This heartwarming footage of a pet pooch and wild magpie holding hands while sleeping together in bed has gone viral.
Sweet English staffy Peggy was quick to alert her owner Juliette, 45, after finding a small magpie that had been left for dead while out on their usual daily walk back in September last year.
Juliette from Coomera, Queensland, Australia, said that while her adorable one-year-old pup is usually terrified of magpies, she was very concerned about this little bird.
The artist and her partner Reece, 52, obtained advice from a local wildlife specialist about how to best nurse the magpie back to health – and within a week, she had made a full recovery.
An adorable video showing a staffy called Peggy and a rescued magpie appearing to hold hands in bed has gone viral
But after spending everyday with loving Peggy by her side, the magpie – which Reece named Molly – did not want to leave, despite being the couple persuading her to fly back into nature.
Now the adorable duo have gone viral, racking up a whopping 2.4 million views on a TikTok video that shows the loving pair appearing to hold hands while in bed.
Juliette said: ‘Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined a video I recorded of these two doing what they do best every day, being cute playing and snuggling together, would reach over 2Million people
‘We’ve had messages of love flooding in from all over the world.
Juliette, 45, from Queensland, Australia, said that her staffy is usually terrified of magpies but was concerned when this small one was left for dead
‘Before I put this video out there in the world I watched it one more time I knew it would be a popular one.
‘But when the numbers started clicking over straight away, that’s when I knew this was really special.
‘I was checking every hour and ringing my partner as the numbers grew quickly.
‘He told me he thought this video would reach 2 million but I didn’t believe him.
‘I feel really proud that I can use my skills to showcase these two in their natural environment just being them.’
But after spending everyday with loving Peggy by her side, the magpie – which Juliette’s partner Reece, 52, named Molly – did not want to leave, despite being the couple persuading her to fly back into nature
Molly the magpie became obsessed with Peggy and the pair became inseparable – with loving Peggy even producing breastmilk for the bird.
She said: ‘We were taking Peggy for a walk when she discovered this little magpie that was all by itself. She looked really weak and not well at all.
‘We know a wildlife specialist who told us how to care for her. She slept for the first 24 hours, we didn’t think she was going to make it.
‘We got her some live worms and a dropper with water, and within a week she had picked up.
Molly the magpie became obsessed with Peggy and the pair became inseparable as Juliette said the unlikely pals ‘have their own little language and talk to each other’, adding that it is ‘funny to watch’
‘We always leave all the doors and windows open and have tried to get her to fly back into nature but she has no interest in leaving us.
‘We’ve been teaching her to catch her own worms and lizards.. But she really thinks she is a dog, she runs around after Peggy.
‘Molly thinks Peggy is her mum, and Peggy thinks she is her daughter.
‘They have their own little language and talk to each other. It’s so funny to watch.’
Juliette was shocked after her pup began producing milk, despite not being pregnant.
But after taking her to the vet, she discovered it was because Peggy thinks Molly is her baby, and was producing milk in the same way as if she had puppies.
The couple have been teaching Molly the magpie to catch her own worms and lizards, but Juliette said that she ‘really thinks she’s a dog’ and ‘runs around after Peggy’
Juliette was shocked after her pup began producing milk, despite not being pregnant, and so took her to the vet where she discovered it was because she thought Peggy was her baby, and was producing milk in the same way as if she’d had puppies
She said: ‘We actually had to take Peggy to the vet because she was having a phantom pregnancy.
‘She began producing milk involuntarily because she thought of Molly as being her puppy.
‘Molly kept poking at her nipples too, so for now Peggy is wearing shirts until it passes so her nipples are covered.
‘It’s crazy to think that this could happen, but it just shows their amazing bond.’
Juliette said Molly does not seem to have any plans to fly away anytime soon and even sleeps at the top of her curtain rod in the bedroom, while Peggy sleeps in her bed.
Juliette said that Peggy and Molly are together ‘from the moment they wake up’ until they go to sleep, cuddling and playing all day
She added: ‘They are together from the moment they wake up until when they go to sleep.
‘Then they’ll cuddle and play all day. It’s so lovely to see them together.
‘They definitely have a mother-daughter type of bond. Peggy needed something to nurture, and this little bird needed nurturing.
‘We are happy for Molly to stay with us as long as she wants to, but she knows she is free to fly away anytime.
‘We’re blown away by their relationship, they have bought so much joy into our lives.’
Juliette said that they are happy for Molly to stay as long as she wants to, but that she is free to fly away any time
