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Not all dogs and cats are enemies - this heart-warming footage shows a loyal puppy waiting anxiously for her best friend, a cheetah, to come around after surgery.

The clip shows Raina the Rhodesian ridgeback watching and waiting as Ruuxa the cheetah cub undergoes surgery to correct a bowing of his legs.

Officials at California's San Diego Zoo, where the operation took place, said Ruuxa was born at the Park in June, but rejected by his mother just days later.

Zookeepers chose Raina as a companion for Ruuxa when they were both around five-weeks-old - and the cute pair have been inseparable ever since.

Officials said Raina watched intently as Ruuxa went under the knife and waited for hours by his side as he came out of sedation.

Susie Ekard, an animal trainer at the Park, told CBS: "Raina appeared very concerned about Ruuxa when she saw he was sleeping and she couldn't wake him."

"She licked him and nuzzled him and when he woke she lay with him and seemed very content to know her cheetah was okay."

Surgeons deemed the operation a success and say Ruuxa will soon be back running and roughhousing with his best pal Raina in no time.

Vet Jeff Zuba, who assisted with the surgery, said: "This is a condition occasionally seen in domestic dogs and, if not treated, can cause pain and problems with the animal's ability to walk later in life."