THEY may be of different species but that has not stopped a dog and a miniature Shetland pony from becoming best friends.

Just nine weeks ago, Squirt was born at Greenmeadow Community Farm but it quickly became apparent that something was wrong - as the foal’s mother rejected him.

Kirsty Harrison and Mylo, a farm assistant and her canine companion, stepped in to become the foal’s impromptu mother and brother, taking him home.

“Squirt first came into my life on June 18. Our Shetland mare was due to give birth so we knew that he was going to arrive and he was born out in the field,” said Miss Harrison, 24.

“However, the mare had a bit of a meltdown and didn’t know what to do. She decided she didn’t want to be his mother and completely rejected him.

“We tried everything to get her to take Squirt – we put them in the stable but she was just kicking him and biting him.”

Miss Harrison, who lives in Garndiffaith, Pontypool, was returning from the Three Counties Show and went straight to Greenmeadow to look after Squirt.

“I ended up sleeping in the stable with him as he needed to be fed every hour. A day or so after that, he came home with me,” she said.”

“It was touch and go whether he was going to live or not. He had collapsed, he was having plasma transfusions as he had no antibodies in his system at all and he was having antibiotics and was on an IV drip.”

When the foal came to live with the farm assistant, he was just two days old – but he also encountered his new best friend, Mylo the lurcher cross.

“As I was feeding Squirt practically every hour or two like a baby and all animals when they are that young develop strong bonds quickly,” she said.

“But he developed a bond with Milo too – and the dog absolutely loves him. To him it was his new best friend and it helps they are the same colour and roughly the same size.”

Squirt now lives at the farm, with another miniature Shetland who is the pony’s biological grandmother, but he still gets to see his surrogate family of different species.

“As Mylo comes to work with me every day, he gets to see Squirt daily so he’s happy about that. They run around and play with each other,” said Miss Harrison.

The 24-year-old who also hand reared Mylo from 10 weeks old said the farm were hoping to use Squirt as a therapy pony as he is used to homes and people.

“Squirt thinks he’s a bit of a human as well as thinking he’s a dog. But he knows he’s a horse,” she said.

“He still follows me around from time to time but he plays with a ball like a dog and he loves squeaky toys.”