Filmed by his devoted owner, the footage captures an extraordinary encounter between a friendly dog named Ike and a wild deer.
You would think that upon meeting a wild deer, the dog would want to chase it down, but no, Ike is not like that. Dogs never cease to amaze me, and Ike is just one of the incredible examples out there.
This magical moment is a real example of how true connections can be formed between the unlikeliest of companions.
Meet Ike, A Playful German Shepherd
Ike is a rescue dog that had a bit of a ruff start. When Ethan Cole, Ike’s owner, first got him, he was really timid and had some stranger danger issues.
But, with a little bit of love and care, Ike quickly transformed into a loveable and friendly pup.
“He’s a big clown. Not a mean bone in his body. He’s just a goofy boy all around,” Ethan said.
To Ethan and his family, their dogs are really important. “This dog is super special to us,” Ethan said.
In fact, according to The Dodo, Ike was named after a childhood dog of Ethan’s mother that she loved so much. So, I guess the love for dogs truly runs in this family.
An Unlikely Friendship
Ike was always great at making new friends, but when Ethan caught him playing tag with a rather unusual friend, he simply couldn’t believe his eyes.
It all happened at Ethan’s mother’s Lakewood Ranch back yard in Florida.
Ethan first spotted Ike racing along the fence around the back yard and thought it was funny, but then he noticed a deer about the same size as Ike on the other side of the fence, and he was baffled.
Initially, it appeared that Ike was chasing the deer and trying to hunt it down, but the more he looked, he realized that he was not.
The two animals played tag several times – chasing each other to one end of the fence and back again.
“I watched them for a while before I thought to start videotaping. It was really fun to watch. That deer could have taken off into the woods at any time. They were clearly enjoying each other,” Ethan told Fox News.
It was the first time Ethan saw Ike playing like this with a deer.
After several minutes of playing an exciting game of tag with its new friend, the deer bounced off into the woods.
Take a look at the hilarious video of a friendly German Shepherd playing tag with his unusual friend, which Ethan took on his phone:
According to Ethan, the deer returned the following day, even bringing her fawn with her. She wanted to show her new friend her little baby.
But, fear not, Ike has plenty of friends to play with. There’s Ethan’s mother’s pug named Gracie, which can be seen in the video running around the back yard, and Ike’s sister, Daisy.
