A Labrador retriever puppy will play a role in raising two newborn cheetah cubs at the Dallas Zoo.

Dallas Zoo announced they received the cubs, which were born July 8 at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va., late last week. Also eight weeks old, Amani, the Labrador puppy, will grow up alongside the cheetah cubs, named Winspear and Kamau.

"Zoological experts have found that because dogs are naturally comfortable in public settings, Amani will provide a calming influence for the cubs, as well as another playmate as they grow to adulthood. Amani means 'peace' in the Swahili language of East Africa, where cheetahs still exist in the wild," the Dallas Zoo said in a statement.

This is not the first pairing of dog and cheetah at a zoo. In San Diego, zookeepers have a long history of pairing the two seemingly adversarial animals.

"The San Diego Zoo has always paired dogs with cheetahs," the zoo said in 2009. "In the beginning, we kept these animals in enclosures that were next to each other, and we allowed contact between the two while they were with one of their trainers, leashes and collars in tow. We encouraged relaxed, calm behavior. We gradually moved to allowing the dog off leash and encouraged relaxed, calm behavior."

About 15 zoos around the country have cheetah-dog companionship programs, according to Dallas Zoo vice president of guest experiences Sean Greene, who spoke with National Geographic.

"They've done this with Labradors, Golden retrievers, and Anatolian shepherds," Greene said.

Keepers at the Dallas Zoo will use a process similar to the one the San Diego Zoo uses to get the puppy and cheetahs accustomed to one another.

Greene said that for now, the animals are kept in the same enclosure with a baby gate separating them. They have 30 minute "howdy" periods that allows the animals to sniff each other and get used to one another, Greene said.

At 14 pounds, the puppy is twice the weight of Kamau and five pounds heavier than Winspear. Zookeepers keep the puppy a leash during these initiation sessions so keep him from getting too rough with the cheetahs. So far the cheetahs have gone as far as licking the puppy's paws, Greene told National Geographic last week.

"Cheetahs are timid by nature," Greene said, adding that the idea is for the puppy's calm and people-friendly demeanor will rub off on the cats.

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