*** EXCLUSIVE***

WYNNEWOOD, OK – UNDATED: A dachshund at the zoo plays with a lioness at Exotic Animal Park in Wynnewood, Oklahoma.

A 500-POUND lion and a miniature sausage dog have completely turned the idea of ?fighting like cats and dogs? on its head. Bonedigger, a five-year old male lion, and Milo, a seven-year old Dacshund dog, are so close that Milo nonchalantly licks the massive lion’s teeth to clean them. The two have been inseparable over the past five years at G.W Exotic Animal Park in Wynnewood, Oklahoma. Bonedigger was born with a metabolic bone disease that left him mildly crippled. Milo and two other five-year old wiener dogs, Bullet and Angel, sensed that Bonedigger was disabled and sought to comfort and protect him when he was a cub. Bonedigger and his pack of dogs cuddle, feast on raw meat and play in the grounds together. Animal handler John Reinke, 43, who lost both his legs after a bungee jumping accident, works at the zoo where he’s witnessed the bond develop between the unlikely duo. The park was damaged and flooded, but is managing to provide shelter for domestic and wild creatures that are homeless because of the storm. Donations to the park can be made at //usza.us/Emergency-Fund.php.

PHOTOGRAPH BY Barcroft Media

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