"They truly are best friends. They don't know that one's a mini-horse and the other's a goose. They have no idea. They're besties," said the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Bucks County. Waffles had a minor infection when he was rescued, and Hemingway watched over him 24/7. The goose would protest anytime an SPCA employee would come near him to give medicines or injections. Hemingway would honk or flap his wings to let the workers know that Waffles has a best friend guarding him.

When they were both given the go-ahead to be adopted, Bucks County SPCA informed all the applicants that they must be adopted together. After their story went viral, the Bucks County SPCA received over 150 applications for adoption, including one outside the country. Finally, in September 2019, Hemingway and Waffles found their forever home in Maddie and Nick's farm in southeastern Pennsylvania. The couple initially created a farm for Maddie's horse, Peabody, but they've expanded to adopt other farm animals. Peabody has a feisty personality, but Maddie was confident that Hemingway and Waffles would get along with her.

In an interview with The Dodo, Maddie and Nick recounted the day of their move: "We loaded Hemingway onto the trailer first and we wanted to make it more comfortable for Waffles to get on … He was nervous, because Waffles didn't get right on … As soon as we walked him out, and he saw his buddy was already in the trailer, he literally jumps on and then Hemingway, like, immediately relaxed." Waffles had only been around birds in his previous home, so the first time he met another horse was during his first day at the farm. Maddie and Nick put Waffles and Hemingway into their stall and brought Peabody over to meet his new friends. However, it didn't go too well because Peabody got scared of the pair. But this initial hiccup didn't hinder the goose and the mini horse from enjoying their new life at the farm. When Maddie let Waffles out on his own, he started trotting around and rolling around in the grass. Then, they introduced Hemingway to his new and bigger pool, and the bird started to bathe and excitedly splash around.

After enduring a tough life, these two best friends have found a forever home with the company of horses, goats, and other farm animals. Of course, Maddie and Nick will always there to make sure they continue to live a good life. "When we adopted Waffles and Hemingway our hope was that they would settle in well and they would become part of the family and get along with everyone and that hope has become realized," Maddie said.

"Now, Hemingway has Peabody to take care of, instead of just Waffles, and Waffles is on his way to becoming a therapy horse. They've been a joy to us, and we hope they can be a joy to other people." Learn more about Hemingway and Waffles' story in the video below. This mini horse and goose prove that we can get through anything in life as long as we have a good friend by our side.