Our pets can form some pretty unexpected friendships, like a cat and dog who are inseparable, or in this case, a dog who loves cuddling with a snake. Yep, you read that right! A 6-year-old Golden Retriever named Lilah has become best friends with her little sister, a 3-month-old ball python named Poppy. I’ve been writing about pets for three years, and this is definitely the first time I’ve seen a bond like this!
While Poppy spends most of her time in her terrarium, her mom, Lauren (@laurenalyses), lets her out every day to hang with her four-legged bestie. In a video Lauren shared at the end of October, we get to see just how protective Lilah is of her tiny snake sister, and it’s honestly shocking in the sweetest way imaginable!
In the video’s caption, Lauren says simply, “I can’t with her”, and neither can the rest of us! After watching this sweet video, I ended up watching all the others, too!
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More About Lilah the Golden and Poppy the Ball Python’s Friendship
Lauren spoke with Newsweek a few days after she shared the video of the sweet Golden Retriever protecting her baby sister, Poppy, who just happens to be a ball python. She shared with the publication that she gets “‘So happy’ when she sees their sisterly bond, and she loves seeing the positive response online. She also hopes it will show that snakes aren’t always as scary as people may think, and they certainly do have a softer side.”
She also shared that Poppy and Lilah are “so calm and gentle” with one another. They lay beside each other on the bed or on the couch, and usually end up cozying up together for a cuddle. After watching other videos, most of the timePoppy is snuggled underneath Lilah, but sometimes she’ll sleep on top of her.
Lauren told Newsweek, “Lilah’s not overly curious about Poppy; she’s just really comfortable around her. Whenever I take Poppy out, they always say hello with a little nose boop, and then we’ll usually just hang out. They always end up cuddling, and Lilah is so careful not to squish her or make any sudden movements.”
The friendship between Lilah and Poppy proves that friendships really do come in all different shapes and sizes!
This story was originally reported by PetHelpful on Nov 11, 2025, where it first appeared in the Pet News section. Add PetHelpful as a Preferred Source by clicking here.