They are not the most obvious of swimming companions – a wild sea-faring dolphin living free with its pod in the Atlantic ocean, and a much-loved nine-year old dog who usually stands guard on a boat – but Jojo the bottlenose dolphin and Zyzz the spaniel are living proof that true friendship knows no bounds.
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As Zyzz’s owner, Mark de Fraine, told Unilad: “They always get so excited to see each other and you can see the both of them speed up and start circling and getting excited to meet – Zyzz can often see Jojo from the boat so he gets excited first.
“Jojo comes right up to the back of our boat and pokes his head out of the water to see if Zyzz is standing there. Zyzz and Jojo get to play whenever we take Zyzz out on the boat with us on our days off.”
It’s a friendship that has only become stronger in the seven years since they first came face to face in a chance encounter: “They met for the first time when we were anchored up floating and snorkeling around the boat, “ Mark explains. “Jojo pulled up whilst Zyzz was out with us, and Zyzz immediately got excited and ran to the back of the boat to check Jojo out. Jojo has been known to play with other dogs so was excited to see Zyzz jump in, and they just began circling each other and kind of playing a game of chase.”
Sadly, because of ear infections and age, Zyzz can’t play with JoJo as much as he’d like to, but he’s still incredibly happy to see his dolphin pal and still takes a dip with his friend every chance he gets – spending a good hour swimming around and playing with JoJo. JoJo’s daughter is also keen to get involved with the play, so let’s hope this friendship continues throughout the generations!
You can see more of their exploits on their respective Instagram channels: @Zyzzraham and @Jojothedolphin.
