It’s no news that animals of many species can form incredibly enduring bonds with one another, but these bonds are made all the more heartwarming and motivational when they are formed by “abnormal” creatures like the little pigeon and young chihuahua in this remarkable tale. Meet Herman and Lundy, two amazing beings that have the power to soften the hearts of even the most resilient people on earth.

Herman is a unique species of bird. He was located by Sue Rogers, the founder of The Mia Foundation, after being seen for a few days sitting in the same place in a parking lot.

They all agreed that killing Herman would be the wisest course of action because no one would take a flightless bird like him in, but Sue had other ideas. Herman would be able to spend a wonderful life in Rochester, New York, with other rescued animals that were exactly like him.

The unfortunate pigeon loved to keep an eye on Sue’s new puppies at the shelter, even though he was never able to regain his ability to fly. Until these small puppies grow up and find their own permanent homes, he wants to cuddle with them often and has even attempted to groom them on occasion.

Naturally, that is also how Herman got to know his cute friend Lundy.

Like Herman, Lundy was an unlucky baby. He was born with swimmers syndrome (also known as swimming-puppy syndrome), a rare disease that prevented the poor dog from using his back legs. Herman and Lundy’s relationship blossomed nicely from the moment they first met, perhaps because they were in the same situation.

In order to give Herman some time alone on Thursday night, I took him out of his playpen and placed him in a dog bed. Lundy was then placed with him so I could cater to him. They simply looked adorable together, so I snapped a few photos and uploaded them to Facebook. The following morning, everything went nuts, Sue remembered.

Naturally, they had bonded into the closest of friends. Their adorable friendship spread quickly as money poured in, and some new admirers of the unusual pair even requested to adopt Lundy. Sue didn’t want to separate these two, but the little puppy simply wasn’t ready to be adopted. No one else could have finished each other the way they did.

Update: Sadly, Lundy passed over the Rainbow Bridge a little while after, but their incredible bond will live on forever. Image credits: The Mia Foundation The Mia Foundation intends to publish a series of children’s books beginning with this beautiful adaptation of Herman and Lundy’s tale.