Shar Peis are known for being a fairly temperamental breed, one that distrusts strangers and doesn't easily make friends with humans or their fellow dogs.

They were bred to guard palaces not make friends, so they often have a hard time adjusting to the world of domesticated pet life where they're expected to be more snuggly than scary.

But it appears Paddington the Shar-Pei missed that memo, and his friendship with feline housemate Butler the cat proves that not all Shar-Peis are ornery towards other animals.

Paddington and Butler's adorable relationship is brilliantly documented by their pack leader, photographer Annie Jacob, and she shares the sweetest shots on her Instagram account @anniepaddington.

-Via DesignTAXI

Rocksy the raccoon has no inhibitions. After all, she’s got a family to feed! After she eats all the cat food, she knocks on the glass door for more!

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Yeah, she got her name because of the rock she uses to knock. Feed me, woman! FEED ME! -via Digg

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Jennifer Stetler's 8-month old daughter and her kitten took a nap together. They woke up at the same time, but the kitten wasn't quite ready to resume play. It's baby's job to soothe her.

-via Tastefully Offensive

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Charlie the almost painfully adorable miniature horse is full of enthusiasm and mini-swagger. The video description on this clip says Charlie "likes to get a little crazy in the late afternoons...there's a wild stallion in there somewhere." He may be a mini, but he's a major force to be reckoned with. Give that boy a carrot!

Anthony Federica Granai is upset with his Labrador mix, Ettore. Thanks to a Google translation of the Italian video site, we find what Ettore had done. "He was pretty much making a hole in the sofa.” But he is SO sorry, and he wants Anthony’s love and forgiveness SO badly.

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I don’t see how Anthony held out so long against those big puppy dog eyes, that nuzzling, that begging. But everything turned out fine for Ettore. You can see an English transcript here. -via reddit

Tyler and Lauren went paddleboarding in the Weeki Wachee River in Florida. While idly paddling down the nearly still river, they saw a pod of manatees swim by in the crystal clear water.

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I've never been to Weeki Wachee, but I have tubed down the nearby Ichetucknee Springs, which is a similarly mesmerizingly beautiful place.

-via Super Punch

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Mashable parodies the "100 Years of Beauty" videos with hamster model Joy showing off her sleek, trim figure, glossy hair, carrot-eating finesse and innate sense of style. It's all set to sexy music befitting such a stunner. I don't know about you, but I'm smitten. Via Mashable

Bikers seem like the quintessential bad boys, and they sport this persona as proudly as their patches, but some of them actually have a heart and truly care about the living.

Pat Doody is no stranger to the live free biker lifestyle, and while he was heading home to New Jersey from the Born Free Motorcycle Show in California he proved he's also no stranger to loving kittehs when he scooped up a badly burned cat.

Here's how Pat met “Party Cat”:

“I was at this truck stop getting gas, and this little guy just needed help. He was pretty badly burned, so I picked him up and tucked him inside my vest. We’re feeding him regularly now, so he’s doing better, even though he’s sort of living on the road until we get home.”

No word on whether "Party Cat" has managed to grow a beard of his own, but with a clean bill of health and his burns all healed up it looks like "Party Cat" has a long life on the road ahead of him.

-Via Bored Panda

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This is an unusual elephant video in that it is shot from much closer range than usual, thanks to a couple of baby elephants. Bryan Christy was shooting an investigative piece for National Geographic called “Tracking Ivory.” While filming, Christy came across a group of elephant calves at a wildlife preserve in Kenya. 

The babies quickly became friendly with Christy, to the point that they led him to a group of mature wild elephants, which he proceeded to film. Without the calves leading Christy into the herd, he would have been in danger. But as it was, the herd remained calm, and Christy was able to capture this stunning close-up footage. Via Laughing Squid

Melanie the raccoon lives an active lifestyle with hobbies as varied as scooter riding, punting, and shopping. But not all is fun and games. She works hard, too, earning her keep by sweeping the house where she lives with her humans. She makes quick work of the floor and expects to be paid promptly.

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-via Boing Boing

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In this compliation of local news report footage, cats in front of the camera did not turn out as cute and cuddly as the reporters and producers anticipated. One minute some of the cats are calm, and the next they're kicking ass like only cats can. One man holding a cat makes the mistake of describing it as "loving." That's all she wrote for that guy. Via Blame it on the Voices

Jennifer found a fox on the side of the road, which had apparently been hit by a car. It wasn’t dead, but was badly injured, unconscious, and barely breathing. The fox, eventually named Tammy, was taken to the Woodlands Wildlife Sanctuary, a totally volunteer-supported wildlife rehab center in Ontario.

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Tammy pulled through, although it was tough, and it was a long time before she could get around on her own. When she did, she met Todd, another fox that had been hit by a car. According to the conversation at Facebook, Tammy and Todd will be released together when Tammy is determined to be completely healed. -via Viral Viral Videos

Not all cats are the same. Calicos have babies in manner different from other breeds. Derek Achoy of Smiling Ribs illustrates the wondrous natural process that leads to the multiplication of calicos. It was revealed to his girlfriend in a dream.

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Purin, a 9-year-old female Beagle, managed to break her own record in the Guinness Book for the number of balls caught by a dog with its paws in one minute's time. Her previous count was eleven. This video shows her catching 14 balls. Purin and her human live in Makoto Kumagai, Japan. Read more about Purin and see still photos of her at the Guinness Book of World Records. Via 22 Words

Taking psychedelic drugs may seem like a strictly human thing to do, but the animal kingdom is full of critters who like to blow off a little steam by ingesting mind altering substances.

These animals purposely seek out and ingest plants with psychoactive properties, and prove that tripping on psychedelic subtances is as natural as can be.

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The life of an apex predator can be pretty rugged, with lots of stalking, fighting and slaughtering and very little downtime.

So it's not surprising that they would be fans of ingesting ayahuasca, one of the most powerful psychedelic substances on earth, because it gives them a little time to rediscover their inner kitten.

-Via Dangerous Minds