Friendships between animals from different species are special and rare, which makes them even more adorable. This is doubly so for connection between wild and domesticated animals. Like when an abandoned baby moose and a family’s dog became best friends in Wallagrass, Maine.
It was the second Saturday of June when a family heard the cries of a baby moose in the morning. The Lugdon family had no idea about the friendship that the baby moose was about to form with their dog, but that’s what happened.
Shannon Lugdon shared dozens of images and videos of the moose on her Facebook and their story quickly gathered traction.
Shannon and her family heard the moose cry for help, most probably for its mother. It was early in the morning, around 5 a.m. on Saturday, Lugdon wrote on Facebook. However, the family decided not to approach the baby until later in the day when it wandered near a road.
Shannon and her family called the local game wardens to help them determine how to proceed.
“Two phenomenal wardens — Adrian and Nick — came over and we helped Miss Maggie back down to the brook in the shade,” she wrote. “She spent the day wandering around by the brook and returning to the spot we think her Momma had left her.
“The wardens asked us not to go near her for 24 hours,” she added. “Wild animals often leave their babies to eat, drink and rest.”
Eventually, Shannon let the family’s dog Leo out in the yard. It was Sunday and Leo was awfully interested to see what’s going on. Fortunately for everyone, Leo and the baby moose hit it off splendidly and quickly became best friends. The many pictures and video on Shannon’s Facebook profile show their adorable interactions.
Lugdon said that the moose was “affectionate” and “begging for attention,” so they fed it a milkshake with grass, clover and a small amount of milk.
“Moose can’t have lactose so I only added a small amount of milk,” she explained. “After talking to a local vet, we switched her to whole Lactaid.”
The two wardens came back to check on the moose on Sunday as well, for which the Lugdon family was very grateful. Shannon told McClatchy “our family promotes outdoor adventures in Northern Maine through Summer Camps and Guided Hunts at Lugdon Lodge on Eagle Lake.”
After the eventful weekend, a biologist arrived on Monday and examined the wild animal. He said that the moose weighed 27 pounds and was only six days old. The Lugdons named the moose “Miss Maggie,” and helped her head to the Maine Wildlife Park when all the preparations were done.
The Lugdons said that they are very happy that everything worked out and the baby moose is about to have a full and happy life.
“We are, as always, grateful for our amazing wardens!” she wrote.
