elephant and dog

Speaking of elephants, as I was yesterday, I received an email from family friend Art T about the special friendship found at a Tennessee elephant sanctuary. At The Elephant Sanctuary, African and Asian elephants find a safe place to be in a world that threatens them with extinction. Usually each one finds a best elefriend and pairs up.

But then there's Tarra. Tarra's best friend is Bella, a cream-colored dog. The story of their friendship has been on TV - did you see it? If you did, here's some nice footage of them just being together.

Amazing? Yes. Unheard of? Well, the Buddhist Jataka Tales of centuries ago tell a story of a royal elephant who pined for a humble dog friend till they were united.

Once upon a time a Dog used to go into the stable where the king’s Elephant
lived. At first the Dog went there to get the food that was left after the Elephant had finished eating. Day after day the Dog went to the stable, waiting around for bits to eat. But by and by the Elephant and the Dog came to be great friends. Then the Elephant began to share his food with the Dog, and they ate together. When the Elephant slept, his friend the Dog slept beside him. When the Elephant felt like playing, he would catch the Dog in his trunk and swing him to and fro. Neither the Dog nor the Elephant was quite happy unless the other was nearby.

Read the rest of "The Elephant and the Dog," here.