Timid Cockatiel Falls in Love With Sanctuary Dog

An adorable cockatiel named Haku, who was rescued from a life of breeding by the wonderful people at The Shore Sanctuary in San Diego, California, found it very difficult to come out of his shell until he met the resident dogs, especially one named Bear. It was love at first sight.

He had spent his life being used as a breeding machine …we realized that he got very excited when any of the dogs would come around. Then he started talking, like he would say “hey baby baby, hey baby”. …His vocabulary started just really developing and that was a very closely monitored relationship. We noticed that it was especially going on with one of our rescued dogs Bear. It was really allowing Haku to feel safe.

From that point on, Bear helped Haku to become friends with other animals, including a rescued goat named Rhea.

I really think that Haku thinks that Rhea is dog, especially because he’s been around since she was a baby he’s very protective over Rhea the goat and he’s very protective over Bear.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.