- When Tegan Lynch, 32, from Molesworth, Tas, introduced her lorikeet, Sid, to her American bulldog, Hank, she worried about their size difference.
- Becoming fast friends, Sid and Hank loved cuddling up in front of the fire place, and Sid using Hank’s nose as a slippery dip.
- Now five years on and the unlikely friends are an inseparable pair!
Here Tegan tells her story in her own words.
Glancing across the room to an empty dog bed, my heart sank.
‘I feel lost without them,’ I sobbed to my partner Maddin.
Heartbreakingly, we’d lost our two precious fur babies, Mack, an American bulldog, and Nala, a Rottweiler, both aged just 18 months, in a tragic accident just a few days earlier in October 2018.
They had been like our children.
Now coming home after work felt so lonely without their goofy smiles and wagging tails waiting to greet us.
‘I found a pup!’
We had agreed to wait a little while before welcoming another pooch into our lives, but Maddin knew I was struggling.
‘I found a pup,’ he said when I arrived home a week later feeling flat.
He’d been scrolling through Facebook when he came across a post about a litter of American bulldog pups looking for their forever families.
‘How about we go and see them?’ he encouraged.
Meeting the boisterous bunch later that night, it was love at first sight.
I was particularly fond of a white and brindle pup who had three black spots on his back and huge paws.
Adopting him and naming him Hank, we were besotted from the start. Hank quickly became our little shadow and the centre of our world.
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Before long he had grown into his big paws and found his favourite spot between us on the lounge, and he loved joining us on car rides.
In October 2019, Maddin got down on one knee to propose, a gorgeous Hank standing proudly beside him wearing a My humans are getting married bandana around his neck.
‘Yes,’ I gushed.
A happy family of three, something still felt like it was missing.
‘We had two fur children…’ I said to Maddin cheekily one day.
‘One is more than enough,’ he replied.
‘I’m taking you home with me.’
By September 2020, I’d started working at a pet shop in town.
A few weeks into the role, a pair of baby lorikeets arrived in store.
While one of the birds was adopted soon after, the other had been left behind.
‘I’m taking you home with me,’ I decided, naming her Sid.
When I got home with Sid that afternoon, a giddy 30-kilo Hank bounded over.
Not wanting to overwhelm the tiny bird, I set up her cage in the spare room so she could settle in.
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Ever curious, Hank stood guard at the bedroom door, refusing to leave.
A few days later, once Sid had a chance to get used to her new surroundings, I took her into the lounge room where Hank was.
Desperate to meet his new sibling, Hank stretched up for a sniff, while Sid was perched on my shoulder.
I knew she was safe around our gentle giant.
After sussing out her big brother from up high, Sid flew down off my shoulder to meet him.
As Sid hopped along the floor tiles, Hank rolled over onto his belly as if surrendering to her affection.
‘Sid is more dog than bird.’
The next thing we knew, Sid hopped up and sat on Hank’s tummy.
It was such a joy to watch their sweet friendship unfolding before our eyes.
Before long, the pair were as thick as thieves, cuddling up in Hank’s dog bed beside the fireplace.
While Hank nodded off, Sid would hop across his back and slide down his nose, like a slippery dip.
I’d never seen anything like it. It was as if Sid had imprinted herself on Hank’s soul.
And when Hank got a new chew toy, Sid picked up the other side to play tug-of-war with it.
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‘Sid is more dog than bird,’ I giggled to Maddin.
Over time, the pair have only grown closer.
Standing outside the door to the spare bedroom where Sid sleeps, each morning Hank waits patiently for one of us to let his bestie out for the day.
While Sid can sometimes play a little rough, nipping Hank’s nose and ears, Hank has never raised a paw.
Sid also loves to steal a sip of my morning cuppa and mimics the sound of squeaky toys.
Meanwhile, Hank loves sleeping, camping, cuddles, walks to the park and being doted on by his feathered friend.
When Maddin and I tied the knot in November last year, we knew our day wouldn’t be complete without our pets.
Sid spent the morning beside me, preening my hair while I got ready, and sweet Hank was our ring-bearer.
Our guests loved the special roles our ‘kids’ played in our big day.
We couldn’t imagine our lives without Sid, now five, and Hank, seven.
And when we’re ready to start our human family, I know they’ll be the best big siblings to our children.
Never could I have imagined such a tiny bird and giant dog could share an unbreakable bond.
