Konrad Lorenz is considered the founder of ethology (the study of animal behaviour)

I did not know about this wonderful man and the work he did until I heard a quote from him on a feel good series I watch called Heartland.

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How true is this - you can add a cat or a horse or any animal that you have a close bond with in the place of dog in this quote and it is still true.

If you have ever looked into an animal's eyes that you love and they have touched your soul in so many ways, then you will understand the quote fully.

                                                       

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Lorentz studied instinctive behaviour in animals, expecially in the greylag geese and the principle of imprinting (the instinctive bond a bird has to bond with the first moving object hours after hatching)

This made me wonder if dogs or cats also imprint. I discovered that they do not only imprint on their mother or their siblings, they also imprint on humans. They will obviously imprint on the family member that gives them the most attention and feeds them, sometimes they just choose a family member and decide that is the one that they love most and want to spend time with - they can also imprint on more than one family member.

This made me think about animals pairing up with animals from other species and making some odd friends

(I know my brain jumps from one topic to another but that is unfortunately me - attention span of a goldfish hahaaha)

Here are  a few 

                                                                                   

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Isn't it amazing how animals can get along and love other animals, even the ones that are different from them?

I really think we as humans can feel ashamed of ourselves sometimes.  We see ourselves at the top of the food chain, but the way I see it, is that we have a lot to learn from animals.  Compassion for others, no matter how different they are from us, being at the top of the list...