Sylvie and Whootie are BFFs. They take car rides together and play together; they even nap together -- snug as a rug, side by side.
Sylvie is 1-year-old girl who lives in Massachusetts. Whootie, on the other hand, is an owl … lawn ornament.
The little girl’s love for her owl friend first caught the Internet’s attention earlier this week when Sylvie’s uncle, Pat Tobin, shared a few photos of the unlikely duo on Twitter.
According to Sylvie’s mom, Rebecca, Whootie had actually been a gift for her husband.
“It was meant to scare birds from his boat,” she told ABC News. “But Sylvie immediately took to the owl, bending down and picking it up, and saying ‘Hi owl! Hi owl,’ over and over. I think she found the bird curious and endearing.”
Since their first meeting a few weeks ago, Sylvie and Whootie have been inseparable, says Rebecca, and the bond is clearly a unique one.
“Whootie is the first toy she's insisted on sleeping with. She had a lot of things she has passing fancies with, but we think her friendship with Whootie is special -- almost like she views him as a peer,” Rebecca said.
“We have a bedtime book about owls that she loves, and we read it every night. We also have a lullaby video of an owl singing ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ that she loves and pretty much watches every night. So I think she associated this owl with those owls,” Rebecca told Buzzfeed.
Sylvie's affection for this particular owl, however, appears to be one not shared by members of her family:
