Best friends at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden will soon separate.
A special goodbye celebration will be held at the zoo Sunday for the cheetah companion dogs, who are set to leave their feline friends for retirement, the zoo said in a release.
Cheetah companion dogs are chosen to be “surrogate siblings” for cheetah cubs. If a cheetah mom has a small litter, such as one or two cubs, she often abandons them. At the zoo, these cubs join the Cat Ambassador Program and are hand-raised by keepers.
But these cubs miss out on socialization. That’s where the companion dogs come in.
The cheetah dogs are often adopted from local shelters. The retiring three dogs − Moose, Remus and Daisy − joined the zoo as puppies and were each paired with a cheetah cub around the same age as them. The dogs’ “job,” so to speak, was to teach the cubs how to socialize and play.
More:Cheetahs and dogs have been pals for decades at the Cincinnati Zoo. We learned how it works
“They have done their jobs so well here at the zoo, some for over eight years,” the release reads.
Now, they can retire.
Cheetahs reach maturity around the age of 2, and at this age, start to prefer to be on their own. All three cheetahs in the Cat Ambassador Program are past this point.
Some of the cheetahs and dogs continue to play, but the play becomes less and less frequent.
“They have all been great with their cheetahs but are ready to live that relaxing retired life,” the release reads.
Each dog will be adopted by a zoo staff member.
The retirement party will take place at the Cheetah Encounter Yard on Sunday, Oct. 27, at 2 p.m. Zoogoers are welcome to attend. All three dogs will be highlighted and keepers will reflect on memories of them over the years.
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