by Shannon Lugdon witnessed a special interaction between her dog, Leo, and a baby moose named Maggie as they met for the first time and became instant friends.
The family who live in Wallagrass, Maine heard 6-day-old Maggie calling for her mom the morning before the video below was filmed but was instructed to leave the baby moose alone in hopes her mother would return.
“Miss Maggie Moose was heard calling for her Momma around 5am Saturday. Around 1pm, we intervened to keep her from wandering into route 11. Two phenomenal wardens – Adrian and Nick – came over and we helped Miss Maggie back down to the brook in the shade,” Lugdon wrote on Facebook. “She spent the day wandering around by the brook and returning to the spot we think her Momma had left her.”
“The wardens asked us not to go near her for 24 hours, wild animals often leave their babies to eat, drink and rest. ‘Abandoned’ moose are rarely actually abandoned,” she added.
When they woke up on Sunday morning there was no sight of Maggie so they let Leo out into their backyard, and were surprised when he immediately sniffed her out.
Maggie was clearly smitten with Leo and followed him around the yard. “You can’t imagine how affectionate she was,” she wrote.
The calf was affectionate with the rest of the family too.
Unfortunately, from the length of time that Maggie was left alone, it seems she was abandoned by her mother. Shortly after befriending Leo and the Lugdon family, Maggie was relocated by biologists to Maine Wildlife Park, where she will be able to live among other moose.
Watch Leo and Maggie’s sweet interaction in the video below.
