Piglet that was found abandoned and alone gets adopted by the kindest couple, and they pair her with a tiny dachshund who thinks that she is the piglet's mom: 'We've never had a dog be as protective of a piglet as Nellie is'

Animal friendships come in all shapes, sizes and species. 

One of the most beautiful things that we can learn from animals is the way that they bond. Whenever we think about different species of animals, we generally don't think about them being friends. Watch one animal documentary, and you may come out the other side thinking the opposite - that animals of different species cannot be friends. But this depends on so many factors, the biggest one being the way that the animals grow up. 

Animals that grow up in the wild only know wildness. They only know what it means to look for shelter and food and safety. Friendship is simply not a priority. But that doesn't mean that they cannot be friends with other animals. And for animals like the one that you're about to see today - a tiny abandoned piglet who was rescued by a kind couple, once her base needs were met, friendship became something quite important. 

We see this in a lot of animals. The bonds start to build quite early. The easiest example is probably cats and dogs being friends. They don't necessarily need to grow up together to become bonded, but it does increase the chances of that happening indefinitely. And it can happen with other species too, not ones who are necessarily guided by us humans. Cheetahs and tortoises can become best friends under the right circumstances. Cats and ferrets can bond, despite being so different from one another. There are so many examples. These are just a few off the top of our heads. 

And then, there are Nellie and Randolph. Our newest favorite bonded pair. Randolph is an orphaned piglet who was rescued by the sweetest couple, and Nellie is the couple's little dachshund. You wouldn't imagine the two of them bonding at all, let alone as fast and as hard as they did, but that is exactly what happened. Randolph, at such a young age, needed a mom, and Nellie was more than happy to step up into that role. They were best friends from the beginning, and they are still best friends now.