As far as inter-species love stories go, this one has it all.
Life at the Sanders residence in Louisiana can be a little chaotic at times. Family members include two standard-issue humans and a veritable “zoo” of fur babies, including three dogs, two cats, two prairie dogs, one ferret, and a turtle.
Instagram
As incredible as it seems, all of these animals manage to get along harmoniously. The Sanders keep their 42,000 fans updated on their Instagram page, which is filled with adorable pictures and videos of their animals frolicking and lounging together in the family home.
Although all of the animals are super cute, there’s one particular family member who won our hearts the second we saw him. Meet Otis the prairie dog.
Instagram
“The face Otis gives us when we tell him we’re out of carrots,” reads the caption. Otis is probably pretty spunky, but when paired with one of the Sanders’s two cats he turns into a big puddle of mush. That’s because both cats seem to think it’s their mission in life to groom Otis until his coat gleams!
Here he is with Katrin, the tortoiseshell kitty who thinks Otis’s underarm area could use a bit of sprucing.
YouTube
Notice how he lifts his little arm up so that Katrin can get in there? That’s not an accident! The Sanders have dozens of videos of their cats grooming Otis, and he seems to absolutely love the attention. In one video, he’s getting the full tongue bath treatment when the cat gets startled and stops licking. After a beat, Otis gets annoyed and actually taps her with his little paw to remind her, “Hey! You’re not done yet!”
YouTube
First of all, how many of you reading this now need a prairie dog in your lives? (Besides us, that is.) Secondly, how completely cute are these two best friends? It really warms our heart to see two pets who get along so well. Thanks to the Sanders Zoo for making our day!
Watch Otis getting groomed in the video below, and be sure to share to make someone smile today!
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