I was about 15 minutes late this morning walking down the hill with the canine crew plus one, that being Mitzy the cat.

The horses were waiting for me. Just out the front of the house.

The crew and I took a slight detour so as to avoid the horses as sometimes they get a little boisterous. We wandered down and along the fenceline and rambled towards the feed area. Towards the end of the journey we met the horses. Seeing that a couple of the horses were showing some interest in Mitzy I ran over and picked her up just to make sure she was safe.

Jasper my big gray horse took up a position at my elbow. He was following at very close quarters. After a couple of minutes of walking, I stopped and faced Jasper. I watched him as he lowered his nostril and took a sniff of Mitzy. His nostrils flared. He took another big sniff. Satisfied he turned away and continued on his way.

Interactions between different species of animals interest me.

Happy and unexpected interactions, as opposed to predator/prey interactions, are a joy to observe. They make me smile.

They seem to interest a great many people and feature with great popularity on social media reels. A cat walking along a horse’s back. A pig playing ball with a cow. A turtle pushing a cat out of its bed so that it can sleep there. A cow rubbing itself lovingly on a horse. A sheep frollicking with a group of dogs. On and on….

I have four dogs and three cats and for the most part they are friends. It is not unusual to see one of the dogs asleep on the couch beside a cat.

Sometimes I see a dog licking one of the cats. Not in a ‘testing the food’ sort of way. In a ‘you are one of my pack’ sort of way.

It is lovely but of course it is a product of their upbringing. We are a pack. A pack of many creatures. All living together.

We at the very least tolerate each other.

We are kind to each other.

Mostly.