At only 9 days old, a foal named Tye lost his mother. But that same night he gained an unexpected friend — an Australian cattle dog named Zip, writes thedodo.

Zip had never shown much interest in his horse siblings. “We raise foals every year, and he would kind of look in the door and just look at them,” Karla Swindle, Zip’s mom, told The Dodo.

But on that fateful night in March, it was as if the 5-year-old rescue dog could tell he was needed.

Tye’s mother became sick days after giving birth, and despite treatment, quickly went downhill. When things looked their bleakest for the mother and baby, Swindle stayed by their side. As always, Zip tagged along after his owner.

“I spent the night at the barn taking care of the mama horse, hoping that I could pull her through,” Swindle said. “Zip stayed with me in the alley of the barn all night — the foal was laying in the alley, and he just lay there beside the foal.”

“He was whining,” Swindle added. “You could tell that Zip knew something was wrong that night.”

The next morning, Tye lost his mother, but he wasn’t alone.

Zip insisted on keeping the newborn horse company, comforting the little animal with his presence. When Zip was around, Tye was relaxed and happy. “It seemed to me that the foal knew that the dog was trying to help him,” Swindle said, “which is so sweet.”

For six weeks, Zip wouldn’t let Tye out of his sight. Whenever Swindle went to feed the foal, Zip was first in line to greet the little horse. “Every time I would take off to the barn, Zip would run to the stall, and stand in front of the stall and wait for me to get there,” Swindle said. “He would beat me to the barn every time.”

“As soon as I opened the door, he would about knock me down before I could get in there,” she added. “If the foal was laying down, he would go over there and lay his head on him.”

As months passed, Tye quickly put on weight, growing into a healthy young horse — in part, thanks to his adoptive dad.

Now, Tye spends most days out in the pasture with his older sister, who is teaching him the ins and outs of being a horse. And while Zip still accompanies Swindle to the barn, he doesn’t beg to go in the stall with Tye anymore.

“The foal is a little rough now,” Swindle said, “raring up, trying to play, so Zip kind of stays away from him now.”

The proud dad understands that Tye needs to test his independence, and it doesn’t make their relationship any less special.

“You could tell that when the foal needed Zip, Zip was there for him,” Swindle said. “And now Zip knows that the foal is OK, so they kind of went their separate ways.”

But it seems the little horse has opened up room in the older dog’s heart — space that he has since filled with another baby.

“He loves my granddaughter,” Swindle said. “Whenever she comes over here, he goes directly to her. He treats her like he did the foal. He just loves to be around her.”

This story originally appeared on thedodo.com

What five characteristics do all animals have in common?

In the following slides, we’ll explore the basic characteristics shared by all (or at least most) animals, from snails and zebras to mongooses and sea anemones: multicellularity, eukaryotic cell structure, specialized tissues, sexual reproduction, a blastula stage of development, motility, heterotrophy and possession …

What characteristics do all animals have in common quizlet?

The six characteristics that all organisms in the animal kingdom share are: they are multicellular, almost all can move, their cells have no cell wall, they have to hunt for their own food (consumers), they are eukaryotic, reproduce sexually-when two cells join to form off spring and their cells lack chloroplasts.

What 4 characteristics do all animals share?

Most animals share these characteristics: sensory organs, movement, and internal digestion. All of them are illustrated in Figure below. Animals can detect environmental stimuli, such as light, sound, and touch. Stimuli are detected by sensory nerve cells.

What are the 7 characteristics of all animals?

These are the seven characteristics of living organisms.

1 Nutrition. Living things take in materials from their surroundings that they use for growth or to provide energy.
2 Respiration.
3 Movement.
4 Excretion.
5 Growth.
6 Reproduction.
7 Sensitivity.

What are the 6 characteristics common to all animals?

They are as follows:

All animals are made up of cells that do not have cell walls.
All animals are multicellular organisms.
Most animals reproduce sexually.
All animals are capable of self-propelled motion at some point in their lives.
All animals are heterotrophic and must consume other organisms for energy.

What protein do all animals have in common?

The exctracellular protein collagen (making the most abundant extracellular protein in animals) which is required in multicellular organisms to keep the cells together, which is exclusive to animals. Most enzymes responsible for metabolic pathways.

What are the 3 characteristics of animals?

Characteristics of Animals

Animals are multicellular organisms.
Animals are eukaryotic.
Animals are heterotrophic.
Animals are generally motile.
Animals possess specialized sensory organs such as eyes, ears, nose, skin, and tongue.
Animals reproduce sexually.

What are the basic characteristics of all animals?

What do all animals have in common with each other?

Sexual reproduction is another characteristic shared by most, but not all, animals. Regardless of species, all animals share multicellularity, which means their bodies consist of multiple cells. This sets animals apart from organisms, such as single-celled algae, fungi, bacteria and other basic life forms.

What do plants and animals have in common?

Most plants are also multicellular, so although this is a characteristic shared by all animals, it is not one unique to animals.Every animal on the planet is a eukaryote. A eukaryote is an organism that consists of cells that have membrane-bound nuclei and organelles.

What are the characteristics of the animal kingdom?

All animals are eukaryotic, multicellular organisms, and most animals have complex tissue structure with differentiated and specialized tissue. Animals are heterotrophs; they must consume living or dead organisms since they cannot synthesize their own food and can be carnivores, herbivores, omnivores, or parasites.