A Sea Dog Met A Land Dog And It’s Nothing Short Of Adorable

[joeybee12]

http://www.buzzfeed.com/chelseamarshall/watch-this-seal-cuddle-with-a-dog-be-happier#.mc9zX6K9B

Full video at the link....

[shenmue]

1. Awwww!

[GOLGO 13]

2. Land dog gives no fucks

Just hanging on the beach catching some rays.

[BlueCaliDem]

3. I think the seal was afraid and was looking for comfort with a creature that looks like it.

The Dutch word for seal is "zeehond", roughly translated as "sea dog", because of how they look. I believe this seal was afraid of the people "harassing" it and bellied over to the dog for protection.

[Rex]

4. Okay, I don't sqeeee! But I am forced to now with all that cuteness factor build up.

It is amazing that over 50 million years ago, they were the same animal. Bears, badgers, otters, dogs, sea lions, racoons, skunks...amazing that they all came from one common ancestor.

[snooper2]

11. and what common ancestor would that be?

[Rex]

13. If only I thought you really cared.

But I know better.

[snooper2]

14. Well, I looked up badgers and they have been around in their current form 1-2 million years

you went back 50 million...

[Rex]

15. A common ancestor during the Eocene period.

[nruthie]

5. As adorable as this is..

please don't touch these seals! The scent of humans ensures that they will be rejected by other seals..including their Mother. The person who is seen petting the cute seal has just sealed it's fate as an outcast. Why do we have to contaminate everything??

[ScreamingMeemie]

16. This is an old wives tale that runs across all species of animals...

No, mother seals will not reject their babies if they are touched by humans, nor will mother rabbits.

Mother seals are shy, however, and will abandon a baby out of fear of the humans hanging around it. That hasn't got anything to with scent.

[bluedigger]

6. My favorite Sea Dogs are Portland Sea Dogs.

[AtomicKitten]

7. That is one nonplussed pup!

Thanks for the gifs.

k&r

[Beringia]

8. kick

[MineralMan]

9. Cute.

I used to fish often on Morro Bay in California. I had a little 14' aluminum boat and fished mainly in the harbor itself. There was a sea lion that lived in that harbor. It took a liking to me and my little boat. I'd be sitting there fishing for flounders and halibut, and the sea lion would come up and lay its snout on the gunwale of the boat and just look at me, sometimes barking. I'd talk to it in return.

One day, I was fishing and the little guy literally flew into the boat, right out of the water. It curled up on the rear seat and just relaxed in the sun. After that, it seemed like I always had that sea lion as a placid passenger. I never did touch it, but it seemed to like the sound of my voice. Nice critter to have as a fishing companion.

[zeemike]

17. Interesting story

And wild animals can become accustom to us if we have something they want...in your case it was a nice place to haul out for a sun bath...and he approached you slowly to assess how you felt about him.
they are smarter than we think.

[MineralMan]

18. That's probably the case. I have a long history of

getting along with wild critters. For some reason, they seem to approach me without fear. I've had jays, both blue and gray just fly down and land on my head more than once, and not in places where people would have been feeding them. Deer often let me walk up near them, too.

It must be my approach or something. I don't know, but animals seem to know that I mean them no harm. That sea lion was a sweetheart.

[zeemike]

20. Some people think it is smell...they can smell fear or good will.

But I am not convinced it is just that, I have observed animals that seem to know things that we don't.
They are far more complex than we know.

[MineralMan]

23. I don't know what it is, but

It's been happening since I was a kid. It always amazes me, but I don't mind at all.

[zeemike]

24. Nothing amazes me anymore about the natural world

the more I see of it the more I realize we know so little.

But you are not the only one...there are lots of people that animals just trust...my sister in law is like that.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

10. This may be cute, but it's also worrying Canine distemper recently decimated the seals near me.

On the North Norfolk cost, about 10 to 20 years ago the local seal population was practically wiped out by an outbreak of a disease called "canine distemper" caught from dogs. It's now recovering, but for several years when I went there in the summer dead seals washed up on the shore were a common sight.

I don't know the details, so I may be wrong about this (for one thing, for all I know it may be a tame, vaccinated seal or something), but I suspect that letting dogs go near wild seals is not a good thing to do.

[GreatGazoo]

19. the dog in this doesn't seem all that interested and

it looks like the seal is sniffing something on its collar. It is definitely staged.

Someone who worked for Disney once remarked "All the great wildlife photographers feeds their subjects" meaning that they don't actually wait around for weeks to get the shot they need but rather tie prey to the ground when the light is good and wait for the attack or whatever it is that they need for the documentary.

I suppose that is better than John James Audubon:

1. He shot and killed every bird he painted. Audubon was a noted hunter and taxidermist, and much of the money he made during his lifetime was from selling animal skins, a practice that in part helped to fund the printing of "Birds of America."

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/stories/5-things-you-didnt-know-about-john-james-audubon

[Liberal_in_LA]

12. sweet

[hifiguy]

21. Seal - "Hello George! Do you want to play with me, George?

We can have lots of fun together, can't we, George?"

Dog: Do I know you?

Cute as hell, though.

[eppur_se_muova]

22. I see butt sniffing is apparently universal. nt