Dog and cat live together, it’s not mass hysteria

Dog and cat live together, it’s not mass hysteria

 

posted by: Jeffrey Wolf , Web Producer

written by: Chris Vanderveen , Reporter

created: 1/4/2008 9:07:19 PM

Last updated: 1/4/2008 10:28:08 PM

 

KEENESBURG – A tiger cub named Tigger and a Boxer named Tank shouldn’t be the best of friends these days. Tigger after all is a tiger. And Tank is a dog.

 

These days at the Wild Animal Sanctuary near Keenesburg Tigger and Tank are living in perfect harmony.

 

How could that be? Don’t cats and dogs usually fight like… well… cats and dogs?

We let Pat Craig, executive director at the Wild Animal Sanctuary, help us figure this one out.

 

Craig has 28 years of experience working with large carnivores. He’s worked with lions, tigers, bears, wolves and some others animals you’d never want to see crawling around in your backyard.

 

When Tigger came to the Sanctuary a few weeks ago, (he was living in a home in Centennial with a man who was eventually cited for… well… having a tiger in Centennial) Craig decided to go back to his old bag of tricks designed specifically for carnivorous cubs.

He let one of his dogs help raise Tigger.

 

For some reason, Craig says, Boxers and English Bulldogs are really good at doing this kind of work.

 

“They’re not afraid to work with (the tigers) and take them in as one of their own,” he told us. “(Tank) actually stays in that cage and helps take care of Tigger.”

 

Yes, they do fight, but it’s more like a fight between friends than enemies.

 

“When Tigger’s biting he’s just play biting,” Craig reassured us.

 

We could see no wounds that could prove him wrong.

 

Craig just so happened to mention that if Tigger wanted to, he could likely kill Tank in an instant. Tigger’s only about 50 pounds, about one-tenth of what he’ll eventually weigh, but he’s got the teeth of a killer (even if they are his baby teeth).

 

The goal is to help socialize Tigger. In the wild, Tigger would be doing this with other tiger cubs. There are no other tiger cubs at the Sanctuary right now.

 

Eventually Tigger will grow too big for the cage and too big for Tank, and then they’ll have to say goodbye to each other.

 

But that’s still in the future and Tigger and Tank remain the best of friends for now.