Many dogs are playful, rambunctious creatures who enjoy chasing moving objects, pawing anything that wriggles, and putting small things in their mouths.

But Champ the Golden Retriever isn’t most dogs. He is, perhaps, the gentlest dog in all the world. So gentle that he counts butterflies and baby chicks as his best friends.

And Champ’s gentle spirit has been captured on film by his owner and dedicated trainer, 21-year-old Southern Californian photographer Candice Sedighan, who posts his soft-focus adventures on her Facebook and Instagram pages for us all to coo over.


Candice says this took years of training, and that Champ did once try to eat her pet parakeet (Picture: Instagram/Candiceandchamp)

Commenting beneath a photograph of Champ acting as a canine jungle-gym to a family of intrepid baby chicks, Candice writes: ‘This happened. NO photoshop. What can I say? My dog is amazing.



‘Although it doesn’t happen overnight. He almost ate my parakeet when it got out of its cage years ago. It takes training and years of trust!

‘No chicks were harmed, they are all 100% happy and healthy! They actually tried to burrow under Champ’s fur for extra warmth and he didn’t mind!’

Candice says she just asks Champ to leave the butterfly and he will (Picture: Instagram/Candiceandchamp)

In other photos Champ sits still while butterflies flutter down onto his long snout. Candice accompanies one of these photos with the caption: ‘Hey what’s this on my nose? 100% real, live butterfly.

‘Apart from usual adjusting brightness/tones I used no photoshop.

‘I placed the butterfly there myself though and just told Champ to “leave it”, so he sat still and balanced it so he wouldn’t scare it right away. It did fly away after a few shots.’

Candice calls Champ her ‘gentle giant’, and posts his soft-focus adventures on Instagram (Picture: Instagram/Candiceandchamp)