animal friends top

A shell-ebration of cross-species companionship.

After having seen animal friends trolling each other recently, it’s nice to get back to some good old fashioned animals being cute together. And what better way to start off than with this adorable Shiba Inu and his tortoise friend?

Japanese Instragram user akiresh uploads pictures of their two pets: Senbee the Shiba Inu and Ao-san the tortoise. Why do they have over 20,000 followers?

We’ll let the pictures do the explaining:

▼ D’aww, Senbee and Ao-san are best friends.

▼ Like all good friends, they enjoy whispering secrets to each other.

▼ Of course, Senbee and Ao-san weren’t always as close. Here’s a picture from when Senbee was still a puppy, not quite sure what to think of this weird thing in the house.

▼ “It’s, uh… it’s following me around.”

▼ But they eventually warmed to each other.

▼ And now they’re inseparable.

▼ Here’s a video of them playing catch together, though Ao-san is a little, well, slow.

▼ Just lounging around together on a lazy day.

▼ Hey, Ao-san! Watch where you’re going!

▼ And this one just has to be shared simply because that is the sassiest face I have ever seen on a dog.

Has you heart been sufficiently melted by this adorable duo? Then go ahead and give them a follow on Instagram—there are hundreds of more photos of Senbee and Ao-san together, plus some solo antics.

Whether you’re in need of some warm and fluffy cuteness, or perhaps a little slimy and scaly charm, they’ve got you covered!

Images/source: Instagram/akiresh