In the town of Loveland, Colorado, two animal worlds recently converged.
As reported by the Loveland Reporter-Herald, on March 15, Lauren Sturges spotted a long line of automobiles parked on the side of the road near her home and assumed the area’s local wild elks were crossing the road.
The lady walked nearer the road with her dog, a 5-month-old Great Pyrenees called Winston, in order to have a better look. After walking through the snow to reach a fence near her home, Sturges came upon a herd of around 50 elks that had just completed crossing the roadway and decided to photograph them.
The elks didn’t seem to be very interested in Sturges, but they did appear to be fascinated by her youngster. In an interview with the Reporter-Herald, the lady said that two separate elk approached Winston and kissed him on the nose.
“I was nearly in tears because it was so lovely,” Sturges told the outlet of the experience, which she documented in part on video. “I was almost in tears because it was so wonderful.”
A member of the elk herd approaches Winston, who is sitting on the opposite side of a fence, according to her film. After taking turns smelling each other’s faces and finally connecting noses in the video, the animals seal the endearing contact with a kiss.
For the duration of the engagement, Sturges said she kept a watch on both Winston and the elk, making sure that neither species became hostile with another.
When she was asked about the overall experience, she remarked, “It was wonderful.”
