The Odd Couple

Take one smiling Samoyed dog and one flat-faced Himalayan Persian grumpy cat travelling around New Zealand’s picture-perfect backdrop and what do you get? An online sensation.

- Therese Tan

Full-time photographer Rinsa Li, 29, loves taking photos of her two pets: A six-year-old Samoyed dog, Casper, and three-year-old grumpy cat, Romeo. She and hubby, 26-year-old Wei Cheng Phee, takes them along on their travels through some of New Zealand’s most picturesque destinations like Lake Tekapo, West Coast and Queenstown around the South Island.

Casper moved in with the Christchurch-based couple some three years back. In contrast, Romeo was acquired as a kitten from a small town called Timaru, about a two-hour drive from Christchurch.

It then came to introducing the two of them together: “When I first brought Romeo home, we separated them for almost a week. Romeo stayed in the bathroom and we set up a baby gate to give Romeo some space from Casper,” says Rinsa.

She adds that while Casper was very curious and he knew that we brought home a new family member straight off the bat. “After a while, Romeo started to approach Casper and we would feed them at the same time-to get them used to each other.”

From A Distance

Their owners were amazed at the relationship that blossomed between their dog and cat. “I noticed Romeo would walk to Casper and Casper would lick Romeo’s face,” adds Cheng Phee.