aimee says she was just as surprised as anyone when Rex and Duke started hanging out, but it’s clear that they take a great deal of comfort in one another.
“They both had a friendship instantly, a bond, an acceptance despite their differences, they have found similarities and formed a friendship,” she stated. “We can learn a lot from animals on how to be better humans sometimes.â€â£â£
These two love and accept one another exactly as they are, and that’s definitely a lesson we humans could learn! It’s so sweet to see these two being loved and taken care of. Thank you, Aimee, for all that you do!
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