Three cheetah dogs leave the Cincinnati Zoo

CINCINNATI (Gray News) – Three dogs who were lifelong companions to cheetahs at the Cincinnati Zoo have resigned from their positions. zoo announced.

The Cincinnati Zoo says Moose, Remus and Daisy are retiring after years of working with cheetahs.

When the dogs were puppies, they were each paired with a cheetah of approximately the same age and raised together as surrogate siblings.

Each of the dogs is expected to be adopted this year and live out their retirement life as a pet in a zoo employee’s home.

Moose (left), Daisy (center) and Remus retired after working... — Moose (left), Daisy (center) and Remus have earned themselves a comfortable retirement after years of working with cheetah cubs, zoo officials said.(Cincinnati Zoo)

According to staff, the dogs are only needed until the cheetahs reach maturity (about 2 years old).

The zoo said cheetahs are solitary animals and prefer to be alone as adults, so as they age, they eventually move away from their canine counterparts.

Some dogs continued to play with their cheetahs after this point in their lives, but as the cheetahs aged, the play became less and less.

After years of hard work and play, the dogs have earned a quiet life in retirement, zoo officials said.

The zoo said cheetahs typically separate from their siblings and mother as they mature and begin living on their own. Female cheetahs especially do not like to interact with other cheetahs.

As part of the Cat Ambassador program, cheetahs behave much like their African counterparts and are happy to be alone.

At the zoo, cheetahs communicate only with their trainers.

Dogs tend to be playful throughout their lives, but cheetahs are not. When cheetahs and dogs are paired, they tend not to spend as much time together as they get older. At the end of the day, dogs prefer to be with people, so they are adopted and allowed to spend the rest of their lives with loving owners, just like any other family dog.