The story of Poldi, the cute owl and Ingo the Malinois shepherd dog will seem like something you would read in a storybook or few lucky edited shots from a very patient photographer, think again. Both Poldi and Ingo were rescued babies by Tanja Brandt, an animal photographer and animal lover based in Germany.

Copyright ©Tanja Brandt

Poldi, the smallest of 7, hatchlings hardly made it out of his shell, was the runt of the litter, and had a slight chance of survival without extra care from Tanja. It was in the time that she took care of the owlet that Ingo, the year-old shepherd dog at the time, started to show an interest, and unique friendship and bond were formed as seen in their pictures together.

Copyright ©Tanja Brandt

Poldi, a full-grown owl with owlets of his own and Ingo, were best friends. Because Poldi was hand raised, he would never survive in the wild and could fall prey to cats. Lucky for him, Ingo is always near keeping a watchful eye on his feathered friend.

Copyright ©Tanja Brandt

Tanja said she has always loved animals and would find every rescue pet she could and hid them from her parents, who did not always share the same love for the rescue animals she would bring home. Today Tanja has several other birds of prey; one of them is a Harris Hawk, who also likes having his photo taken with Ingo.

Copyright ©Tanja Brandt

Sadly, Poldi died a few months ago after an accident. It was a great loss to Ingo, who mourned his feathery friend’s death. Although he has other animal friends, none of them ever developed the special bond of friendship Poldi and Ingo shared. I love the loyalty, power, beauty, and friendship of animals, many humans can learn from them – Tanja said

Owls have been known to attack people when defending their territories, young, or their mates. Often the victims escape without injury.

Some cultures consider owls as evil birds. Some owls are diurnal, yet most are nocturnal.

Copyright ©Tanja Brandt

Copyright ©Tanja Brandt

Copyright ©Tanja Brandt

Copyright ©Tanja Brandt

Copyright ©Tanja Brandt

Copyright ©Tanja Brandt

We would like to thank Tanja for permission to publish this article. You can follow Tanja on Instagram.