Guard dog and abandoned baby giraffe are best friends
MOKOPANE, South Africa - A dog in South Africa has befriended a baby giraffe that was abandoned at birth, rescued and taken to a local orphanage.
Jazz the giraffe arrived at The Rhino Orphanage just days after birth. A farmer found him in the wild, weak and dehydrated, and called the center for help.
Resident watchdog Hunter, a Belgian Malinois, quickly began to care for the newcomer.
Caretaker Janie Van Heerden said they bonded immediately. She said the baby giraffe had been given IV fluids and is doing much better. He is being fed milk and is trying to eat leaves.
"Possibly soon he will be able to go home," she said Friday.
(See more photos and videos below.)
Hunter, a young Belgian Malinois, licks Jazz, a baby giraffe, at the Rhino orphanage in the Limpopo province of South Africa, Friday, Nov. 22 2019. (AP/Jerome Delay)
Hunter keeps an eye on Jazz as orphanage worker Janie Van Heerden looks on at the Rhino orphanage in the Limpopo province of South Africa, Friday, Nov. 22 2019. (AP/Jerome Delay)
Hunter sits with Jazz. (AP/Jerome Delay)
Jazz, a 9-day-old giraffe, was abondoned by its mother at birth. (AP/Jerome Delay)
Hunter and Jazz became fast friends at the orphanage. The Belgian Malinois and giraffe sit together, Friday Nov. 22 2019. (AP/Jerome Delay)
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