An adorable friendship has blossomed on a farm in Somerset, after Ted the working dog stepped up to help feed an orphaned lamb named Frank.
Black Labrador Ted jumped at the opportunity to balance the bottle of milk in between his teeth, and remained very still and calm while six-week-old lamb Frank suckled.
Frank has been hand reared by farmer, Libbie Harris, 29, from Bristol, since he was born, as his mother didn't have enough milk to feed him.
But with two other lambs to feed, Libbie decided to teach Ted how to muck in - and he couldn't be a cuter helping hand.
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In the video, Ted can be seen on his best behaviour, holding the bottle in the perfect spot while Frank tucks into his milk.
Libbie explained: "Ted is trained as a gun dog so he learnt how to pick things up with his mouth.
"I have to feed the lambs three times a day and realised I needed some help.
"Ted usually picks up pheasants when we go shooting so I thought I’d give it a go.
"He was able to hold the bottle straight away but if it’s full its a bit too heavy.
"Now I give him the bottle to hold when it’s half empty then I can feed the other two at the same time.
"It is handy having extra help!"
The clever seven-year-old Lab has taken on the father role at the farm, and Libbie coins herself a 'surrogate mum' to the orphaned lambs.
She adds: "I have eight working dogs but Ted is the most relaxed of the bunch.
"He likes to chill out and Frank will usually skip around him.
"I have hand reared Frank who is also known as fragile Frank as he was pretty weak when he was born.
"His mum had two lambs but not enough milk to feed them so it was better for his chance of survival to be hand reared.
"He is now thriving and loving life with his friend Ted."
Ted isn't the only farm dog going above and beyond to help orphaned animals - rescue dog Snow has become best friends with the foster calves.
From playing to sleeping, eating and even snuggling, there's absolutely nothing Snow won't do to stop the sweet baby cows from feeling sad and alone.
Owner Krysten Pierre, 36, from Victoria, Australia, said: "Part of me thinks that because Snow was orphaned and moved from home to home too, he kind of understands how the cows feel."
Do you have a dog story to tell? Contact nia.dalton@reachplc.com.
