This goat and dog don’t just make an adorable pair—they’re also the ultimate friendship goals.
Cinnamon the goat and Felix the American bulldog mix arrived at Wake County Animal Center in Raleigh, N.C., after their owner was hospitalized and could no longer care for them. Even after just being at the shelter for a short amount of time—it was clear from the jump that the odd pair had a very special bond.
Meagan Thomas, community outreach manager at Wake County Animal Center, says that being a municipal facility, this wasn’t the shelter’s first experience with farm animals. However, it was their first experience housing such a unique bonded pair.
“When they separated Cinnamon from Felix, [Cinnamon] was losing her mind,” Thomas tells Daily Paws. “We learned from the owner and the owner’s family that they were extremely bonded and kind of did everything together.”
When the duo first arrived on scene, Thomas says they stayed in a kennel with a guillotine-style door, allowing them to be together during the day. The shelter’s staff wanted to be cautious and certain the two were truly bonded, so they still kept the pair separate during meal and sleeping times. It didn’t take long for staff to confirm these two truly adore each other—and Thomas says they now do almost everything together.
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Just like any other animal friends, the dynamic duo loves to spend time playing together in the shelter’s play yard—but with their own unique playing style.
“I’m not a goat expert, but Cinnamon will do these kind of bunny binkies when she runs and she’ll kind of leap in the air and kick her feet out,” Thomas says. “They’ll just run around together and kind of body-bump each other.”
Aside from playing, the pair enjoys another favorite joint activity: napping.
While the love between these two animals clearly goes both ways, Thomas says Cinnamon is slightly more attached to independent pup Felix. While Felix, an “all around good dog,” enjoys spending time away from the goat with both people and other dogs, Cinnamon seems to only enjoy the company of her canine BFF.
“With Cinnamon, she is extremely bonded to Felix. If she isn’t with him, she is very upset,” Thomas says. “I don’t want to say she screams, but like the goat equivalent. She’s very dramatic.”
Cinnamon is so attached to the pup she’ll often try to jump up and peek over the kennel at him, and she’ll immediately pull to see him when walking on a leash.
“Even though [Felix] seems to adore her, he has an easier time hanging out with people and doing his own thing,” Thomas says. “She doesn’t seem to be very people oriented. She is very much like, ‘I got my dog and that’s all I need.'”
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Being a municipal shelter, Wake County doesn’t have a lot of control when it comes to bonded pairs being adopted together, Thomas says. However, the staff knew this pair was special, wanting to keep them together and find a family well suited for caring for both dogs and goats. They enlisted help from their rescue partners who could potentially help keep the duo together, and the Mr. Mo Project agreed to take them in—finding a fit foster home (one Wake County Animal Center had used in the past) for Felix and Cinnamon.
Wake County Animal Center announced on Facebook Wednesday that the pair has officially been adopted—where they’ll soon be frolicking together at their forever home, a local farm, later this week.